I would like to greet you all on behalf of Montenegro. I am sure that we are all happy to be here in Belgrade again after a year and a half and to have this opportunity today, together with our international partners, to send a message of hope for more certain future of refugees and displaced persons.

The progress made in this difficult field since we last met here is a constituent part of the overall success of our countries and the whole region. I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate Croatia the finalisation of the negotiations with EU and to congratulate Serbia the recommendation for the EU membership candidate status. Montenegro got the recommendation of the European Commission for opening of the negotiations and we hope that Bosnia and Herzegovina will overcome their internal crisis which will open the way for it to make progress in the integration processes.

I would like to thank Serbia for the excellent organization of this Conference as well as to all participating countries and UNCHR, EC, OSCE and Council of Europe that we work together with.

I would like particularly to thank our dear neighbours – Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as to UNHCR for understanding and accepting the initiative of Montenegro to include the overall refugee population in its territory into this process.

Our region has shown willingness and determination to manage successfully such a complex and sensitive programmes like this one in cooperation and with the support of international community. And can we say that there are more difficult issues than trying to find a permanent solution for refugees, displaced and internally displaced persons, and particularly for the most vulnerable among them? The new quality in this process is mutual respect and understanding of the needs of all participants. The agreed specific models and procedures for regulating status and free access to all rights and obligations for these persons, as well as solving a number of other issues that are of crucial importance without discriminating other citizens is a good way to achieve the goal.

Montenegro is undertaking numerous measures for a comprehensive solution to the issues of refugees. We implement our programmes in a close cooperation with UNHCR, European Commission and OSCE, through specific activities with the countries of origin on the national and local level. The issue of displaced and internally displaced persons, with a particular focus on the Konik I and II camps, where the most vulnerable part of this population is accommodated, is one of the 7 key priorities set by the European Commission. The results we achieved implementing the Action Plan in all areas, including this important segment, enabled the European Commission to recommend on 12 October to the European Council to make the decision on opening accession negotiations with Montenegro. In that, the Commission had in mind particularly the strongly expressed willingness of our Government to seek a permanent solution for this difficult issue, with its own capacities and in close cooperation with the neighbours and international partners. We are implementing the Government Strategy focused primarily on the camp Konik and Roma population there. Significant progress has been made in regulating the status of these persons. Through obtaining Montenegrin citizenship or the status of a foreigner with permanent residence, they will be in the position to enjoy their rights freely and without any discrimination and to integrate in the local community. A comprehensive nation-wide campaign was conducted to inform everybody of the rights and necessary procedures for regulating their status. We adopted amendments to the legislation, reduced the amount or completely abolished administrative fees, we opened an Office in the Konik camp, extended the deadline for applying to 31 December next year and organized collective visits to the countries of origin, primarily Kosovo, with the view to obtaining documentation necessary for regulating status in close cooperation with both Pristina and Belgrade. Cooperation has also been established on the level of local communities in the aim of improving the conditions for repatriation of people who want that kind of solution. About 500 persons expressed their wish to return to Kosovo (municipalities Pec, Djakovica, Klina and Istok).

There are 13,308 refugees and displaced persons in Montenegro. 3,815 of them are from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia and 9,493 from Kosovo. In comparison with the period of our first conference, this is more than 3,000 people less than at that time. As the number of applications for regulation of the status and the number of individual decisions increases, the number of refugees and displaced persons will fall and we will keep our intensive activities on that. However, it is only a precondition for creating the conditions for their full integration in Montenegrin society or their voluntary return to their countries of origin. We are dedicated to seeking for a comprehensive solution which will contain all the components – legal status, health and education integration, employment and full social integration.

Regional programme that we agreed on and that will be presented today and in the donors conference next year, along with the continuous programmes on the national level, will be a great contribution to achieving of our common goal. Support of the donors community is of decisive importance. In that we are certainly aware of the present time, of the effects of the economic and financial crisis on the global level and of the events that were important this year that was described by the High Commissioner in the recently finished ExCom as the year of the refugee crisis. With a clear commitment of our governments and the financial support of the donors community we can and we have to finalize successfully the process that we started in Sarajevo in 2005.

In that context, I want to thank again the governments of the participating countries, international partners, particularly UNHCR and EC and the personal envoy of the High Commissionaire Mr Bajlaveld for the support and cooperation in this process which is very important for our countries and our region and which will result in signing of the Ministerial Declaration today.

In such a way we will mark the end of the so called political part of the process. On behalf of Montenegro that was coordinating the process of harmonization of the text of the declaration, I would like to underline that this document represents a confirmation of political willingness of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia to solve in a permanent and sustainable manner the issue of refugees that has significantly burdened the countries individually, but our mutual relations as well. We in Montenegro think that it is one of the preconditions for internal stability as well as for strengthening the peace and cooperation in the region.

I believe that the Joint Declaration, with the regional programme as its constituent part, will send an encouraging message to international partners and the donors community. But this will be a message primarily to all refugees – the message that we are working seriously so that soon they can see the day when they will no longer be persons with no address and when they and their descendants will have their homeland and a life a human being deserves. Montenegro will offer concrete projects to the donor conference, and they will, I believe, get the support of the established financial mechanism and trust fund.

Let us do our best for the refugee camps to become history and warning for future generations and for the South-Eastern Europe never to be a region of refugees again. It will be one of the best recommendations for our progress on the European integration path, which is our common goal. I wish to assure you that for Montenegro this is one of the key priorities of the present and future period.

Thank you for your attention!