Global Overview 2012: People internally displaced by conflict and violence - Bosnia and Herzegovina
| Publisher | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC) |
| Publication Date | 29 April 2013 |
| Cite as | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), Global Overview 2012: People internally displaced by conflict and violence - Bosnia and Herzegovina, 29 April 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/517fb0711b.html [accessed 7 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
| Number of IDPs | 103,000 |
| Percentage of total population | About 2.8% |
| Start of displacement situation | 1992 |
| Peak number of IDPs (year) | 1,000,000 (1993) |
| New displacement in 2012 | Undetermined |
| Causes of displacement | x International armed conflict ✓ Internal armed conflict ✓ Deliberate policy or practice of arbitrary displacement x Communal violence x Criminal violence x Political violence |
| Human development index | 81 |
Generalised violence, armed conflict between Yugoslav, Croatian and Bosnian armed forces and militias and human rights violations led to the internal displacement of more than a million people during the 1992 to 1995 war, and the creation of ethnically homogenous areas within the newly formed independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of the end of 2012, it was still hosting around 103,000 IDPs.
Not all returnees have achieved a durable solution. Improved security and the prospect of being able to repossess and rebuild their homes prompted many IDPs to return, but many have experienced continued security incidents and only limited access to roads, water and electricity. Many lack health insurance and struggle to access pensions and social benefits. Only around 360 people returned during 2012.
IDPs unable or unwilling to return continue to face obstacles to local integration. Roma people in particular struggle to obtain identity documents, without which they are unable to access services, get a job or vote. More than 8,600 IDPs still live in dilapidated collective centres, many of them among the most vulnerable groups such as those with physical or mental disabilities, chronic illnesses, or no income or family support.
The government drafted new legislation in December 2012 which, after years of focusing on return, will expand support beyond IDPs' places of origin. In line with this shift, some IDPs were given new housing to help them integrate locally. Multiple donors funded a regional programme under the 2005 Sarajevo Process, to provide housing to refugees and a small number of IDPs in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region.
