Improving Reintegration Assistance for Beneficiaries Returning to Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) (2014)

Geographical Coverage: Hungary, Kosovo under UNSCR 1244

Duration: August 2014 – November 2014

Donor: European Return Fund (national allocation)

Status: Completed

Summary: The overall objective of the project is to provide recommendations on how the reintegration assistance offered to the beneficiaries of Hungarian assisted voluntary return and reintegration programmes to Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) could be improved in order to contribute to the effectiveness and the sustainability of the return process. To achieve this, the project envisages the implementation of three components: 1) Designing of a questionnaire to map the different reintegration assistance programmes carried out from other EU MS, gather IOM’s institutional experience in reintegration assistance and identify and collect best practices – the findings of the questionnaire will be analyzed and synthesized and presented at an international conference; 2) Organization of a 2-day international conference in Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) with a view to increasing the effectiveness of re-integration programmes and as a result drawing up recommendations in this field. The conference organized in Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) will allow the participants of different EU MS to exchange opinions on-site, regarding reintegration programmes implemented in Kosovo; and 3) Development of bilingual report (in English and Hungarian) presenting a clear set of recommendations on how to improve reintegration assistance services within the framework of the Hungarian assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) programmes – and other related programmes – to Kosovo (UNSCR 1244). The set of recommendations can be used by the Hungarian authorities - namely, the Ministry of Interior, the Office of Immigration and Nationality (OIN), IOM and relevant non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in efforts to improving the current system of reintegration assistance.

The set of recommendations developed within the project will be utilized in future IOM Budapest AVRR initiatives in order to provide improved reintegration assistance to AVRR beneficiaries. The project’s objective and planned activities have been developed with a view to contributing to the harmonization of the provision of AVRR services and the promotion of cooperation among EU MS.