UNMIK/PR/1453
PRISTINA – SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen today expressed UNMIK’s sincere thanks to the Irish Government on the signing of a grant agreement, whereby Ireland is providing €250,000 towards the reconstruction of the Roma Mahala settlement on the south bank of the Ibar River in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica. The funds are a contribution from the Development Co-operation Directorate of the Department of Foreign Affairs, towards the permanent return of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian (RAE) IDPs who were displaced in 1999.
This grant will be used for building nine small apartment blocks, each of which will house 12 families - a total of 108 individuals - who lived on municipal land prior to 1999. Each family that receives an apartment will get secure tenure by means of a 99-year lease to their apartment.
This first phase of the reconstruction of the Mahala is estimated to cost approximately 8 million euros. Additional donations towards the reconstruction have been made by the Norwegian Government to build the water, sewage, electricity and roads infrastructure, and by the Greek Government. The SRSG provided € 250,000 from his Contingency Fund and the PISG allocated € 200,000.
Some 530 Roma, 70% of them originating from the Roma Mahala, are currently living in dire circumstances in lead-polluted camps in northern Kosovo. A temporary relocation will be offered to them before the end of the year but the SRSG underscored the importance of the Return to Roma Mahala Project. “The rebuilding of the Mahala is of critical importance since the return to their place of origin is the only viable long-term solution for the RAE IDPs”, said the SRSG.