the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

GENEVA -- The UN refugee agency said on Friday that it was seeking over $1 billion to fund its refugee assistance and protection work next year to care for more than 20.5 million refugees and other people worldwide. This includes $955 million for its annual budget and over $57 million for supplementary programs for the Liberian crisis and Sudanese refugees.

By Arie Farnam, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

CAGLAVICA AND BELO POLJE, KOSOVO - When he was 5 years old, Yeton saw his grandmother gunned down by black-uniformed Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers. Then, his mother picked him up and ran out of the village toward the Montenegrin border.

"I wish we could go back to our house and our friends," he says, now standing on a road outside a refugee shelter.

OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting
Warsaw, October 2003
Contents

Acronyms
Foreword
Introduction

Country overviews

• Armenia.
• Azerbaijan
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Georgia
• Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
• Moldova
• Russian Federation
• Serbia and Montenegro
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan

Thousands of Roma could be forcibly returned to Kosovo if, as seem likely, they turn down the offer of asylum in Macedonia.

OSLO/GENEVA, 23 October 2003 - The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) today called on the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to increase efforts to address the plight of the three million people who have been displaced within their own countries by armed conflict or human rights violations and still wait to be able to return to their homes.

Map produced by the Global IDP Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council

454a(2003)

Appeal Target: CHF 1,669,766 (USD 1.145m or EUR 1.34m)
Period covered: May-August, 2003
The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 180 countries. For more information: www.ifrc.org

In Brief

This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today's Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva. Further information can be found on the UNHCR website, www.unhcr.ch, which should also be checked for regular media updates on non-briefing days.
1) LIBERIA

UNHCR sees the departure of Charles Taylor as a positive development that will usher in a new era for Liberia, allowing humanitarians to resume helping hundreds of thousands of people who have endured years of war and misery.

(Extracted from JRS Dispatches No. 136)

Appeal Target: CHF 1,669,766 (USD 1,145,184 or EUR 1,134,795)
Period covered: January-April, 2003

SC/7785
Security Council

(Extracted from JRS Dispatches No. 133)

(Extract) - Spokesperson: Niurka Piñeiro

The Working Group on the Western Balkans held today a comprehensive discussion on the Refugees and IDPs in S/E Europe, initiated by the Presidency. The exchange of views that followed was based on the relevant text circulated by the Greek Presidency.

Tirana, 12 - 13 December 2002