A group of ten government officials and nongovernment employees from across the Ukraine visited Sarajevo from October 15-22, 2017, in the context of a study trip on the topic of the “Role of government, civil society, and private sector in helping internally displaced persons (IDPs) to gain employment”. The goal of the visit was to share Bosnia and Herzegovina’s experience in providing assistance and protecting rights of IDPs after the Dayton Peace Agreement from the viewpoint of BiH’s institutions, nongovernment and international organizations, and private companies. The training and study trip was organized by the Peace Academy Foundation based in Sarajevo with the support of USAID and World Learning.

Ukraine’s institutions and society are facing ongoing violence in the eastern parts of its territory, causing 1.5 million officially-registered persons to leave their homes. As a result, Ukrainians aim to find the best ways to accommodate displaced citizens, provide them social protection and means of social integration, with a focus on employment. To discuss these issues and learn about BiH’s approach in facing similar problems in its recent history, study trip participants were introduced to the social and political context from the beginning of the ’90s onwards. Participants had also a chance to acquire a brief glimpse at the distant history of BiH through a guided tour of Sarajevo.

Selma Porobić, assistant professor of international humanitarian and social work at the Palacky University in Czechia, provided contextualization of the topic and a background for understanding the specifics of Bosnia’s context. During the following days, participants met government officials on the cantonal, entity and state levels of BiH who deal with IDPs and their employment, including the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of BiH, Ministries of Refugees and Displaced Persons of Republika Srpska and FBiH, Ministry of Labor, Social Policies and Displaced Persons of Canton Sarajevo, and the Employment Center of Canton Sarajevo. In addition, they examined related issues and possibilities and means to deal with displacement through meetings and discussions with nongovernment organizations, working on the protection of rights and integration of IDPs and other social issues, such as UNHCR, the Union for Sustainable Return and Integrations in BiH, Economic Institute, Mediacenter, Your Rights Legal Aid Network, and the Youth Employment Project.

The newly-acquired theoretical knowledge was broadened during a field trip to Modriča in the north-east of BiH, where the ten Ukrainians had the opportunity to meet employed and self-employed IDPs and returnees. Many of these IDPs and returnees are organized in cooperatives such as OPZ Tarevci or PPC Jabučik which provide mutual support during production and helping each other in placing fruit and vegetable products primarily on foreign markets. Our hosts from Modriča openly shared their stories of a more than 20-year-long struggle in a process that has not yet ended in many parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

What seemed evident to our Ukrainian guests very quickly is that much was done in BiH in terms of housing and house reconstruction of IDPs and returnees, but what remains lacking are more proactive and coordinated efforts and programs to support the complete social integration of this population either in their pre-conflict or post-conflict places of settlement. Questions such as providing psycho-social support to IDPs, setting legislative normative promptly, the need for efficient coordination of government and nongovernment humanitarian aid and support, as well as programs for supporting family-sized businesses are now, at the end of the study trip, of high priority for our Ukrainian colleagues. Differences regard the socio-political contexts are evident, but there are many similarities when comparing IDP struggles in Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina, study trip participants said. They will take lessons learned back home, trying to implement successful practices mapped from the experience of BiH and will be working hard to avoid related mistakes.

The Peace Academy team thanks all who supported this program and made it possible to share our experiences with others.