UNHCR and its legal and other implementation and operational partner, Praxis, Balkan Centre for Migration, Centre for Minority Rights, OSCE, MPDL and HCIT formed a Focus Group on IDP Documentation with the overall aim to achieve systemic changes in the field of IDPs’ access to documentation, through strong advocacy.

At the first meeting of the Focus Group that was held in May, the Group agreed to come up with a set of detailed suggestions to amendments of law(s) and procedures to address IDP's problems in accessing documents. For that purpose, the Group invited a consultant - legal expert from the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies, to discuss drafting of a new law that would regulate this issue. Focus Group intends to engage local legal experts and practitioners who would analyze the existing legislation and make specific recommendations to legislative amendments in order to simplify the access to documentation and civil registration of IDPs into registry books dislocated from Kosovo.

As a part of its advocacy campaign, in July 2007 the Focus Group held a meeting with the Assistant Minister for Public Administration and Local Self-Government, with the aim to present to the Ministry Focus Group’s initiative for removing obstacles to IDPs’ access to documents and to seek the Ministry’s initial support to the activity. Members of Focus Group agreed with the Assistant Minister to share its analysis and specific recommendations with the Ministry for further discussion and action. However, it has been stressed at the meeting that the solution to the problems of IDPs related to access to documents and, more specifically, determining the fact of birth and subsequent registration is not only within the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Public Administration and Local Self-Government, but also within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior.

More such meetings will continue with other stakeholders in the Government including the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior.