14 May 2010

Pristina, Kosovo: Conflicts do not end when the shooting stops, and thorny issues often remain for decades. A Japanese UNV volunteer has completed a pioneering study which will help displaced people rebuild their lives.

The Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center (HPC) funds an increasing number of UNV volunteer assignments in post-conflict areas, so that volunteers from Japan and other Asian countries can gain first-hand experience of the challenges of recovery and contribute to the solutions. The Center is financially supported by the Government of Japan.

In 2009, a total of 18 UNV volunteers took part, serving in countries from Sudan to Sri Lanka. Of the 18, the 13 Japanese volunteers were joined by volunteers from India, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka.

In 2009, Masayuki Teshima took a post as an Associate Protection Officer with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pristina. Here Masa, who previously worked at an immigration law firm in New York, discovered the problems facing people returning to the homes they abandoned during the 1999 crisis.

“So many people displaced outside Kosovo want to return, but can’t because property rights for their homes are still uncertain,” explains Masa from Tokyo, Japan. “While I was in Kosovo, there were only three judges in my particular region working on thousands of cases. Meanwhile, people were living in sometimes quite harsh conditions.”

“On the other hand,” he adds, “once someone has moved into an unoccupied house, they have rights too – you can’t just tell them to leave so the displaced family can move back. It’s a huge legal challenge.”

Masa began his work by researching the laws and legal systems in other Balkan countries and territories, keeping in mind international agreements and treaties such as the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees.

His extensive study of property rights, from investigating individual cases to analysing the judicial system, helped him to see every aspect of the situation. “Every level is relevant to the UNHCR mandate,” comments Masa, “and finally I came up with a report recommending the actions to take.”

No one had researched this complex issue in such detail before Masa Teshima’s UNV volunteer assignment. “I feel my achievement was to put all of the scattered information into one paper so that the issue could become more visible and tangible,” he notes. Drawing on Masa’s work, the UN and Government of Kosovo subsequently organized a roundtable session to begin fully addressing the problem.

Above and beyond his assignment, Masa also volunteered in the local community, helping children improve their English and taking them on social and sporting trips. “As well as being an entry point to the UN system,” he remarks, “being a UNV volunteer was a great opportunity to take advantage of my skills and contribute my expertise on the ground.”

“As a UNV volunteer,” concludes Masa Teshima, “You can feel part of a team, no matter what agency you work for or which location you are in. You can share the same experiences, it’s a bond that brings us all together.”