Category Archives: Allgemein

Intensive Polizeikontrollen an mazedonisch-griechischer Grenze – Mehr Flüchtlinge vor dem Wintereinbruch

Ein eiskalter Wind pfeift über den doppelreihigen Sperrzaun an der mazedonisch-griechischen Grenze und erfasst die Kleidungsreste, die zerfetzt im Stacheldraht hängen. Augenscheinlich sind sie noch nicht lange da. An mehreren Stellen sind Löcher im Zaun, auf mazedonischer Seite abgedichtet mit noch mehr Stacheldraht.  In regelmäßigen Abständen pflügen Polizeijeeps aus unterschiedlichen Ländern durch den matschigen Kontrollweg entlang des Grenzzauns. Kein Zweifel: entlang des Grenzabschnitts zur mazedonischen Stadt Gevgelija versuchen jetzt vermehrt Flüchtlinge, noch vor Wintereinbruch aus Griechenland über oder durch den Sperrzaun nach Mazedonien und danach weiter Richtung Norden zu gelangen. Dabei wird gerade diese Grenze massiv überwacht. Polizeieinheiten aus sieben Ländern (Österreich, Polen, Tschechien, Slowakei, Ungarn, Slowenien, Kroatien) unterstützen die mazedonische Grenzpolizei. Sie haben modernste Technik im Einsatz wie etwa hocheffiziente Nachtsichtgeräte. Damit können tags wie vor allen Dingen auch nachts Areale im Umkreis von 15 Kilometern nahezu lückenlos observiert werden. Derzeit an die 100 illegale Grenzüberschreitungen pro Woche wurden und werden auf diese Weise registriert.

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Global Detention Project: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Immigration Detention Profile

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has been an important transit country along the Balkan migration route, which has made it a critical country to European migration policy and debate. The EU and FRONTEX have pressured the country to halt migration flows. It currently uses one main detention facility, euphemistically labelled the “Reception Centre for Foreigners,” as well as ad hoc “transit” camps along its borders.

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In Serbien gestrandet – Alltag auf der geschlossenen Balkanroute

Ein enger Weg führt zur Pforte des Flüchtlingslagers im Belgrader Stadtteil „Krnjaca“. Neben der Straße türmt sich Müll. Vor dem Tor betteln kleine Roma-Kinder. Tagsüber kommen hier viele Menschen vorbei – vielleicht fällt ja etwas ab. „Das ist das älteste Flüchtlingslager Serbiens. Es existiert seit 1992, seit dem Balkankrieg“ – sagt Ivan Miskovic vom serbischen Flüchtlingskommissariat. „Jetzt leben hier etwa 600 Flüchtlinge. Etwa 1.000 Leute könnte man hier unterbringen. Es klingt viel, aber in Serbien sind zurzeit etwa 4.000 Flüchtlinge in anderen Lagern.“ Überall ist Kinderlärm zu hören. „Hier sind gerade 300 Jugendliche“ – sagt Djurdja Surla, die das Lager leitet. Die älteren Kinder gehen in die Schule, wer jünger ist als sieben Jahre bleibt im Camp. Die Flüchtlinge möchten in den Westen – die meisten nach Deutschland, Österreich oder Schweden. Weil die Balkanroute unpassierbar ist, und Ungarn täglich nur 10 Menschen in die sogenannten Transitzonen rein lässt, kann es Monate dauern, bis sie weiterkommen. „Familien, oder Mütter mit Kindern warten etwa 9 Monate, alleinstehende Männer sogar 2-3 Jahre bis sie es in die Transitzonen schaffen“ – erklärt Ivan Miskovic

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„Die werden regelrecht zurückgeprügelt“

Helfer prangern Gewalt gegen Flüchtlinge an der gesperrten Balkanroute an. Grenzschutzbeamte und Polizisten aus EU-Staaten werden als Täter genannt. Für Flüchtlinge ist die Balkanroute seit fast anderthalb Jahren geschlossen. Doch obwohl deutlich weniger Flüchtlinge sich auf die beschwerliche Reise machen, sind immer noch viele auf der Route unterwegs. Exakte Zahlen gibt es kaum. Der österreichische Verteidigungsminister Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) schätzte in einem Interview, dass von den rund 12 000 Personen, die in Österreich Asyl beantragt haben, rund 8000 über den Balkan gekommen sind. Manche schaffen die Reise, kommen irgendwie über die Grenzen. Andere stranden in Lagern, Camps, kommen nicht weiter – und leben an den EU-Außengrenzen unter schlimmsten Bedingungen. So wie in Šid, einer kleinen serbischen Stadt an der kroatisch-serbischen Grenze, rund 16 000 Serben leben dort. Von hier versuchen Flüchtlinge nach Kroatien zu gelangen, auf EU-Gebiet, um sich dann weiter durchzuschlagen. Doch meist werden sie von der Polizei aufgegriffen, zurückgebracht. Dann versuchen sie es erneut. Manche hängen sich unter Güterzüge, um über die Grenzen zu gelangen.

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New MSF report: GAMES OF VIOLENCE UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE REPEATEDLY ABUSED BY EU MEMBER STATE BORDER AUTHORITIES

Today, more than one year after the so-called closure of the Balkan Road and the EU-Turkey Deal, Serbia remains one of the main hubs for people wishing to enter the European Union from the east and travel onwards to western and northern Europe. Whilst providing primary and mental health care to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, Médecins Sans Frontières medical teams based in Belgrade continue to treat the injuries, both psychological and physical, of those crossing towards the Schengen Zone. Whether they are living in unsafe and precarious conditions at Serbia’s borders with Hungary and Croatia, or recently arrived from Bulgaria, the injured and distressed are mostly young men and boys aged between 15 and 25 years of age. Over and over again, they are violently pushed back from EU borders nursing wounds allegedly perpetrated by EU member state border forces in an endless cycle of border crossings they have dubbed “The Game”. Regardless of their reasons for being in Serbia in the first place, they are left extremely vulnerable while waiting in camps, detention centres and informal settlements where they are repeatedly brutalised and neglected and ultimately made invisible by migration policies that push them onto more and more dangerous routes.

 

The Secretary General’s Special Representative on Migration and Refugees carried out a fact-finding mission to Serbia and two transit zones in Hungary from 12 to 16 June 2017. In Serbia he visited asylum and reception centres in Adaševci, Principovac, Krnjača, Subotica, Sombor, Bogovađa and Obrenovac and met with representatives of the government, the authorities responsible for asylum and migration-related matters, intergovernmental organisations, the European Union as well as civil society. In Hungary he visited the transit zones of Röszke and Tompa and met with the regional representatives of the asylum authority, as well as with the UNHCR and one NGO.

Serbia has experienced a massive influx of migrants and refugees travelling along the so-called Western Balkans migration route during 2015 and at the beginning of 2016. After the closure of this route in 2016, more than 7 000 refugees and migrants, among whom around 1 000 unaccompanied children, remained in Serbia. The arrival of such a high number of migrants and refugees has presented significant challenges for the Serbian authorities. It is to the credit of their enormous efforts that migrants and refugees have been provided with accommodation, food and other forms of support. Serbia’s approach to respect the right to liberty and freedom of movement of migrants and refugees should also be commended.

However, access to the asylum procedure remains problematic. At times migrants and refugees are pushed back from Serbia to its neighbouring countries without being given a real opportunity to claim asylum. In many cases migrants and refugees lack basic information about the possibility of obtaining international protection in Serbia and encounter difficulties in contacting the asylum authorities. Most of those who are currently in Serbia have been certified by the competent authorities as having expressed an intention to seek asylum but have not lodged asylum applications as their end-goal is to reach other European countries. Consequently, the large majority of migrants and refugees are stranded in Serbia for several months without an official legal status, waiting for an opportunity to cross the borders with Hungary or Croatia. The flow of migration from Serbia to Hungary is managed through a waiting list which is compiled in an informal and non-transparent way, raising suspicion that corruption could be involved.

As migrants and refugees’ prospects of reaching their destination countries are uncertain they might, over the course of their stay in Serbia, decide to seek international protection in Serbia. Therefore, it is important that they are provided with information on asylum in a systematic way and that they have real opportunities to access the asylum procedure. A strategic approach is also needed to address the precarious legal status of those who cannot be expelled from Serbia although they have not lodged asylum applications and to identify sustainable solutions regarding their social and economic rights.

Due to the high number of migrants and refugees all asylum and reception centres in Serbia operate beyond capacity. This has had an impact on the reception conditions, in particular the standards of accommodation and services provided, which potentially raise issues under Article 3 of the ECHR. The age of unaccompanied children is often determined haphazardly, leading in certain cases to the accommodation of boys under 18 years together with adult men. This raises serious concerns regarding children’s exposure to risks of violence and sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. The presence of a high number of unaccompanied children in some reception centres poses challenges to the provision of guardianship, which in turn results in lack of support for unaccompanied children in processes affecting them. Educational provision for children in asylum and reception centres is rather scarce.

The determination of migrants and refugees to reach other European countries will continue to create demand for smugglers in Serbia. Eventually smuggling could become a complex criminal activity for which Serbian authorities need to be prepared with know-how on how to prevent and fight it, while engaging in effective co-operation with law enforcement authorities in other countries. The Council of Europe can facilitate meetings with technical experts and law enforcement authorities from other countries, including source, transit and destination countries, in order to exchange experiences, develop strategies and set common priorities to prevent and fight smuggling.

Overall, Serbia should develop a strategy which looks beyond the emergency phase and goes further than the provision of humanitarian assistance to migrants and refugees. The ongoing legislative reform of the law on asylum and foreigners provides opportunities for developing such a strategy as well as for co-operation between the Serbian authorities and the Council of Europe to address the issues identified with due regard for the human rights standards of the Organisation.

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