Another refugee life lost on EU’s borders

In the night between February 2 and 3, Afghani national Rahmat Ullah Hanife (22) drowned in the Tisa River on the Serbian-Hungarian border. This was announced on Monday by Info Park – a refugee support network jointly launched by Fund B92 and Trag Foundation in Serbia. According to Info Park, Rahmat Ullah tried to cross the frozen river with the group of 15 refugees and migrants who were organized by a smuggler from Pakistan, charging 2,000 EUR each for this extremely risky attempt to reach the European Union.  The group also included six minors, aged 10-17. The smuggler divided them into groups and lead them to the river where he encouraged them to walk across ice towards village Horgos in Hungary. Rahmat Ullah was second in line when the ice broke under their feet.

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Restrictions for migrants in Belgrade

The migrants who reside in reception center in Obrenovac, a municipality in the City of Belgrade, would be allowed to go out from it only with the appropriate permits, minister Aleksandar Vulin announced today. According to Radio-television of Serbia (RTS), Vulin refereed to “Incident, when the group of migrants attacked a woman in Obrenovac”, saying that tougher checks have been introduced; he said “adequate restrictions on migrants movement were applied to improve the security of both migrants and local population”. The number of deployed policemen has been increased while “the situation” in the reception center is “calm”, according to RTS. “The migrants would be allowed to leave the center and come back at a defined time only with adequate permits”, Vulin said. “Of course, they should get legitimation that could be accepted also by other institutions”, he went on. Vulin acknowledged that, since this morning, a special bus started to work. Namely, it will directly transfer migrants from Obrenovac reception center to Belgrade reception center “without meddling with the local population”, the minister said.

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ARD: Das Geschäft mit den Schleppern boomt

Die Flüchtlinge in den Baracken sind gut sichtbar von einem der Bahnsteige des Belgrader Bahnhofs. Trotzdem waren sie bis vor wenigen Wochen ein blinder Fleck für die serbische Bevölkerung. „Niemand wusste von diesem Ort“, erzählt Goran. „Ich kam nach Hause nach Novi Sad und erzählte von meiner Arbeit und den 2.000 Menschen, die hier leben. Aber niemand zuhause wusste davon, es war nicht in den Nachrichten“, erklärte er. Die Medien seien von der Regierung gesteuert, die wenig Aufmerksamkeit auf das Thema lenken wollte, ist er überzeugt. Doch seit wenigen Wochen tummeln sich internationale Fernsehteams um die Flüchtlinge.

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Interview with UNHCR on conditions of migrants in Serbia

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Currently, there are some 7,300 refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in the country. Of them, over 6,200 (85%) are accommodated in 17 government centres and the rest are still sleeping rough in the Belgrade city centre. Some 49% are from Afghanistan, 19% from Iraq, 10% each from Syria and Pakistan, 5% from Iran and 7% from other countries. 46% are children, 39% adult men and 15% adult women.

The authorities, supported by UNHCR and partners, arranged additional temporary emergency shelter by refurbishing a facility in Obrenovac near Belgrade, for voluntary relocation of refugees and migrants from Belgrade city centre. In support of the authorities’ efforts to put the facility into use as quickly as possible, UNHCR  contributed all new clothing, blankets, bed sets and hygiene kits, cleaning services, and other items. To date, some 300 men and boys were moved from the city centre to Obrenovac. The authorities, UNHCR and partners continue working towards further expansion of shelter capacities there and to ensure that all necessary protection and other services, particularly to support the unaccompanied minors, will be provided to all current and future residents of the new centre.

In the North, the authorities offered asylum seekers near the border with Hungary to move to the Transit Centre in Subotica. As a result only around 20 asylum seekers remained outside the “transit zone” in Horgos and “transit zone” of Kelebija, waiting admission to Hungary.

According to the Ministry of Interior, 12,821 persons registered their intent to seek asylum in Serbia in 2016 while 574 submitted an official asylum application. In 2016, the authorities granted refugee status to 19 and subsidiary protection to 23 persons. 40 asylum applications were rejected.

Press Conference with UNHCR and IOM in Belgrade

On 23rd January, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) presented the new strategy in response to the situation with the migrants and refugees in Serbia at a press conference at Belgrade’s Media Centre.

The strategy is part of the wider plan (Regional refugee and migrant response plan – RMRP), which covers the period from January to December 2017on the regional level, and which was presented by the UNHCR and IOM in Geneva on 19th January, 2017. In line with the plans of the Government of Serbia, 16 NGOs and eight United Nations organizations that have participated in the drafting of the strategy proposed humanitarian and development aid worth a total of over 39 million US dollars. So far, the donors have generously contributed to a figure of close to 2.7 million USD in 2017 to fund the UNHCR’s activities in Serbia.

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Refugee winter crisis: Serbia accused of illegal mass deportations

Humanitarian organisations have accused Serbia of forcing hundreds of refugees back towards Macedonia and Bulgaria, refusing them help in freezing temperatures and breaking international law. Nikola Kovacevic, of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, said his group had multiple complaints of so-called “pushback” campaigns against refugees, many of whom are from Syria and Iraq, to get them out of Serbia. Complainants say they have been bussed to the border, had their papers confiscated and left in sub-zero temperatures, forcing them to cross into neighbouring countries to find help. One Syrian family stated that their official asylum seeker papers were torn up in their faces as they were ushered towards the border. Police and the army have been accused of complicity, but Kovacevic said it was difficult to know exactly who was involved in specific incidents as border forces are a  combination of army and police.”Our colleagues on the field received about 20 complaints from refugees about illegal mass deportations. The assessment is that a total of 700-1,000 refugees were illegally deported to Macedonia and Bulgaria since September,” he told Middle East Eye.

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critical reports and analysis about serbia as a country of transit and origin