The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Belgrade and the VluchtelingenWerk Nederland in Amsterdam, prepared and published a publication titled Serbia from transit to destination country – Refugee integration challenges and parties of selected states, that deals with refugee integration in Serbia and the region. It contains recommendations for further development and harmonization with European standards in this field. Beside countries from the region (Slovenia and Macedonia) which are facing similar challenges, the publication presents the example of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, due to its impressive refugee integration system that we have a lot to learn from in the process of developing these policies. (more…)

As one of the countries along the West-Balkan route, Serbia faced an unprecedented influx of persons seeking international protection throughout 2015. Although Serbia did manage, through great efforts, to provide humanitarian aid to these individuals, long term solutions for the reception of refugees are lacking. Although most refugees are only passing through Serbia in the aim of seeking refuge in EU member states, 30 asylum applications were adopted in 2015, which is a substantial increase in comparison to previous years. Significant improvement was noted in first-instance proceedings as well as in the practice of the Administrative Court. In light of the implementation of the agreement between the EU and Turkey, and the introduction of restrictive policies in some Member States, it is expected that more individuals will want to seek permanent residence in Serbia, which means that our country needs to create an integration system and adjust its Asylum law as quickly as possible.

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights will present data it acquired while providing legal aid to asylum seekers.

            Prof. dr Vesna Petrović, Executive Director of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights,

            Anne-Birgitte Krum Hansen, Head of the Department for Legal Protection of Refugees, UNHCR in Serbia,

            Nikola Kovačević, Legal Officer of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and

            Lena Petrović, Legal Officer of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights

was discussed:

            – international and regional circumstances which lead to ever increasing forced migrations,

            – Serbia’s response to the refugee crisis throughout 2015,

            – the practice of the police and other competent authorities in the asylum procedure and

            – the need for an integration program and the position of persons granted asylum.

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Within the project Serbia from transit to destination country, funded by Netherlands Embassy in Belgrade and  Dutch Council for Refugees, Belgrade Center for Human Rights produced a  documentary movie called “Ostanak”. The documentary portrays the position of persons in need of international protection with a special focus on the integration of the refugees in Serbia.