Over the past few weeks, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) has been receiving more calls from foreign nationals, primarily Cuban nationals, denied entry into Serbia and held in the transit zone of Belgrade Airport Nikola Tesla. Dozens of them have been planning on expressing the intention to seek asylum and applying for asylum in Serbia and asked the BCHR to extend them legal aid. Most of the aliens who contacted BCHR said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) officers deployed at the Airport had not responded to either their oral or written requests to apply for asylum in Serbia and had seized the telephones of some of them, thus precluding them from seeking legal aid.

One of the fundamental rights enshrined in the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which Serbia has ratified, is the right of everyone fleeing war or fearing persecution in their country of origin to access the territory of the state they are seeking international protection from. Serbia is also a signatory of the UN Convention against Torture, which prohibits expulsion and refoulement of people to a territory where they are at risk of torture.

Under the national Asylum and Temporary Protection Act, the provisions of which are interpreted in accordance with the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, aliens may express their intention to seek asylum to the relevant MIA officer, either orally or in writing, during a border check when entering the Republic of Serbia or inside its territory. Aliens who express such an intention are registered and referred to an asylum centre or another facility designated for the accommodation of asylum seekers.  

Aliens denied entry at the Airport are usually held in the transit zone for days. In its report on its visit to the Belgrade Border Police Station and Nikola Tesla Airport of 25 February 2020, the National Preventive Mechanism of the Protector of Citizens found that the rooms in which aliens not fulfilling the requirements to enter Serbia were being held were unsuitable for longer stays.[1]

In BCHR’s experience, aliens seeking asylum at Nikola Tesla Airport are allowed to enter Serbia and access the asylum procedure only after the lawyers intervene and insist that the Border Police comply with the relevant national and international regulations.

To recall, the Serbian MIA is under the obligation to respect and apply the Asylum and Temporary Protection Act in respect of all aliens who notify police officers that they want to seek asylum in Serbia. The relevant institutions are under the duty to examine the existence of the risk of persecution, torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of each asylum seeker. The BCHR also alerts to the fact that asylum seeking women and children are also being held in inadequate conditions at Nikola Tesla Airport.

[1] The NPM Report is available in Serbian at:https://npm.rs/attachments/article/966/izvestaj.pdf.

BCHR’s Youth Programme has made the following video #ChangetheNumbers to build youth’s trust in the immunisation within the ongoing #UptoYou campaign. The video, which is primarily intended for the younger audience, emphasises the power each and every individual has and the contribution they can make to suppress the pandemic. The video presents the story of a young woman in everyday situations, and its main message is Each number = A human story.

Although Serbia has been registering record-high numbers of new corona cases for weeks, there is no indication that the relevant authorities will in any way change their approach or introduce stricter measures to fight the pandemic. It is therefore necessary to constantly alert to the importance of responsible behaviour of every single individual, both towards themselves, their own health and that of the people around them and their community. According to the information published by the media, around 20% of young people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to date. The Belgrade Student Health Care Institute reported that nearly 13,000 university students have been jabbed.

“Young people are surrounded by contradictory information coming from all sides and they are under great pressure,” says Dr Mila Paunić, an epidemiologist at the Belgrade Student Health Care Institute. “Now, with the surge in the number of new cases, it’s more important than ever to arm the youth with knowledge and information from credible sources and everything else is up to them. It’s #UptoYou, up to us as a society.”

Youth health is the main topic of the upcoming International Congress organised by the Belgrade Student Health Care Institute, which is held on 7-8 October.

The #UptoYou campaign focuses on youth, providing them with room to ask their questions and voice their dilemmas about vaccination and COVID-19, and simultaneously offers them concrete answers and expert information. Various contents designated primarily for youth have been produced within the campaign: posters, leaflets responding to youth’s FAQs (link), and the e-mail address of the Student Polyclinic expert team [email protected], which young people can write to, share their dilemmas and ask for answers to their questions at all times.

The #UptoYou campaign is implemented by the BCHR Youth Programme in cooperation with the UN Population Fund in Serbia and the Belgrade Student Health Care Institute. 

Follow our campaign on social networks @mladibgcentar and join us!

A memorial lecture dedicated to Prof Dr. Vojin Dimitrijević, a law professor, intellectual, co-founder and long-standing Director of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, was held on the Zoom platform on 4 October 2021. 

The lecture honouring Vojin was delivered by Dr Zoran Pajić, prominent international law professor living and working in London for years. Vojin Dimitrijević passed away on 5 October 2012 in Belgrade. Prof Pajić took the opportunity to share also his personal memories of Vojin and anecdotes from their academic and private lives in Sarajevo, Belgrade, Budapest and elsewhere.

The recording of Prof Pajić’s lecture on two topics: Is International Law Really Law? and Transitional Justice as a Postwar Challenge is available on BCHR’s YouTube channel. 

Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has compiled a periodic report “Right to Asylum in the Republic of Serbia – Periodic Report for January–June 2021”. Periodic Report has been prepared by the legal and integration team of the BCHR’s Asylum and Migration programme 

The Report analyses the treatment of the asylum seekers and refugees in Serbia in the first six months of 2021, based on information the BCHR team obtained during their legal representation in the asylum procedure and provision of support in their integration, and during team’s field work. 

In addition to illustrating relevant decisions by the asylum authorities, the Report also describes the BCHR’s initiatives and activities aiming to facilitate the integration of refugees and asylum seekers. The Report also comprises data the BCHR collected through regular cooperation and communication with the state authorities and UNHCR. The statistical data cover the 1 January – 30 June 2021 period

The “Right to Asylum in the Republic of Serbia – Periodic Report for January–June” is available HERE.

BCHR is represnting Ms. Diana Ćelić, before the Constituional Court of Serbia. She is the mother of Milovan Ilić from Novi Sad who had been victim of police torture in May 2018.

He was not long after that event found dead in city park. Using the available legal mechanisms Diana is seeking to establish all the facts regarding the death of her son and to prove that the night before his death he was the victim of police officers torture.

This is her story.

The eight-member Selection Committee has decided to support 4 projects in the Republic of Serbia within the project Security for People and Borders – Combating Smuggling of Migrants in the Western Balkans.

The project is implemented with the European Union funds. In accordance with the terms of the Call, after the further evaluation the Selection Committee decided to support 4 projects from the received project proposals that meet the formal requirements of the Call.

On this occasion, we would like to thank all the participants for their time and effort, and congratulations to the project winners!

Supported Projects 

 Supported Projects