Donor: UNHCR Office in Serbia
Duration: January 2016 – December 2016
Throughout 2016, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has continued to provide free and professional legal aid to refugees and asylum-seekers on Serbian territory, with support from the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Serbia, as it has been doing since 2012. The majority of refugees who were recorded in Serbia over the past few years did not stay in our country, moving instead towards those countries of the European Union they perceive as safe countries of asylum. The Belgrade Centre, apart from providing legal representation to persons seeking asylum in Serbia, provides legal aid to these persons as well, informing them of the possibility of submitting an asylum application in Serbia, so that their status under international law might be regulated before domestic bodies as well, thereby allowing them to fully access all of the rights they are entitled to under domestic and international legislation.
Considering the ever-increasing resolve of many states to shut their borders to refugees despite their obligations under international law not to do so, the Belgrade Centre has been advocating intensely for changes and improvements in the policy of Serbia when it comes to accessing the asylum procedure and the functioning of the asylum system. In addition it has been advocating to change the mechanism for the integration of persons who are granted asylum in Serbia, seeing as how this issue has been generally neglected since the Law on Asylum entered into force in 2008. Bearing this in mind, the Belgrade Centre continues to cooperate with the proper authorities in order to strengthen their capacity by means of seminars, training sessions, and expert publications.
The Belgrade Centre also provided assistance to all persons interested in seeking asylum in Serbia or who are otherwise at risk of having their rights under international and domestic law violated.
