It is time for the integration of migrants into Serbian society

Institutions in Serbia can no longer treat migrants from Middle East as if they are passing through our territory, but need to take responsibility for their integration into Serbian society.

Belgrade, December 18, 2017, 23:25

That is the message of today’s conference of the Association for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings “Atina” and Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the Media Center.

Serbia should work on creating conditions for long-term support and integration of refugees and migrants, as they are not simply in transit any longer, but are staying in the country for up to 10 months on average - this is the conclusion of the presented research “Opportunities and obstacles for the inclusion of refugees and migrants into the main streams of society in Serbia”.

On Monday, December 18, at 11 o’clock, in the small hall of the Media Center, there was a presentation of the results of a research “Opportunities and obstacles for the inclusion of refugees and migrants into the main streams of society in Serbia” (Protection of refugees and migrants in Serbia from 2015 to 2017). The research represents an overview of data on the position of migrants and refugees in Serbia, with a special focus on the rights of women among the migrant population.

Representative of NGO Atina, Jelena Hrnjak, was a panelist at the event organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) titled “Strengthening the capacities of actors to improve the level of protection of migrants in everyday practice”. Other speakers at the panel were representative of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, Svetlana Velimirovic, representative of UNHCR, John Andrew Young, Vesna Dejanovic from UNICEF, Emilija Joksic from the Asylum Office of the MoI of Serbia, and Miroslava Jelacic, representative of NGO Group 484.

Representatives of state institutions, local government, and civil society organizations completed the training on monitoring that was held in Presevo on the last day on November and the first day of December. These 12 colleagues are members of the informal network for monitoring and advocacy that has been created for a mutual goal - to improve the position of refugees and migrants in Presevo, and the quality of coexistence in this town.

Members of the Local network in Vranje completed the training on monitoring at the end of November. During the two days of work, 24 participants were introduced to the monitoring matrix, as well as each of the segments of the monitoring system dealing with refugees and migrants in Vranje.

The Local network in Vranje is made up of representatives of the health, education, social system, as well as civil society, Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, Red Cross, National Employment Agency, and municipal administration.

In October 2017, Citizens' Association Atina presented results of the research on violence against women and girls among refugee and migrant population in Serbia, conducted within the project “Local support to the most vulnerable refugees”. The event was attended by representatives of nongovernmental and governmental organizations from Tutin, Sjenica, and Novi Pazar. This research was supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Based on the public call and Working procedures, a committee made up of representatives of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society and the Office for the Coordination of Activities in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, within the Police Directorate of Ministry of the Interior, reached a final decision on the selection of civil society organizations to take part in the process of monitoring, reporting, and evaluating the implementation of the Strategy for Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings, Especially Women and Children, and Protection of Victims 2017-2022.

With a support of Swiss agency for development and cooperation SDC and UNFPA a debate on violence against women and girls among refugee and migrant population has been launched in six cities in Serbia

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, US ambassador in Belgrade, Kyle Scott, organized a reception at the residence, and delivered awards to those who most contributed to combating gender-based violence. In addition to Marijana Savic, director of NGO Atina, the awards were also received by Zorana Mihajlovic, MP and Chairperson of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, Slobodanka Boba Macanovic from NGO Autonomous Women's Center, Mitar Djuraskovic from the Ministry of Interior, and Dragoslava Barzut from NGO Da se zna.