The border town of Subotica, in northern Serbia, stands as a crude example of the terrible conditions experienced by thousands of people stranded across the Balkans.
As they try to cross the border with Hungary, they are routinely pushed back by police. Many of them live in makeshift camps. To survive, they rely on the assistance from volunteers and aid organizations, including Oxfam.

In October Moscow hosted the international conference titled Current system of international humanitarian aid: the best practices and challenges. Marijana Savic, Director of NGO Atina participated in the conference to share our experiences related to the work with women and girls refugees and migrants, as well as our attitude about the importance of gender sensitive approach in humanitarian work. The conference was organized by Moscow State University for Foreign Affairs (MGIMO) and Oxfam-Moscow with the aim to advance knowledge related to the mechanisms of humanitarian assistance.

At the upcoming European Council, European Union (EU) leaders will discuss the European Commission’s Communication on a new Partnership Framework with third countries.The Communication proposes an approach which aims to leverage existing EU and Member States' external cooperation instruments and tools in order to stem migration to Europe. The undersigned organisations express their grave concern about the direction the EU is taking by making deterrence and return the main objective of the Union's relationship with third countries.

“Rethink your policies and decisions: They force refugee women and girls into the criminal underground economy and into smugglers’ hands. The people we see are not economic migrants. Many are simply trying to save their lives. They have no alternatives except to flee. Think about this, and act.” —Jelena Hrnjk, Atina, an NGO which provides direct support to hundreds of refugee women and girls, particularly those who’ve suffered gender-based violence and human trafficking, in Belgrade, Serbia.