Bosnian refugees (Croats)
© UNHCR / August 1995
© Netzwerk Migration in Europa e.V.
Everyday Life of Roma Children in Block 71
© Netzwerk Migration in Europa e.V.
Detention camps in Europe, 2005
Forced migration in Serbia is uniquely complex, propelled by layered historic forces still active in the Western Balkan Region. The dissolution of the former Yugoslavia has given rise to a reordering of ethnic populations with a general trend toward the consolidation of ethnic groups and their move to the West for economic reasons. Serbia, located in the very center of the region, is home to a diverse mixture of forced migrants unparalleled in Europe. Forced migrants in Serbia include large populations of refugees from Bosnia and Croatia and internally displaced persons from Kosovo, as well as Serb nationals who fled the conflicts of the 1990’s only to now return to Serbia with the expiry of ‘temporary protection’. Finally, victims of trafficking and asylum seekers have emerged in increasing numbers in Serbia due to its proximity to the European Union and the influence of a thriving ‘grey’ economy.
The sheer volume of forced migrants on Serbian territory, estimated at an excess of 400,000, is only one indication of the challenges forced migrants face in realizing their human rights. Adding to the problem of scale are insufficient legal and institutional infrastructures, political uncertainty (particularly over the status of Kosovo), high rates of unemployment and public and political reluctance to acknowledge integration as a sustainable (and to some degree inevitable) solution for forced migrant groups in Serbia. While the specific challenges to realizing human rights vary for each group, challenges across groups include realizing social rights (and in particular the right to housing), freedom of movement and access to adequate documentation.
According to the UNHCR as of April 30, 2006, there were approximately 115, 000 refugees in Serbia (34,000 from Bosnia and Herzegovina and 81,000 from Croatia). The refugees from Croatia began arriving in 1991 mostly from Serb dominated areas of Croatia; in 1995, a massive influx of refugees from Croatia arrived in Serbia following Operation ‘Storm’ on Serbian areas of Croatia including the city of Krajina. The beginning of the Bosnian War in 1992 forced residents to seek refuge along ethnic lines and the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord in 1996 resulted in a further arrival of Bosnian Serbs, primarily those who resided in the territory that was to become the Muslim-Croat Federation. 1996 marked the highpoint for official statistics of refugees in Serbia, about 550,000: limited returns to Bosnia and Croatia, resettlement in third countries and refugees who have declined to reregister as refugees account for the four-fold decrease in refugee population between 1996 and today.
Human rights considerations for refugees continuing to reside in Serbia revolve primarily around issues surrounding integration for those refugees seeking a permanent residency in the country. Refugees in Serbia have the right to work, the right to medical care, access to collective centers, the right to a subsidized pass for public transportation, the right to open an account with most domestic banks and the right to education. Under the auspices of the ‘National Strategy for Resolving the Problems of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons’, the government with foreign donors and partner organizations has begun programs to facilitate integration including projects to promote the acquisition of citizenship, as well as adequate housing and income-generation projects.
Despite this liberal official schedule of rights for refugee groups in Serbia, actualizing these rights has been an ongoing challenge. Collective centers were designed to provide temporary accommodation, however some time ago grew into a relatively permanent form of accommodation. The official plan to close all collective centers has been maintained, giving rise to new fears about inadequate alternatives for vulnerable populations and the negative impacts of secondary displacement. Unofficial collective centers have been established in abandoned worker’s shacks, warehouses and hangars; many lack running water and sewage systems and residents live in constant fear of eviction. Unemployment remains high among resident and refugee population, with refugees facing additional problems in obtaining the necessary documentation and work booklets to secure employment. Poverty remains a barrier for post-secondary studies for refugee students. With respect to health care, access to specialists is limited, and refugees are put on a separate waiting list for hospitalization. Access to pensions continues to be mired with administrative delays. Access to the social welfare system is available to refugees only when they gain Serbian citizenship, with no coverage during the transition period. Refugees and internally displaced persons have reported feeling unwelcome in their communities of displacement, with animosity driven by competition for scarce jobs and social resources.
The withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian security forces from Kosovo in 1999 prompted over 200,000 people to leave the province. A further estimated 4000 people left Kosovo following the violence of March 2004 against minority communities. As of March 2006, the UNHCR estimated that about 225,000 internally displaced persons were residing in Serbia outside of Kosovo. Over time, IDPs who had settled close to the borders of Kosovo have gradually moved into central and northern Serbia in search of better employment prospects. The majority of IDPs are ethnically Serbian (68%), followed by Roma (12%) and Montenegrin (8%). The prospects of return for IDPs remain bleak; in the six years since the end of the conflicts, only 15,000 displaced persons have returned. The majority of these IDPs have returned to Serb-dominated enclaves in rural Kosovo.
While in refuge in Serbia outside of Kosovo, human rights concerns are similar to those faced by refugees from Bosnia and Croatia. Formally guaranteed the rights of citizens, internally displaced persons have in practice had difficulties exercising their basic civil, economic and social rights, including access to personal documentation, property rights, health care, social assistance and adequate accommodation. On an official level, the only long-term solution envisioned for the internally displaced is return to Kosovo, and integration programs as such are not available to IDPs as they are to refugees. Displaced Roma are particularly disadvantaged as victims of overt discrimination, poverty and de facto statelessness due to inadequate and unattainable documentation. Finally, a lack of cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo has led to a situation where neither recognizes the documents issued by the other.
The prospect of return of the displaced to Kosovo is also overshadowed by human rights concerns. Property repossession, physical security, employment, freedom of movement, the dysfunction of the legislative system, and widespread discrimination remain outstanding issues. For example, of the 29 000 requests made to reoccupy homes in Kosovo, only 5 000 persons have had their property returned to them. It is also estimated that one third of evictions of temporary and illegal occupants are followed immediately by looting or re-occupation. In addition, the ongoing uncertainty about the final political status of Kosovo, along with these other structural problems, has left the majority of IDPs hesitant to take steps to return. Those that have returned are mostly living in mono-ethnic enclaves with limited freedom of movement.
The third category of forced migrants to Serbia are Serbian nationals who have been rejected as asylum seekers in Western Europe, or were offered ‘temporary protection’ and have since had that protection withdrawn due to the ameliorated security condition in Serbia. It is estimated that between 50 000 and 150 000 persons will be subject to forced return to Serbia, with approximately 40 000 already having been returned. Based on the preliminary findings of a program sponsored by the International Organization for Migration, approximately 63% of returnees are Roma, 19% are Muslim-Bosniaks, and 11% are Serbs.
Returnees from Western Europe face many of the same problems as the internally displaced and refugees in Serbia with respect to re-integration, with the added challenge of having been away from Serbia for, in some cases, over ten years. Children, in particular, often do not speak Serbian or Roma and have difficulty integrating into new schools. The separation of families is an additional concern. There is currently no official assistance for returnees aside from an office at the Belgrade Airport opened in December 2005 by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights. Many of these forced returnees have returned to Western Europe through illegal channels. Displaced persons from Kosovo are the most vulnerable of the forced returnees. Through the use of the ‘internal flight alternative’, displaced persons from Kosovo are being returned to Serbia where they have little or no family or social networks.
In the absence of asylum law and accompanying institutions, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees carries out all refugee status determinations of asylum seekers to Serbia. In 2005, 55 persons entered the refugee status determination process. Refugee status was granted to 11 persons and it is expected that they will be relocated to third countries, probably Canada or the USA. The persons entering the UNHCR procedure are those who were referred by the Serbian authorities. The unofficial estimate is that 27 000 persons were denied entry to Serbia in 2005 and it is likely that some asylum seekers were excluded, generating a real potential of refoulement.
The inconsistency to which asylum seekers are subjected remains a human rights challenge. Migrants caught illegally entering into Serbia who claim refugee status are directed immediately to UNHCR. In other districts, however, asylum seekers are referred to the local prosecuting judge and held in detention for two or three weeks without acess to a lawyer. Asylum seekers in Serbia have almost no rights except that to temporary residence. Children of asylum seekers have the right to primary education. The UNHCR organizes free legal assistance for asylum seekers that must appear before court for minor offences, as well as accommodation for those in the status determination process and a small stipend for migrants who have been granted refugee status.
Human trafficking and smuggling for the purposes of forced prostitution, begging and organ removal and sale is a growing human rights concern in Serbia. Serbia and Kosovo are areas of origin, transit and destination for victims of trafficking, with increasing risks of victimization for Serbian residents. The estimates of the number of victims vary across agencies. The NGO ASTRA recorded data in 2004 and 2005 of clients of their SOS telephone line and direct assistance program, and noted that 71% (or 96 victims) were Serbian citizens. In 2005, the International Organization for Migration in Belgrade assisted 65 victims of trafficking (including two children); of these, 65% were Serbian (or Montenegrin). In Kosovo, the IOM recorded 150 victims of trafficking (60% were Kosovar) in 2005 which included a fair percentage of minors (16%).
Serbian legislation related to human trafficking was updated in 2005 and the new legislation came into force on January 1, 2006. Generally, the legislation is consistent with international standards, with reservations remaining about a reduction in the minimum sentencing (from 5 years to 3 years) for persons found guilty of trafficking a minor. Additionally, local legislation does not incriminate persons soliciting or buying services offered by victims of trafficking.
There are two dedicated shelters for victims of trafficking in Serbia, both located in Belgrade. A variety of local NGOs provide services to Serbian and foreign victims. These services include accommodation, medical, legal, psychosocial and reintegration assistance. Many foreign victims, however, do not receive assistance and are deported.
While the events sparking forced migration to and within Serbia have generally subsided, addressing the human rights situation of forced migrants is an ongoing challenge. The need for legislative reforms to establish asylum law and streamline bureaucratic processes is paramount. Equally important, however, are effective implementation of existing law (for victims of trafficking and refugee rights) and international cooperation with Western European governments with respect to returnees. To be successful in improving the situation of forced migrants in Serbia, these reforms must be supported by an overall development strategy to reduce unemployment, poverty and expand social resources to support vulnerable groups including forced migrants and returnees.
Danilo Rakić and Paula Willis, Group 484/Serbia
November 2006
Mirkovic, R.: Bosniak minority in Serbia, 2008
Human Rights Documents on Refugees and Migrants
Human Rights Conventions Overview
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
Convention relating to the status of refugees, 1951
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, 1994