Refugees and migrants on Western Balkans route at increasing risk – UNHCR
Some are registering for asylum in the Balkans while others headed onwards, but both groups face mounting danger.
GENEVA, June 12 (UNHCR) - Increasing numbers of refugees and migrants using the less well known "Western Balkans route" to reach Europe are facing growing risks, including abuse, violence, and accidents while walking along remote train tracks.
The UN refugee agency added on Friday there had been a dramatic increase in men, women and children walking for days along this route, which is much less in the spotlight than Mediterranean sea crossings
Some are registering for asylum in the Balkans while others headed onwards, but both groups face mounting danger, according to UNHCR.
"The situation is particularly difficult in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia [FYROM] where refugees and migrants follow rail tracks and mountain routes, walking for days exposed to train accidents, natural elements and to abuse and threats from smugglers and criminal networks," UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a press briefing in Geneva.
Between 2012 and 2014 the number of people registering their intention to seek asylum in the Western Balkans increased from 5,000 to 20,000.
This year the numbers have risen still further, with over 22,000 asylum claims lodged in Serbia alone in the first five months of the year, six times higher than in the same period of 2014. In May alone, 10,000 new asylum-seekers were registered by the authorities.
UNHCR says authorities and civil society in southern Serbia are battling to provide basic humanitarian aid, registration and accommodation for around 200 asylum-seekers that approach them every day for help, having crossed the border from FYROM.
"We estimate that at least an equal number of people potentially in need of international protection forego registration, have been moving through the region irregularly, with the help of smugglers. The vast majority of them seek to reach western Europe crossing into Hungary," Edwards added.
The majority of people using this route are mainly from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea and Somalia. They mostly come via Greece, and with the recent surge in sea arrivals there, the number of people undertaking this journey is expected to grow.
UNHCR has been advocating for improvements to the asylum systems in this region since the early 1990s as existing capacities are inadequate for the scale of arrivals. It says the current situation is critical and will require further support, including through joint efforts with the European Union, national governments, and NGOs.
Related news and stories
Ukraine's refugees find long-term support in Europe's host countries
Earthquake survivors in Türkiye count the devastating toll
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
Visiting earthquake-ravaged areas of Türkiye and Syria, UNHCR's Grandi urges more support for survivors trying to rebuild
UNHCR, IOM welcome Spain's expedited resettlement of Syrian refugees from Türkiye in earthquake aftermath
Your search for « macedonia » matched 1648 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 16 of 112 pages.
-
Kosovo Crisis Update
30 Apr 1999 ... UNHCR has dispatched blankets, mattresses, sanitary supplies and jerry cans to the site. FYR of Macedonia Refugees flooded into the FYR of Macedonia on Thursday, with new arrivals outpacing departures ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
6 May 1999 ... programme to increase the pace of movement of refugees from the FYR of Macedonia to third countries. ... FYR of Macedonia UNHCR staff saw about 1,000 refugees forcibly returned to the Yugoslav side of the ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
15 May 1999 ... ... Aid workers are developing a hygiene promotion programme to counter the problem. FYR of Macedonia It ... border is closed or that only people with travel papers are allowed to enter the FYR of Macedonia. ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
4 Aug 1999 ... A further 30,800 have returned to Kosovo from third countries, through the FYR of Macedonia or ... FYR of Macedonia UNHCR is extremely concerned at problems arising from the imposition of a 640 DM ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
2 Aug 1999 ... week of three small convoys from Albania and Montenegro and one or two from the FYR of Macedonia. ... FYR of Macedonia Refugees in the the FYR of Macedonia returning to Kosovo are down to a trickle - 50 ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
18 Aug 1999 ... Kosovars flew into Skopje in the FYR of Macedonia and went by bus to Kosovo, while 900 took a ... From the FYR of Macedonia, around 190 people returned home to Kosovo last week; from Montenegro, 390 ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
4 Apr 1999 ... There was only a small trickle of refugees during the same period to the FYR of Macedonia where ... The situation on the Macedonia border remained totally chaotic. An estimated 65,000 people remained ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
17 Apr 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia On Friday, some 7,800 refugees arrived in Macedonia. Around half of them arrived by train in Blace in the early afternoon of 16 April. Many others arrived on buses. The train ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
21 Jun 1999 ... UNHCR had estimated that up to half of the refugees in Albania and the FYR of Macedonia would go ... FYR of Macedonia Returns from the FYR of Macedonia have been steadily increasing. On Saturday, ......