Risks growing for increasing numbers of refugees and migrants crossing the Western Balkans
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR is concerned about increasing risks facing refugees and migrants in the Western Balkans with more people using this route for their journeys. Men, women and children are often walking for days, some exposed to violence and abuse, or accidents along train tracks.
What has become known as 'the Western Balkans route' is seeing a dramatic increase in refugees and migrants. Some are registering for asylum in the Balkans, others are heading onwards.
Between 2012 and 2014 the number of people registering their intention to seek asylum in the Western Balkans went from 5,000 to 20,000, a four-fold increase. So far in 2015, the numbers have been rising further, with over 22,000 asylum claims lodged in Serbia alone in the first five months of the year, a six fold increase from the same period as last year. Close to 10,000, new asylum-seekers were registered by the authorities in May alone. Authorities and civil society in Southern Serbia are currently stretched to provide basic humanitarian aid, registration and accommodation to some 200 asylum-seekers that approach them each day for help, having crossed the border from fYR Macedonia. UNHCR estimates 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.
Most of those travelling this route are from refugee-producing countries, mainly 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 further.
The situation is particularly difficult in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 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. A series of fatal accidents over the last few months have been a reminder of the dangers, including to young children and women.
UNHCR has been advocating for improvements to the asylum systems in this region since the early 1990s. Existing capacities are inadequate for the scale of arrivals. In particular, we have been working closely with the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to amend its Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection, so that people potentially in need of international protection are registered and get access to legal processes. The proposed changes, which are still to be approved by the Parliament, urgently need adoption and implementation.
In Serbia the situation is more positive and asylum-seekers are not detained. UNHCR is working to increase its support to the efforts of authorities and civil society to provide basic assistance, services and access to procedures.
The situation remains critical and will require further support, including through joint efforts with the European Union, national Governments, and NGOs.
For more information on this topic, please contact:
- In Sarajevo, Neven Crvenkovic on mobile +387 61 611 082
- In Greece, William Spindler on mobile +41 79 217 3011
- In Geneva, Babar Baloch on mobile +41 79 557 9106
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Kosovo Crisis Update
8 Jun 1999 ... UNHCR is concerned by a number of reports from recently arriving refugees in the FYR of Macedonia ... In addition, testimony has been gathered from some refugees arriving in the FYR of Macedonia who ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
27 May 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia Around 300 Kosovar refugees arrived on Thursday in the FYR of Macedonia, mainly through the Jazince border crossing. Just 61 persons crossed at Blace, and all were men who had been ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
1 Jun 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia In a sudden change in policy, the Serbian border police are only allowing people with valid papers to leave for the FYR of Macedonia. As a result of this new move, on Monday, Serbian ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
12 May 1999 ... ... UNHCR staff are going back to the centre again today to try to persuade them to leave. FYR of Macedonia For the sixth straight day, the border area between Kosovo and the FYR of Macedonia at Blace was ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
29 Apr 1999 ... to leave the area early Wednesday and said it was now virtually deserted. Still other groups came from Prizren. FYR of Macedonia Around 5,200 refugees crossed into the FYR of Macedonia on Wednesday. ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
12 Apr 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia The border was closed again on Sunday 11 April, after 380 refugees arrived on ... They were robbed of their valuables and forced to buy tickets to go to Macedonia. Those who couldn't ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
13 Apr 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia Approximately 440 refugees arrived in Blace around noon on Monday, and were taken ... It wasn't until the end of the journey that they realized they were at the border with Macedonia. ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
4 Jun 1999 ... 400,000 people in Kosovo and nearly 100,000 others in the FYR of Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro. ... Reaction in the refugee camps in the FYR of Macedonia and Albania to Belgrade's reported acceptance ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
24 May 1999 ... ... Many of the men told UNHCR that they had been detained at other places in Kosovo at various times since late March. FYR of Macedonia The influx into the FYR of Macedonia continued over the weekend ......