In cooperation with the authorities and non-governmental organizations, UNHCR supports asylum-seekers in the asylum and reception centres through various legal, social and psycho-social assistance projects. UNHCR continues to advocate for alignment of reception conditions with national and international standards with special focus on the accommodation conditions and services for socially vulnerable groups (unaccompanied children, the elderly, victims of violence, etc.).
Since 2015, the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia as the statutory authority in charge of accommodation and running of the reception facilities increased the capacities in the centres from 500 to about 6,000 with the assistance of the Government, the non-governmental sector and the international community. Five asylum centres and 14 reception/transit centres are located across the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
Together with the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, UNHCR monitors reception conditions and seeks to align them with the applicable national, international and UN standards. The Joint Report on Reception Conditions is published monthly on the websites of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration and the UNHCR data portal.
For more information on the asylum and reception/transit centres, please see Centre Profiling
UNHCR continues to support the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs and the professionals to respond to the needs of asylum seeking and refugee children comprehensively, in line with their best interest. UN Refugee Agency support includes, inter alia, improvement of the five residential facilities and two asylum centres designated for accommodation of unaccompanied and separated children.