Despite the so-called Balkan route closure in 2016, refugees and migrants continue to move through Bosnia and Herzegovina. Out of more than 85,000 refugees, asylum–seekers, and migrants who have passed through the country since early 2018, only a tiny percentage...
#Ibelong Story: After decades in the shadows, Nina begins her new life
After years of legal battle, Nina received a positive decision on the acquisition of BiH citizenship based on facilitated naturalization in April 2020.
RHP: 32 families received keys to new apartments in Prijedor
After 29 years of displacement, an 86-year-old Koviljka Ljepoja can finally enjoy a view from her own balcony. She and her 58-year-old son are among the group of 32 families who received the keys of new apartments in the building constructed under the Regional Housing...
Lack of legal identity – inexistence
No matter how life’s journey has shaped the perception of the world surrounding them, the dignity and kindness have remained untouched. Meet the Kadrija family from village Tërstenik/Trstenik, Peja/Peć municipality, where they live in poor living conditions, though...
After 35 years, the nightmare of a legal limbo ends for a mother of 9 in Montenegro
Statelessness is like a family virus that you pass down to your children – and wearing a mask and washing hands does not help!
BiH artist Rikardo Druškić painted a mural in Refugee Reception Center Salakovac
A mural, named “Together we can achieve everything”, is the latest artwork of one of the most sought after BiH visual artists painted in the Salakovac Refugee Reception Center on World Refugee Day. This mural, which shares its name with this year’s...
Increased need for identification and individualised assistance to LGBTIQ+ displaced people
The route that leads across the Western Balkans can be perilous, especially for people whose personal vulnerability coupled with a lack of protection in their own countries may be the core reason for them to seek safety in Europe. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,...
Programme offers people displaced by Balkans wars the joy of coming home
The 290-million euro international programme, supported by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has assisted over 8,600 people and is set to close next year. The tears in the eyes of Branko Glisic when he recalls coming back to live in the village he left because of Bosnia’s...
Vocational art therapies as psychosocial support to asylum-seeking women in BiH
Vocational art therapies and recreational group activities are part of the psychosocial programmes for vulnerable groups of asylum-seekers women provided by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, through a partnership with the Bosnia and Herzegovina Women’s Initiative (BHWI)...
UNHCR is a bridge between refugees and the United Nations
Each year, many people fleeing war, persecution and violence transit through Montenegro on their way to Western Europe. Since 2012, however, more and more have sought asylum here. Of the nearly 8,000 people who in 2019 initially stated an intention to apply for asylum...
For me, one part of paradise is in Montenegro
For refugees, integration into the local community can be a solution to their plight and a chance to build a new life. Montenegro placed integration high on the policy agenda, with the aim of rendering refugees economically productive and self-reliant, all the while...
I’ve found my life in Montenegro
For 28 years, UNHCR in Montenegro has helped refugees by providing legal and material aid, as well as psychosocial support, while at the same time working with Montenegro to develop its asylum capacities. “Montenegro’s open-door policy in the aftermath of the...