Another noteworthy figure is the negative record held by the country: the highest Gini coefficient in Europe (0.56).

Finally, in 2015 and 2016, the country adopted a new Law on Foreigners and a new Law on Asylum. Banned from staying in the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska, refugees and migrants are only allowed in the federation shared by Croats and Muslim Bosniaks, stirring public anger even more. Elisa Oddone Camps in the Sarajevo area receive food on a regular basis. With regard to human trafficking, on the other hand, legislation has been introduced and action taken to develop a database on trafficking in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to combine the data collected with existing data. Elisa Oddone Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. "I have been stopped and pushed back five times in Croatia and once in Slovenia," he says. Many migrants have reported increasingly violent pushback from Croatian security forces along the border during their crossing attempts. However, strict border controls by the Croatian authorities and the slow readmission process by the E.U. hide caption. On its path towards EU accession, Bosnia and Herzegovina will therefore have to attain the required level of compliance with the accession criteria and, more specifically, with the Copenhagen political criteria, which require the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy and the rule of law, so that the Commission can examine its implementation as part of the 2020 Enlargement Package. Mohammadi plans to leave in a few hours, traveling on foot through the mountains at night to reach the Croatian border by morning. After initial uncertainties on whether new pushbacks were still happening following this sentence, random expulsions seem to have recently come to a halt. These people had paid an average of four thousand euros per person for transportation to the desired destination.

Camp dwellers are between 21 and 40 years old and all met here in Bosnia. The notes of a dambura, a regional lute, waft through the vast, empty space. It is expected that, on average, there will be about 14,502 internally displaced persons caused by natural disasters such as sudden climatic events; more specifically, 771 due to earthquakes and 13,731 due to fires and floods. But especially in winter, it is crucial that we share the number of migrants across the whole country. A further 320 were displaced by subsequent disasters. provided 40,5 million directly to Bosnia and Herzegovina and project implementing partners. While the 1992-1995 conflict in the former Yugoslavia led about half of the Bosnian population to leave their country, today the return of those who had fled and the increase in illegal immigration make immigration one of the greatest challenges that Bosnia, at the migratory junction between Eastern and Western Europe, has faced in the post-war period. One of the protesters, a former refugee during the Bosnia war himself, says he knows what it's like to be displaced. Even those who make it as far as Italy have experienced chain pushbacks, eventually landing back in Bosnia after being moved through several Balkan countries. According to the UNHCR, short deadlines and the limited capacity of the state to process applications hampered asylum procedures. To date, the country is making efforts to undertake a number of substantial improvements to its legislative and institutional framework required by the European Commission as a condition for its accession to the European Union. Mangal Saifullah, a 57-year-old from Afghanistan, prepares his lunch at the factory, boiling water on an improvised fire. It is here that Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina (a member of Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Europa) carries out most of its work with hundreds of volunteers coordinated by experienced staff. Sunni Muslims make up 45% of the population, Serbian Orthodox Christians 36%, Roman Catholics 15%, while 1% are Protestants, including Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists and Evangelicals, and finally 3% from other religious communities, including Jews (about 1,000 and mostly located in Sarajevo). He has been in Bosnia for a year and already tried to cross into the EU, without specifying how many times. Some people try to apply for asylum in Bosnia, while others try to reach the European Union by crossing the 900 km border between Bosnia and Croatia. With the presence of iron and coal underground, Bosnia has small-scale steel, metallurgical, chemical and electronic industries, and a not very productive agriculture sector. Caritas of Banja Luka, Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Marcana are particularly active. They were just pushed back into Bosnia from Croatian border police. ", Asylum-Seekers Make Harrowing Journeys In Pandemic, Only To Be Turned Back. ", Over 400 migrants, including minors as old as 13, live in the sprawling former Krajina Metal factory at the very entrance of the town of Bihac near the Croatian border. Outside the camps, undocumented migrants don't have access to health care, making it impossible to understand how widespread COVID-19 is. But this money is mostly funneled through the IOM and doesn't go directly to Bosnian institutions, leading locals to question how the funds are really used. Indeed, among the arrivals in 2018, more than 19,900 asylum seekers expressed a willingness to apply, but only 1,314 actually managed to do so. I will reach a better country, God willing. He has been in Bosnia for a year. Along with women and girls from European countries, Bosnian women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking through the use of private residences, motels and petrol stations. countries.

Elisa Oddone Winter temperatures in the area drop below freezing at night. This is not a UNHCR publication. Many difficulties plague the procedures to request political asylum. I have nine children. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a southeastern European country situated in the western Balkan Peninsula of Europe. Police-led evictions happen routinely, but migrants and refugees usually return to their former squats and makeshift shelters within a day. In one moment you die, just like this," he says, snapping his fingers. I fought all my life in the mountains. A young man from Pakistan attempting to cross through Croatia earlier this month was killed near the Bosnian border after stepping on a landmine left over from the 1990s Balkan wars. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Catholic Church is committed to safeguarding the inter-religious and inter-ethnic character of the country through considerable charitable assistance. Personal funds of people are running out and they do not have income sources. One of the reasons for this is certainly that the state provides only a single official asylum seekers centre, located near Sarajevo. Immigration, refugees and political asylum seekers fall within the competences listed in the State Constitution. We cannot tolerate that," she told reporters in the camp. An average of 32 new arrivals registered per month between January-November, but in December, the number of newcomers reached 198. But locals have been strongly protesting against its reopening. In 2018, victims of trafficking in Bosnia and Herzegovina were both domestic and from abroad, in particular from Afghanistan, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Sri Lanka.

On Sept. 30, local authorities emptied the Bira camp in downtown Bihac in response to local complaints about migrants. According to the European Commission, Bosnia and Herzegovina has granted international protection to only 17 people since 2008. Pakistani Hakim, 21, carries several pieces of wood to the room he occupies with other migrants and refugees in the former Krajina Metal factory in northwest Bosnia-Herzegovina. Mohammadi picks up his phone and plays a traditional song from Afghanistan's Hazarajat region. After the announcement of the interruption of support to migrants by the organization Aid Brigade Sarajevo, one of the most active in the country despite not yet having official recognition as an NGO, the NGOs operating there include: the Institute for Peace Development Innovation (Ipsia) promoted by the Christian Associations of Italian Workers, No Name Kitchen (NNK) composed of volunteers from various countries, Mdicins Sans Frontires and Save the Children. NGOs and volunteers are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain authorisation to work in the area with the highest number of refugees and displaced persons, Vulcjak. The Ministry also cooperates with the Ministry of Security with regard to the movement and presence of foreigners on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The size of the population was affected by the war, and there were 3.32 million inhabitants as of 2018. They said police officers beat them up when they discovered them. They said police officers beat them up when they discovered them. According to the UNHCRs statement in August 2018, Croatia had repelled 2,500 migrants to Bosnia during that year. In 2019, 737 homes for internally displaced persons were rebuilt through the Regional Housing Programme. hide caption. This influx increased further in 2016, following the closure of the Greek and the Republic of (North) Macedonia borders, the tighter borders controls between Serbia, Hungary and Croatia, and the closure of the Balkan route with the entry into force of the Agreement between the European Union and Turkey. The multistory building was initially planned to become a retirement home, but was eventually left unfinished due the start of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. In 2016, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina examined and adopted a new Migration and Asylum Strategy and Action Plan 2016-2020. This flow increased further in 2016, following the closure of the Greek and the Republic of (North) Macedonia borders as well as the Balkan route with the entry into force of the Agreement between the European Union and Turkey. The latter also works in the protection of international and internal borders, as well as in the prevention and detention of human trafficking criminals and related issues. United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. The countrys ethnic makeup is 48% Bosnians (mostly Muslims), 37.1% Serbs (mostly Orthodox Christians), 14.3% Croats (mostly Catholic Christians) and 0.6% other ethnic groups. He prepares for an attempt to cross into European Union members Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. Bosnian victims are also subject to the exploitation of labour in construction and other sectors outside the country, around Europe: Croatia, France, Serbia, Slovenia and Austria, for example. There are problems with ISIS, al-Qaida and the Taliban back home and I need to help my family. Few victims of trafficking have been identified and limited attempts have been made to proactively protect and assist victims. Elisa Oddone Those include makeshift shelters like the Krajina Metal factory and the Dom Penzionera building, a drafty, multistory structure on the bank of the Una River that now houses over 100 migrants, mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan. "We haven't received any euro from any level of authority in Bosnia, from the EU commission or the U.N. and other international organizations," he says. Finally, in order to transit or stay for a limited period of time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a visa is required before arrival at the Bosnian border crossing point; only in exceptional cases as prescribed in the Law on Foreigners, can such a visa be issued by the border police. Despite several appeals from NGOs and associations to the authorities, they seem to underestimate the problem and continue to do nothing about this. Twelve migrants hailing from Pakistan live in this makeshift tent camp high in the woods outside the Bosnian town of Bihac, near the Croatian border. We understand them, but the situation has now changed. International agencies have documented cases of violence since last year. He did not want to be identified amid complaints that local citizens have been indiscriminately attacked and smeared by the press due to their protests. BIHAC, Bosnia-Herzegovina As the sun sets over the ruins of the former Krajina Metal factory, in the northwest part of this Balkan country, Morteza Mohammadi's face emerges from a pile of blankets and sleeping bags. hide caption, Afghan Morteza Mohammadi, 21, sews his backpack in the ruins of the former Krajina Metal factory. Mohammed Arsal, a 29-year-old from Pakistan's Punjab province, says he started his journey in 2018, crossing into Iran, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and eventually Bosnia. There is a good atmosphere of mutual trust, willingness to help each other and friendly relations in the team. Due to economic and social reasons, new arrivals mostly do not have the willingness to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Improvised fires are the only method people living in squats can use to protect themselves from the cold Balkan winter. The state has borders with Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. "As of the end of December 2020, the EU adopted an additional 25 million euros [$30 million] to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in managing migration," Lungarotti says. The factors identified include its geostrategic position, observed migration trends, constitutional and legal framework, obligations under international treaties, and policies adopted by the relevant authorities. According to IOM estimates, from 1 January-8 September 2019, 19,266 migrants were registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly of Syrian, Libyan, Pakistani, Afghan, Palestinian, Iraqi, Iranian, Algerian and Kosovar origin. Articles 210a and 210b of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina criminalises such offences with sentences of at least 5 years in prison, while Article 198a of the Criminal Code of the Republika Srpska provides for a minimum sentence of 3 years and, finally, Article 207a of the Brcko District has a minimum sentence of 5 years. Bosnia and Herzegovina is mainly mountainous and hilly, with the western part crossed by the Dinaric Alps. It's the shortest possible route to access the EU through neighboring Croatia. However, to start a new program, consent is necessary from all E.U. hide caption.

Funds provided by the EU or other donors are coordinated with the Ministry of Security, the EU and other donors.". According to data provided by the Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange, in 2016, for example, of the 4,034 people who gave up residence in Bosnia, 1,196 moved to Germany, 895 to Austria, 888 to Croatia, 487 to Serbia, 421 to Slovenia, 63 to Montenegro, 38 to Norway, 36 to the Netherlands and 10 to other countries. In 2018, for example, about 40,000 migrants arrived in Bosnia, 7,300 of whom settled in the centre of Bihac in the hope of entering Croatia, the access point to Western Europe. The Council of Europes Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has called on the authorities to increase their efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in children and to improve the identification of victims and the assistance provided, as well as to monitor the reintegration of children and carry out risk assessments before returning them to their parents. Most of the migrants are concentrated in the cities of Bihac and Velika Kladusa, in the western part of the country. Now it's the shortest possible way to access the EU. Of these, 17 were Bosnian nationals, 2 from Sri Lanka, one from Afghanistan and one from the Republika Srpska. "However, in all of the cases so far in which information regarding police officers inflicting physical violence on migrants or illegally seizing their belongings was received and investigated, no evidence was found which would suggest the use of coercion on migrants," the statement read. But Bihac Mayor Suhret Fazlic tells NPR that his city budget has remained unchanged since the beginning of the migration crisis. Elisa Oddone There is, however, a lack of coordination and communication between the cantonal prosecutors, and the actual number of suspects and convicted persons is still very limited. Moreover, since Bosnia and Herzegovina became a member of the Council of Europe in 2003, it is also bound by the recommendations of the Council of Ministers on issues related to human trafficking. As regards legislative efforts in this regard, the authorities of each entity deal with trafficking in persons within their territory, while the state authorities deal with international cases. As the weather warms, thousands of refugees and migrants arriving from neighboring Serbia will try their luck and attempt "the game." The tendency continued into 2018 and the number of asylum seekers and migrants increased from 237 in January to 666 in March. Especially during the winter, all camps lack the most basic conditions for hosting people. In the period from January-June 2019, for example, according to data provided by the Ministry of Security, 21 potential victims of trafficking were identified, including 17 women and 4 men, 16 adults and 5 minors. They occupy abandoned or empty houses that belonged to Serbian refugees who moved on to Serbia, Germany or other European countries. His plan is to cross into the European Union member states Croatia, Slovenia and eventually Italy a dangerous journey migrants and refugees here refer to as "the game. hide caption. "The problem is that migrants want to come here because this is the nearest way to reach the EU. "The remaining official temporary reception centers are overcrowded, and a couple thousand migrants currently live in the open or in abandoned buildings," Lungarotti says. Thousands of migrants and refugees from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria who are stranded or smuggled into Bosnia are vulnerable to human trafficking, especially women and unaccompanied minors. Pakistani migrant Abdel Khadeer, 31, starts a fire in an improvised shelter high in the woods outside the Bosnian town of Bihac, near the Croatian border.

Camp dwellers are between 21 and 40 years old and all met here in Bosnia. "Part of this and previous funding also goes to the local and state authorities to be able to better face the response. Nearly 70,000 refugees and migrants from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa have passed through Bosnia-Herzegovina in the past three years, according to the International Organization for Migration. The refugee camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina provide minimum comfort from the harsh weather conditions and 13 people live in one tent on average. Then another settlement in the area called Lipa camp burned down in December, leaving refugees and migrants with nowhere to go. The population of Bosnia's two autonomous regions is about 3.5 million. In 2019, some 4,000 people were sleeping in abandoned buildings in the border towns of Bihac and Velika Kladusa or in tents in Vucjak camp, the only refugee camp not run by IOM. In addition to coordinating the activities of a number of institutions working in this field within the Committee for Refugees and Displaced Persons, the Ministry also cooperates with non-governmental bodies operating in areas that fall within its jurisdiction. At the same time, 5,616 asylum seekers and migrants are present at Temporary Reception Centers and 8,116 asylum seekers and migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the few laws in this regard is the Law on Immigration and Asylum which entered into force, with the collaboration of UNHCR, OHR and the Council of Europe, in 1999, replacing all other relevant legislation. Bosnia and Herzegovina also signed and ratified the Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Additional Protocol in 1993, as well as the Convention concerning the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Many gaps remain regarding the latter in particular: for example, refugee status must be formally recognised by the Ministry of Security, while those with subsidiary protection do not have the possibility of family reunification or access to travel documents. In 2019, with a very limited maximum capacity, about 4,000 people were sleeping in abandoned buildings in the border towns of Bihac and Velika Kladusa or in tents in Vucjak camp, the only refugee camp not run by IOM. Other people got their limbs broken. He's now one of some 800 people living in the new Lipa camp, which has been under reconstruction since a fire gutted it last December. A civil court in Rome in January deemed the pushbacks of asylum-seekers and migrants on the Italian-Slovenian border illegal. The number of asylum seekers and migrants arriving in Bosnia and Herzegovina drastically increased at the end of 2017. But locals have been strongly protesting against its reopening. The project has assisted many children who have no access to any medical assistance and in equally inadequate housing conditions, with very little food, at the mercy of the weather conditions.

Asylum seekers and migrants purchase second and third meals with their own money. Since 2015, it has experienced a pronounced increase in the migratory flow. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Laura Lungarotti, the organization's chief of mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, says the situation is particularly complex in the area around Bihac. In a similar context on the border between Bosnia and Croatia, thousands of refugees have found themselves in temporary camps living in inhumane conditions. Refoulements were carried out despite the obligations of these states under international law, the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights and the 1951 Geneva Convention. These conditions, which characterised the governments lack of capacity to manage the phenomenon of forced migration, finally led to the closure of the camp in December 2019, with the relocation of 750 migrants near Sarajevo. Among the reasons for this is the fact that a quarter of a century after the end of the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still plagued by economic uncertainty, corruption and political tensions that have led to unkept promises, which its citizens have increasingly grown tired of. This camp was built on a landfill as a temporary solution located close to areas filled with anti-personnel mines. This Board meets once a week in Sarajevo and has permanent members: OHR, EUFOR, NATO HQ Sarajevo, OSCE, UNHCR, CoE and the European Union. Slowly stretching and rubbing his hands together to keep warm, Mohammadi, 21, sits up and grabs his bag. Bosnia and Herzegovina, formerly part of Yugoslavia (until 1992), is now a federal parliamentary republic in the Western Balkans, with a capital in Sarajevo and a population in 2018 of 3.32 million (with a growth rate of -0.17%). In addition, during the same period, while 17,165 people expressed a willingness to seek political asylum, only 426 actually applied. Their main priority is to reach E.U. If reopened, it could shelter up to 1,500 people and would be suitable for winter conditions. It borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast and Croatia to the north and west. But the bloc is failing to effectively address the humanitarian crisis unfolding on its doorstep. By international law, asylum seekers have the right to primary and secondary education. After visiting the notorious Lipa camp in the early months of February 2021, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson recommendeda new European program for migrants and asylum seekers. Since early 2018, the EU has provided Bosnia-Herzegovina with 89 million euros (nearly $105 million) to meet the immediate needs of refugees and migrants, and to help the country strengthen its migration management capacities. In 2019, Bosnia had a GDP of USD 14,220 per capita, which shows that impoverishment caused by the war still lingers significantly; it is a major factor in emigration.