Since March, all transit and asylum centres have been in lock-down. Raids of squats and informal accommodation have increased since then, with migrants and asylum seekers apprehended and transferred to camps across the country. According to the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), the government temporarily opened several “camps,” which have been quickly filled with new […]
Serbia: Covid-19 and Detention
NGOs report that 6,852 migrants and asylum seekers are currently confined in the country’s 13 closed reception centres. Many had tried to cross into Croatia and Hungary – with some being forcibly pushed back by Hungarian and Croatian border police. In recent months, anti-migrant sentiment has grown in the country: a rally in Belgrade in […]
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DETENTION STATISTICS
DETAINEE DATA
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Detention-Related Legislation
Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2001
2017
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2011
2017
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2001
2017
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2001
2017
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2006
2006
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 13/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966
2001
2001
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999
2003
2003
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Human Rights Committee
33. The State party should ensure respect for the principle of non-refoulement by ensuring that:
(a) Asylum - seekers and any person s in need of international protection are not deported, expelled or extradited to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk of irreparable harm, such as that set out in articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant;
(b) Asylum - seekers receive information about their right to seek asylum in a language they understand and that an individual assessment is carried out for all asylum applications;
(c) Asylum - seekers have effective access to an appeal s process that is in line with international standards , including ensuring that the lodging of appeals ha s a suspensive effect on deportation, expulsion and extradition proceedings;
(d) All relevant officials , including border guards , receive adequate training on international standards , including the principle of non-refoulement , and that all allegations of pushbacks and ill-treatment are promptly, thoroughly and independently investigated and perpetrators, if found guilty , are punished appropriately;
(e) Conditions in all asylum reception centres are in conformity with international standards;
(f) The age determination procedure for children seeking asylum is in line with international standards.
2024
2024
2024
Committee against Torture
33. the Committee is concerned that, in practice, asylum seekers are prevented from accessing the asylum procedure and being identified at an early stage due to insufficient procedural safeguards for the assessment of claims and the granting of international protection, particularly in the transit zone of Nikola Tesla international airport in Belgrade and at the border entry points. 34. Recalling its previous recommendations,13 the Committee further recommends that the State party: (a) Secure the civil structure of the Asylum Office and place it outside the Border Police Directorate; (d) Ensure access to the territory and sufficient and effective protection from refoulement at Nikola Tesla international airport by making sure that persons detained in the transit zone of the airport receive information about their right to seek asylum, including effective access to the asylum procedure.... (f) Ensure that asylum seekers and migrants held in detention are provided with adequate medical and mental health care, including a medical examination upon arrival and routine assessments, record any indications supporting their claims of being subject to torture or ill-treatment and provide them with support services.
2021
2021
2021
Human Rights Committee
32. the Committee is concerned about: (a) ensuring that access to formal procedures for asylum applications is available at all border points, notably in international airports and transit zones, and that all persons engaging directly with refugees or migrants are appropriately trained; (b) ensuring that all asylum applications are assessed promptly on an individual basis with full respect for the principle of non-refoulement and that decisions of denial can be challenged through suspensive proceedings; (c) refraining from collective expulsion of aliens and ensuring an objective assessment of the level of protection when expelling aliens to “safe third countries”; (d) ensuring adequate conditions both inside and outside reception centres for all refugees and asylum seekers;
2017
2017
2017
Committee on the Rights of the Child
57. In the light of general comment No. 6 (2005) on treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Establish fair and efficient asylum procedures that are to be carried out in a child-sensitive manner, in both procedural and substantive aspects, and that can be used to systematically identify and refer unaccompanied or separated children for appropriate protection and support, and consider amending relevant national legislation, including the Law on asylum, in this regard;
(b) Ensure the full inclusion of asylum-seeking and refugee children who are unaccompanied or separated in the existing child protection system, provide accommodation in foster families or other accommodation facilities adequate for their age, gender and needs in line with best interest assessments conducted on an individual basis and establish specialized services for children with emotional, psychiatric and behavioural problems;
(c) Ensure that all asylum-seeking children are systematically provided with information on their rights and obligations, asylum procedures and available services to prevent them from resorting to sleeping without shelter for fear of deportation, and take the steps necessary to protect unaccompanied children from smuggling rings;
(d) Ensure full respect for the principle of non-refoulement and facilitate access to the asylum system for children in need of international protection in line with articles 6, 22 and 37 of the Convention;
(e) Guarantee the right to acquire Serbian citizenship for all children currently residing in the State party who would otherwise be stateless, regardless of their own, or their parents’, legal status."
2017
2017
Committee against Torture
§ 14. The State party should continue and intensify its efforts to facilitate access to a prompt and fair individualized asylum determination procedure in order to avoid the risk of refoulement. To this end, the State party should:
(a) Ensure that the Asylum Office is supported with personnel and financial and technical resources sufficient to be able to register asylum seekers in a timely manner, promptly issue their identity cards, conduct individualized interviews with the support of interpretation services and issue refugee status decisions within a reasonable time. The State should address these deficiencies in the new draft law on asylum, including the lack of time-bound obligations;
(b) Establish and ensure the implementation of a standardized and accessible asylum and referral procedure in international airports and transit zones;
(c) Guarantee access to independent, qualified and free-of-charge legal assistance and interpretation services for asylum seekers throughout the asylum procedure, as well as in misdemeanour proceedings and when they are detained at the airport, in order to enable them to challenge the lawfulness of their deportation and detention orders.
2015
2015
> UN Special Procedures
Relevant Recommendations or Observations by UN Special Procedures
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
108 (a) In regard to migrants and asylum seekers, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government of Serbia ensure adequate material conditions in any holding area, including in areas such as airport transit zones, where persons may be held pending their deportation or return to their airport of departure;
108 (b) In regard to migrants and asylum seekers, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government of Serbia ensure that decisions taken by the border authorities, including refusals of entry and, more importantly, deportation decisions, are carefully documented and subjected to independent judicial review, and that any person affected by such measure be informed of their rights, including the right to legal remedy and legal counsel, in a language they understand;
108 (c) In regard to migrants and asylum seekers, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government of Serbia strengthen the independence of the complaints and oversight mechanism in the reception camps by providing for confidential and anonymous access to sealed complaint boxes that can only be accessed by the office of the Commissioner for Refugees and Migrants and not the staff in charge of the camp;
108 (d) In regard to migrants and asylum seekers, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government of Serbia ensure that all service providers who come into direct contact with migrants receive training, commensurate with their function, on relevant international human rights standards, including the principle of non-refoulement and the Istanbul Protocol for the investigation and documentation of the signs of torture and other ill-treatment;
108 (e) In regard to migrants and asylum seekers, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government of Serbia strengthen their ongoing efforts to provide adequate mdical and psychological support and rehabilitation to all victims of torture and other ill-treatment present on Serbian territory and, in any event, abstain from any push-back or other forms of refoulement of migrants into territories where they may be exposed to the risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
2019
2019
2024
> UN Universal Periodic Review
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
CPCSE, Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
2010
2010
2017
ECHRP1, Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)
2004
2004
2017
ECHRP7, Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)
2004
2004
2017
ECPT, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment
2004
2004
2017
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Since March, all transit and asylum centres have been in lock-down. Raids of squats and informal accommodation have increased since then, with migrants and asylum seekers apprehended and transferred to camps across the country. According to the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), the government temporarily opened several “camps,” which have been quickly filled with new arrivals. These sites are in Morović, Subotica, and Miratovac. Reportedly, the facility in Morović has been used to confine overflow from other sites and “troublemakers” from facilities elsewhere. Some of these, including the tented facility in Morović - had originally been intended to be used for quarantining Serbian nationals returning home.
Despite Serbia lifting its state of emergency on 6 May, on 16 May the government announced that it would be deploying troops to “secure” and “protect” three migrant reception centres located on the country’s border with Croatia. Reportedly these three facilities - Principovac, Sid-Stanica, and Adasevci - currently confine 1,500 migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, most of whom are from Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. President Vučić reportedly told a local media outlet that the deployment was also to protect locals in the area. Since the country had begun to lift lockdown, he claimed, “the migrants started venturing outside the camps, committing petty crimes and illegal entries into houses.”
Pushbacks from Serbia into North Macedonia have continued during the crisis. In one case documented by the BVMN in early April, a group of 15 adult men and one minor in Tutin camp were informed that they were being transferred to a site in Prescevo. Crammed into a police van, they were driven for nine hours before being forced outside and, with guns pointed at them, ordered to cross into North Macedonia. The group attempted to re-enter Serbia four times, but on each occasion they were pushed back across the border.
As the GDP reported on 23 April, anti-migrant sentiment has been growing in Serbia. Since March, one of the fastest growing Facebook groups in the country is called “Stop Migrant Settlement.” Some of the group’s members have voiced their belief that authorities introduced curfews not to stem the virus’s spread, but so that they could quietly settle migrants across the country. In early May, a car was driven into a migrant centre in Obrenovac, with the driver live-streaming the attack on his Facebook page.
NGOs report that 6,852 migrants and asylum seekers are currently confined in the country’s 13 closed reception centres. Many had tried to cross into Croatia and Hungary - with some being forcibly pushed back by Hungarian and Croatian border police. In recent months, anti-migrant sentiment has grown in the country: a rally in Belgrade in early March called for the return of all migrants passing through Serbia and warned that participants would set up street patrols to intercept foreigners.
After the eruption of the Covid-19 crisis, Serbian authorities quickly moved to lock-down reception centres, imposing a state of quarantine on 17 March. Article 3, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Decree on Emergency Measures provides that migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers may be deprived of their liberty on the grounds of preventing “uncontrolled movement” and the potential spread of the virus. With armed soldiers reportedly stationed outside the reception centres, migrants and asylum seekers have not been allowed out of the facilities unless they receive special permission, and rights organisations have been prevented from entering - thus denying detainees psychological, legal, or other forms of assistance.
However, with no confirmed cases amongst the non-citizen population, and with no such restrictions in place for Serbian citizens living in private accommodation, rights observers argue that this amounts to “discrimination on the basis of legal status, origin and place of residence.” The human rights NGO A11 says that the government’s quarantine of reception facilities is additionally problematic given that the collective deprivation of liberty of non-citizens has produced inhuman and degrading conditions in certain facilities due to severe overcrowding - reportedly, capacity at Sombor Transit Centre has reached 450 percent.
GOVERNMENT BODIES
Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.rs/en/
Ministry of Interior http://www.mup.gov.rs/wps/portal/en
Ministry of Justice https://www.mpravde.gov.rs/?change_lang=en
Protector of Citizens http://www.ombudsman.org.rs/
Serbian Commissariat for Refugees and Migration https://kirs.gov.rs/eng
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
IOM Serbia https://serbia.iom.int/
OHCHR Serbia https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/enacaregion/pages/rsindex.aspx
UNHCR Serbia http://www.unhcr.rs/en/
NGOs
Asylum Protection Centre http://www.apc-cza.org/en/
A11 Initiative for Economic and Social Rights https://www.a11initiative.org/en/home/
Belgrade Center for Human Rights http://azil.rs/en/
Crisis Response and Policy Centre http://www.crpc.rs/
Group 484 https://www.grupa484.org.rs/en/
Humanitarian Center for Integration and Tolerance http://hcit.rs/
Initiative for Development & Cooperation https://idcserbia.org/en/
International Aid Network https://ian.org.rs/home/
Praxis http://www.praxis.org.rs/index.php/en/
Psychosocial Innovation Network http://psychosocialinnovation.net/en/
Refugee Aid Serbia https://www.facebook.com/refugeeaidserbia/
MEDIA
Balkan Insight https://balkaninsight.com/
Kurir https://www.kurir.rs/news
Telegraf https://www.telegraf.rs/english
