Although Serbia maintains official immigration detention facilities, migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers continue to be deprived of their liberty in a range of informal sites where their fundamental rights are violated. Testimonies from former detainees and reports by the country’s National Preventive Mechanism also highlight poor detention conditions in both formal and informal settings–with limited access to health care remaining a particular concern–and vulnerable groups including children remain at risk of detention. […]
Serbia: Covid-19 and Detention
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?
Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
Children & Other Vulnerable Groups
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
Types of Non-Custodial Measures (ATDs) Provided in Law
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, 19662001
2001
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 19992003
2003
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Treaty Body
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Recommendation Year
2026
Recommendation Excerpt
33. Recalling its general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against
non-citizens, the Committee recommends that the State Party:
(a) Refrain from pushback and collective expulsion;
(b) Adopt measures to ensure the availability of asylum procedure to
migrants and asylum-seekers in need of international protection at border crossings
and airports, in accordance with internationally recognized standards, including the
principle of non-refoulement, including by review its legislative framework and align it
with the international human rights law and the objectives and purposes of the
Convention;
(c) Adopt measures to improve the living conditions in reception centers and
migration detention facilities in accordance with international standards, and ensure
that all persons detained in those facilities have access to medical care, interpreters,
adequate food and social support;
(d) Ensure that immigration detention is applied only as a measure of last
resort and for the shortest possible period, after an assessment of its legality, necessity
and proportionality on a case-by-case basis and ensure due process for all those held in
migration detention facilities;
(e) Ensure that all removal procedures are conducted in full compliance with
international law obligations, including respect for the principle of non-refoulement,
due process guarantees and comprehensive individualized assessments of protection
needs under international human rights law and international refugee law, in all cases
of deportation, removal and expulsion;
(f) Ensure accountability and end impunity, including by conducting
effective, thorough and impartial investigations into all reports of human rights abuses
and violations perpetrated against asylum-seekers and migrants perpetuated by law
enforcement officials, including racial discrimination, use of racial profiling and
racially motivated excessive use of force during law enforcement operations, arbitrary
detention and torture and ill-treatment.
non-citizens, the Committee recommends that the State Party:
(a) Refrain from pushback and collective expulsion;
(b) Adopt measures to ensure the availability of asylum procedure to
migrants and asylum-seekers in need of international protection at border crossings
and airports, in accordance with internationally recognized standards, including the
principle of non-refoulement, including by review its legislative framework and align it
with the international human rights law and the objectives and purposes of the
Convention;
(c) Adopt measures to improve the living conditions in reception centers and
migration detention facilities in accordance with international standards, and ensure
that all persons detained in those facilities have access to medical care, interpreters,
adequate food and social support;
(d) Ensure that immigration detention is applied only as a measure of last
resort and for the shortest possible period, after an assessment of its legality, necessity
and proportionality on a case-by-case basis and ensure due process for all those held in
migration detention facilities;
(e) Ensure that all removal procedures are conducted in full compliance with
international law obligations, including respect for the principle of non-refoulement,
due process guarantees and comprehensive individualized assessments of protection
needs under international human rights law and international refugee law, in all cases
of deportation, removal and expulsion;
(f) Ensure accountability and end impunity, including by conducting
effective, thorough and impartial investigations into all reports of human rights abuses
and violations perpetrated against asylum-seekers and migrants perpetuated by law
enforcement officials, including racial discrimination, use of racial profiling and
racially motivated excessive use of force during law enforcement operations, arbitrary
detention and torture and ill-treatment.
Sources
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), "Concluding observations on the combined sixth to ninth
periodic reports of Serbia," 27 April 2026, United Nations General Assembly,
Treaty Body
Committee on Enforced Disappearance
Recommendation Year
2025
Recommendation Excerpt
44. The Committee recommends that the State Party take further measures in the
light of the Committee’s general comment No. 1 (2023) to avoid practices that expose
migrants and asylum-seekers to risks of enforced disappearance, including by
conducting a comprehensive review of existing migration policies and practices to
identify such risks and developing a differential approach to address the specific
requirements of specific groups among migrants and asylum-seekers, such as unaccompanied minors, women and victims of trafficking. It also recommends that
the State Party strengthen cooperation and coordination with international
organizations, specialized civil society organizations and other stakeholders to ensure
a comprehensive and effective response to the needs of migrants and asylum-seekers
and ensure protection against enforced disappearance.....
light of the Committee’s general comment No. 1 (2023) to avoid practices that expose
migrants and asylum-seekers to risks of enforced disappearance, including by
conducting a comprehensive review of existing migration policies and practices to
identify such risks and developing a differential approach to address the specific
requirements of specific groups among migrants and asylum-seekers, such as unaccompanied minors, women and victims of trafficking. It also recommends that
the State Party strengthen cooperation and coordination with international
organizations, specialized civil society organizations and other stakeholders to ensure
a comprehensive and effective response to the needs of migrants and asylum-seekers
and ensure protection against enforced disappearance.....
Sources
Committee on Enforced Disappearances, "Concluding observations on the additional information
submitted by Serbia under article 29 (4) of the Convention," 12 May 2025, https://docs.un.org/en/CED/C/SRB/OAI/1
Treaty Body
Human Rights Committee
Recommendation Year
2024
Recommendation Excerpt
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.
(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.
Sources
Human Rights Committee, "Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Serbia*", 03 May 2024, United Nation General Assembly, (paragraph, 32 and 33), https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/8b738ff0-5e0f-443f-8a61-70e445dce7da
Treaty Body
Committee against Torture
Recommendation Year
2021
Recommendation Excerpt
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.
Sources
Committee against Torture, "Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Serbia", United Nations General Assembly, 1 December 2021, https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/020c3447-df34-49d2-a8fa-b4c360fe325c
Treaty Body
Human Rights Committee
Recommendation Year
2017
Recommendation Excerpt
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;
Sources
Human Rights Committee, "Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Serbia", United Nations General Assembly, 23 March 2017, https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/c60b26bd-bd37-4a3c-ad7a-485136e4e91e
Treaty Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Recommendation Year
2017
Recommendation Excerpt
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."
(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."
Sources
Committee on the Rights of the Child, "Concluding Observations on the Combined Second and Third Periodic Reports of Serbia," CRC/C/SRB/CO/2-3, 7 March 2017, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Countries.aspx?CountryCode=SRB&Lang=EN
Treaty Body
Committee against Torture
Recommendation Year
2015
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 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.
(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.
Sources
Committee against Torture, "Concluding observations on the second periodic report of Serbia," CAT/C/SRB/CO/2, 3 June 2015, https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/f4848d51-3479-4e8c-b36e-0186462807a4
Global Detention Project and Partner Submissions to Treaty Bodies
Treaty Body
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Session Date
23 March 2026
Date of Submission
2026
Submission Partners
Global Detention Project & Collective Aid
Session Information
117th Session
Submission Type
State Report
Recommendation Impact
Yes
Discussion of Impact
The Committee’s Concluding observations echoed GDP recommendations by calling for an end to pushbacks, ensuring real access to asylum, improving reception conditions, limiting detention to a last resort, safeguarding due process in removal procedures, and addressing impunity for abuses.
Sources
Global Detention Project & Collective Aid, "Joint Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Serbia," 23 March 2026, https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/serbia-joint-submission-to-the-un-committee-on-the-elimination-of-racial-discrimination
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), "Concluding observations on the combined sixth to ninth
periodic reports of Serbia," 27 April 2026, United Nations General Assembly,
> UN Special Procedures
Relevant Recommendations or Observations by UN Special Procedures
Treaty Body
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Decision Date
2019
Case Details
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.
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.
Sources
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, "report of the special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment: on Serbia and Kosovo", 30 December 2019, United Nation, (paragraph 108), https://uhri.ohchr.org/Document/File/54ac4aab-5c09-4b9a-93c2-49bcc480640f/2A57959E-F9EB-48BC-A3F2-B83E572235EA
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2009
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Serbia, A/HRC/10/78, 8 January 2009, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/serbia/session_3_-_december_2008/ahrc1078serbiae.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2013
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Serbia, A/HRC/23/15, 22 March 2013, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/serbia/session_15_-_january_2013/ahrc2315e.pdf
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 Abuse2010
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 Punishment2004
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 Agencies
Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.rs/en/
Ministry of Interior http://www.mup.gov.rs/wps/portal/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/
NGO & Research Institutions
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/
Refugee Aid Serbia https://www.facebook.com/refugeeaidserbia/
