Embassy has funded a project “Aid to refugees and migrants – from legal aid to conditions assessment” implemented by YUCOM Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights. The project was completed in February 2016.

Serbia as a part of the Western Balkan route

More than 600,000 refugees and migrants passed through Serbia in 2015. The route through Serbia was leading first towards Hungary, then to Croatia. Now Serbia is focused on providing shelter and assistance to around 1,500 people stranded on its territory.

Improving the system for assistance to refugees

The project was aimed at improving the governmental system for assistance to refugees and enhancement of their position. Project activities included frequent visits to places in Serbia where the largest number of refugees were located, collecting basic data relating to their movement, as well as providing legal advice about rights and obligations during their stay in the territory of Serbia.

YUCOM ensured that the national authorities received relevant information from the field and refugees were provided with legal aid. The project served also as a platform to advocate for better solutions in addressing the crisis, and clearly pointed out the need to establish a better system for informing refugees about their rights and obligations while in Serbia. A vast majority of migrants and refugees receive medical assistance or assistance in food or clothes, while only 12 percent of them get legal aid, according to the survey conducted by YUCOM.

Finland as a destination country

The main results and recommendations from the project were presented at a conference held on March 11 in Belgrade. Ambassador Pertti Ikonen stressed out that for an effective response to the refugee crisis all countries in Europe have to make

their contribution. In 2015, Finland received around 32,500 migrants, which made it the 4th biggest receiver per capita among EU countries.

NGOs are relevant and knowledgeable actors in societies and can be of great help to the authorities, also what concerns migration, Ambassador reminded.