KLIKAKTIV’S STATEMENT FOR THE WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2023

On the eve of the World Refugee Day on June 20th, one can say that the position of refugees in Serbia is as unfavorable as it has been in the previous years. In this statement, we would like to highlight some of the points that have marked the previous year when it comes to the position of refugees in Serbia and that are urgent matters calling to be resolved.

In 2022, the so-called “Balkan route” was one of the main entry points to the EU. Up to 73% of refugees that our team has served in the border area in the north of Serbia come from Syria and Afghanistan, the two countries facing dire humanitarian situations due to decades-long wars and blatant violations of human rights. At the moment we estimate there is approximately 3500 people on the move in the informal settlements in the border are between Serbia and EU countries (Hungary, Croatia and Romania), and each of the informal settlements is controlled by members of organized criminal groups of smugglers, who constantly fight for territory leaving some injured and even killed in these armed fights. With closing the EU borders and the humanitarian corridors, erecting barbed wire fences and with an unresponsive and inaccessible asylum system, almost all of the people on the move are forced to turn to smugglers in order to continue their journey. This leaves them at the mercy of these criminal groups, and at high risks of forced labor, trafficking in human beings, sexual exploitation and other forms of gender-based violence. The most vulnerable among them are children traveling alone and women, yet single men are not exempt from some of these risks.

We call upon the governmental authorities:

1.    to make a clear distinction in treatment and the narrative between refugees and smugglers who use the refugees to gain profit, committing criminal acts;

2.    to systematically identify and prosecute smugglers who use the refugees’ unfavorable position and not to unsystematically target everyone in the displaced population due to individuals involved in the criminal groups;

3.    to make the asylum system more efficient and accessible, and one of the first steps towards the goal is to inform the new arrivals in the language they understand what are their rights and duties while in Serbia, as well as what is the asylum procedure and steps.

In conclusion, we would like to highlight that the smuggling networks are able to exhort their power over refugees due to the EU policies who have pushed the refugees to the hands of these criminal groups, while at the same time the politicians from more resourceful EU member states are calling for the respect of human rights. WE have seen how the EU has discriminated against refugees based on their countries of origin, with some offered welcome and protection, while others being denied their human rights. This discriminatory treatment is likely to continue, but we will keep on advocating for equal treatment of all refugees, as we believe a different system is possible and hope that each individual we serve in the field is a step towards a better community of higher solidarity.