The report was developed within the project Integration of Immigrant Communities in Serbia – New Challenges and Opportunities. implemented by Group 484 in collaboration with the international organization Save the Children. The project aims, as the title suggests, to identify the needs, challenges, and potentials of individuals displaced from Ukraine, with a focus on mothers and children. We aim to adequately respond to their needs and promote the development and utilization of their potential through direct work with them and local communities, but also to influence the improvement of national integration policies and facilitate access to rights for new immigrant communities.
Serbia is traditionally a transit country for refugees and mmigrants seeking protection and dignified life in Europe and arriving via the Balkan route, which is part of the Eastern Mediterranean route. The transit nature of these movements is indicated by a small number of children and adults who have entered the procedure for seeking asylum in Serbia. However, the war in Ukraine has brought a new category of people on the move, who are provided with special protection – temporary protection. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, they have been staying in Serbia for the third year, which requires questioning the adequacy of the temporary protection system for them, as well as the functionality of national integration policies. Therefore, the project began with research aimed at defining guidelines and recommendations based on data for relevant decision-makers, practitioners, and other stakeholders who enhance access and quality in the realization of rights to education, cultural rights, healthcare rights, and labor market inclusion for children and mothers, under the highest international and regional standards. We also aim to familiarize mothers and children displaced from Ukraine with their rights and the possibilities for their realization.
The research was conducted from early December 2023 to the end of May 2024. In order to compare their access to the mentioned rights, two groups of mothers and children from Ukraine participated in the research – one group from private accommodation and the other from the Vranje Asylum Center. Key stakeholders crucial to the realization of the mentioned rights, including institutions, international and domestic civil society organizations, and associations of Ukrainians, were also involved in the research.
The report is structured into six chapters: summary, introduction, research context, methodological framework, research findings, and concluding remarks. Research findings are divided into four chapters based on the realization of four rights – education, culture, healthcare, and labor. For each right, there is an overview of the legal, strategic, and institutional framework for its realization; perception of its realization by three groups of stakeholders – displaced persons, institutions, and civil society; and a summary of challenges and solutions. Quotes from evaluation participants were used to accurately convey their voices while preserving their anonymity.