Monday, 30.10.2023.

Regional conference “Security for Human Beings and Borders – combating smuggling of migrants in the Western Balkans”

On 26-27 October 2023, Group 484 from Belgrade, with the support of the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, and in cooperation with the OSCE Mission in Serbia and the International Organization for Migration in Serbia, successfully organised a two-day regional conference “Security for Human Beings and Borders – combating smuggling of migrants in the Western Balkans”. The conference aimed to exchange relevant experiences and opportunities for improving the regional response in fighting migrant smuggling, protecting migrants, and defining the framework for establishing national independent mechanisms for monitoring respect for human rights at the borders.

The participants of the regional conference on combating the smuggling of migrants on the Western-Balkan route agreed that the problem of migration is a pressing regional problem that requires a shared international response.

Miroslav Gačević, Assistant Minister of European Integration of Serbia, said that the burden of solving the migrant crisis cannot “be laid only on Serbia’s shoulders”, but also that real people with dreams, aspirations, but also rights that must be respected are behind the statistics.

“The reform of the migration management system will be based on the implementation of two key planning documents: the action plan for entering the Schengen area and the new strategy and the action plan for integrated border management under the new EU concept”, he said.

Samir Rizvo, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that migration is a huge operation of organised criminal groups.

“More than 90 percent of migrants use smuggling services when crossing borders. The figures we get regarding criminal groups making money from smuggling are huge. For that reason, the power and influence of such groups is growing, and the money and power are making the next step, which is to influence democratic processes in a country”, he said.

Tatjana Lagumdžija, Acting Chief Public Prosecutor, said that Serbia has been facing an increased transit of migrants since 2015 because it is located on the route that is the closest and fastest way to Europe, which is why a series of measures have been taken to find short- and long-term solutions.

“It produced results, so in 2022, the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that 270 people were reported, 174 were accused, and 127 were convicted”, she said, adding that this required intersectoral cooperation, especially with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also with international organisations.

She added that some of the challenges faced by the public prosecutor’s office are the shortage of translators, establishing identities, but also increasingly more sophisticated ways of crossing borders.

Plamena Halacheva, the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, said that the fight against illegal migration requires stronger law enforcement, stronger work of the prosecution, but also closer cooperation of international partners.

“To dismantle the criminal network of smugglers in the region, it is crucial that we work together, strengthen cooperation, exchange information, and have joint training”, she said, adding that this will increase the number of criminal prosecutions.

Miroslava Jelačić Kojić, Group 484 Programme Director, said that at the level of the Western Balkan region, a methodology for conducting training based on the simulation of investigations in the field of combating migrant smuggling was implemented for the first time.

“More than 130 representatives of competent state institutions and civil society organisations participated. The results showed that the need to establish a balanced approach that will respect the standards of human rights protection of migrants has become even more evident”, she said.

We are pleased that the director of the MARRI initiative shared her regional experience at the panel discussion on key trends in the prevention of migrant smuggling.

The work at the conference was organised in five thematic sessions in which representatives of relevant institutions, independent institutions, international organisations, supervisory bodies, and civil society organisations shared their views and experiences with the conference participants.

This event was part of a wider range of activities carried out within the project “Security for Human Beings and Borders – combating smuggling of migrants in the Western Balkans” funded by the European Union and the project “Support to Migrant and Local Communities in Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia” supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Belgrade. In addition, thematic panels dedicated to establishing national independent mechanisms for monitoring respect of human rights at the borders were organised in cooperation with the OSCE Mission in Serbia.

Here you can read the recommendations and conclusions from the conference: CONFERENCE CONCLUSIONS