Over 4,000 migrants seek asylum in Serbia

BELGRADE - Deputy Protector of Citizens Milos Jankovic has said that more than 4,000 migrants from Asian and African countries whose ultimate goal is reaching Western Europe countries expressed intention to seek asylum in Serbia in the first half of this year.

"Western Europe countries are facing a large influx of migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Egypt passing through the territory of Serbia,” Jankovic told Tanjug on Monday, adding that 15,000 people had crossed the territory of Serbia the year before.

According to Jankovic, many of them intend to seek asylum in Serbia, and the number of such persons was about 5,000 last year. This year, the number will be far bigger, since 4,257 of them already expressed that intention in the first half of this year alone.

He pointed to irregularities in the work by relevant authorities and said that the Ombudsman had sent a document with 29 recommendations to the Ministry of Interior and the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration at the beginning of the year.

Police officers, he explained, are not taking foreigners who have no identity documents, are suspected of crossing the border illegally and have no evidence of the legality of their residence in Serbia to the police station, sending them to asylum centers instead.

“It is encouraging that the Ministry of Interior and the Commissariat for Refugees started activities to establish the real situation on the ground. The Protectors of Citizens is participating in the work of their special team set up to carry out the task,” he said.

A meeting will be held next week to discuss ways to deal with the issue, which should involve the protection of the fundamental rights of irregular migrants...