Serbia under great pressure of irregular migration

BELGRADE - Serbia is under great pressure of irregular migrations of citizens from African and Asian countries, whose final destination are countries of the European Union, Aleksandar Nikolic, state secretary at the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, said at a three-day meeting of the International Organizations for Migration (IOM) Council.

Nikolic underlined at the meeting in Geneva that the number of asylum seekers has risen in Serbia as well, and pointed to the efforts made by the authorities to protect them, particularly migrant children.

He said that the government has taken numerous measures and activities aimed at strengthening the migration management mechanisms, implementing the zero tolerance policy on human trafficking.

Nikolic said that in the last 20 years, more than 250,000 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have integrated into Serbia, and pointed to the problem in resolving the status of internally displaced persons from Kosovo-Metohija because there are no conditions for them to return to their homes.

He pointed to the significance of the Serbia-IOM partnership and cooperation, and the importance of a multi-sector approach in solving the problems in this area that call for the involvement of other relevant state institutions, civil society and non-governmental sector.

The 105th session of the Council brought together more than 200 delegations of the member states and observers of the IOM, which is the most important international organization for migration issues, reads the statement.

A delegation of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, which was headed by Nikolic at the Geneva session, conferred on Wednesday with IOM Director General William Swing.

In the light...