HIGHLIGHTS AND STATISTICS
With more refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants seeking registration and shelter in harsh winter-weather their overall count in Serbia increased to 7,200. Close to 82% were accommodated in 16 government shelters, many exceeding capacities (see below chart). The rest stayed rough in Belgrade city centre or near the border with Hungary.
In Geneva, UNHCR and IOM issued a new Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) for Europe covering January to December 2017. In line with the Response Plans of the Government of Serbia, the 16 NGOs and 8 UN organisations that participated in the RMRP propose humanitarian and developmental aid to Serbia at a total value of over 39 million US dollars. So far, donors have generously contributed close to 2.7 million USD to fund 2017 RMRP activities of UNHCR in Serbia. In order to help authorities in addressing the most urgent protection and assistance needs of vulnerable refugees/asylum seekers in Serbia during this year, UNHCR seeks another close to 4.3 million USD of funding. For more information, please do not hesitate to consult the RMRP on http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/download.php?id=2311 and/or UNHCR Serbia.
Severe weather conditions across the country effected especially refugees/migrants not sheltered in government centres. In response, authorities invited all asylum-seekers to move to government centres. In the North, they offered asylum-seekers near the border with Hungary to move to the Transit Centre (TC) in Subotica. In Belgrade, UNHCR and partners intensified support in counselling, registration and transported 145 asylum-seekers to designated governmental centres. In addition, in coordination with authorities and NGO partners, UNHCR provided heaters, additional blankets and winter clothes to refugees and migrants at two informal sites. At the same time, especially single male refugees/migrants report that police stations refuse to register them as asylum seekers.
95 asylum-seekers were admitted into the two Hungarian “transit zones”. At the same time, UNHCR and partners received reports of over 170 foreign nationals claiming to have been denied access to asylum procedures in Hungary but being collectively expelled back into Serbia after having entered Hungary irregularly.
01-08 January 2017, the police registered 163 intentions to seek asylum in Serbia. In 2016, the Asylum office issued 82 first instance decisions, granting 23 persons subsidiary protection, 19 refugee status while rejecting the claims of 40 asylum-seekers (compared to 33 decisions in 2015: 16 refugee status, 14 subsidiary protection and 3 rejections).
