HIGHLIGHTS AND STATISTICS
The number of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants continued to stabilise with 6,658 counted in Serbia on 28 May. 94% of them were accommodated in 18 governmental shelters (below chart refers).
UNHCR and partners met and assisted 71 new arrivals of which 78% arrived from Bulgaria and 22% from FYR Macedonia, including eight unaccompanied and separated children (UASC).
Reports of 97 collective expulsions from Croatia were received, with many alleging to have been denied access to asylum procedures, while 7 were received from Hungary and 16 from Romania.
22-24 May, UNHCR Serbia and Romania organized a Cross Border Mission, when UNHCR Serbia together with the Serbian Commissariat for Refugees (SCRM) visited Timisoara Reception Center in Romania, and in return hosted UNHCR Romania and representatives of the Directorate for Asylum and Integration in Serbia, during the visits to Kikinda, Krnjaca and Obrenovac centres.
With the start of Ramadan on 27 May, food distribution times in all sites were amended to cater to the needs of those refugees/migrants who will be fasting.
25-28 May, refugees, UNHCR and partners took part in a number of public events:
- 32 refugee families, including 76 children, from Krnjaca Asylum Centre were supported by UNHCR and partners to attend Baby Exit, an annual festival marking the World Family Day, held in Novi Sad, where they took part in various interactive activities.
- At the ninth annual Mikser Festival in Belgrade, under the slogan “Migrations”, UNHCR participated in a panel discussion with partners on the subject “Refugees and Migrants in Serbia- What’s next”, discussing the integration and solution issues related to new refugees in the country.
- UNHCR also supported and took part in the Techfugees hackathon, organized as part of the Belgrade Smart City Festival 2017, which looked into finding solutions for refugee integration in the smart cities of the future.
- 32 refugee families, including 76 children, from Krnjaca Asylum Centre were supported by UNHCR and partners to attend Baby Exit, an annual festival marking the World Family Day, held in Novi Sad, where they took part in various interactive activities.
01-28 May, 488 individuals registered intention to seek asylum in Serbia.