HIGHLIGHTS AND STATISTICS
On 5 November, 4,585 new refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants were counted in Serbia, of which 4,102 were accommodated in the 18 government centres - representing 89% of the total caseload (see the Joint Assessment of Government Centres for improvements and gaps in reception conditions, now also available as app on: http://www.unhcr.rs/CentreProfiling/overview.php.
Within continued efforts to shelter as many persons as possible in official accommodation centres, on 31 Oct authorities transported to Presevo Reception Centre 188 refugees and migrants who had been sleeping rough in the northern area around Sombor.
UNHCR and partners assisted 208 newly arrived asylum seekers. 32 % of all arrivals were minors/children. Most had left Pakistan (36%), Iraq (34%), or Afghanistan (10%), between one week and one year ago. Over a half, reported to have arrived via Turkey-Greece-FYR Macedonia and 40% travelled irregularly to Serbia via Turkey and Bulgaria.
On 1-3 November, in coordination with Serbian Commissariat for Refugees and Migration (SCRM), UNHCR distributed the first batch of winter clothes for adults accommodated in 15 government-run centres. 899 tracksuits, 902 winter jackets, 1,878 T-shirts, 3,596 pairs of socks, 3,595 pairs of underwear, 415 pairs of boots, 899 pairs of rubber slippers and 899 winter sets containing cap/shawl/gloves were distributed in the reporting period.
Asylum stats: In October, 734 individuals registered intentions to seek asylum in Serbia. 48% were made by men, 14% by women and 38% were registered for children. Most applications were made by citizens of Iraq (36%), Afghanistan (21%), Pakistan (20%), Syria (3%), and other nationalities (20%). One person was granted refugee status and nine persons were granted subsidiary protection, making a total of 13 positive first-instance decisions by the Asylum Office in 2017.