South-Eastern Europe
2015 year-end information on the South-Eastern Europe subregion is presented below. A summary of this can also be downloaded in PDF format. This subregion covers the following countries:
| Albania | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Montenegro | Serbia (and Kosovo: Security Council resolution 1244 (1999)) | The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia |
Subregion: South-Eastern Europe
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Latest update of camps and office locations 13 Jan 2016. By clicking on the icons on the map, additional information is displayed.
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Budgets and Expenditure in Subregion South-Eastern Europe
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2015
{"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"budget":[63.58183989,50.92069814,45.64091543,61.005667061],"expenditure":[28.39209495,26.95568797,26.531689,34.31168599]}
{"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"p1":[23.74330474,18.19854839,16.93969595,28.612472566],"p2":[4.91684012,5.25105294,4.82053671,3.844207253],"p3":[8.11479762,7.2212397,5.59562774,5.793305568],"p4":[26.80689741,20.24985711,18.28505503,22.755681674]}
{"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"p1":[10.00899321,10.14541043,9.44952232,20.24093268],"p2":[3.45577324,4.03266352,3.33464676,2.32336862],"p3":[5.69484113,4.97523604,4.21210709,2.02776035],"p4":[9.23248737,7.80237798,9.53541283,9.71962434]}
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People of Concern - 2015
[["Refugees",44843],["Refugee-like situation",385],["Asylum-seekers",1059],["IDPs",318326],["Returned IDPs",545],["Returned refugees",463],["Stateless",17002],["Others of concern",77329]]Loading ...
Response in 2015
This summary presents an overview of UNHCR’s response in South-Eastern Europe in 2015. For more information on key achievements and challenges by operation, please visit the Bosnia and Herzegovina Regional Office page.The mass influx of refugees and migrants and their transit through the South-Eastern Europe route to other countries in Europe dominated UNHCR’s agenda during the second half of 2015. Despite numerous warnings, the extent of these movements caught the affected countries largely unprepared. Inadequate reception conditions, lack of assistance upon arrival or access to basic services, prompted the need for a humanitarian response. UNHCR established an operational presence to assist authorities in responding to the most urgent humanitarian and protection needs of refugees and migrants. UNHCR’s response focused, among others, on the following main activities: improving reception conditions; providing basic assistance through the distribution of non-food items; providing information and legal counseling; identifying people with specific needs and referring them to relevant services; supporting unaccompanied and separated children; reuniting families that were separated in the journey; and advocating with local and national partners, as well as the European Union to ensure a robust and collective response.
All countries in the subregion are party to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, and have relevant legislation in place; however, asylum-seekers and refugees sometimes lacked reliable access to status determination procedures. In particular, several states in the region took steps to limit access to national asylum systems, despite relatively low numbers of asylum applications in 2015. In addition, the pushback of people of concern occured in several key states in the region affected by the emergency. UNHCR continued to advocate for fair, efficient, and robust national asylum systems throughout the region, and for access to national asylum systems for people of concern.
All countries in the subregion are also party to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions, with the exception of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which has not yet acceded to the 1961 Convention.
UNHCR continued to adjust and implement its strategy to disengage operationally by the end of 2017 from the refugee and IDP situations that originated from the regional conflicts of the 1990s. The strategy aims to achieve maximum results in terms of durable solutions and pave ways for governments and relevant stakeholders to continue assisting affected individals thereafter.
The number of people of concern in the South-Eastern Europe subregion stood at some 443,000 by the end of 2015. Nearly 120,000 people of concern from Kosovo (Security Resolution 1244 (1999)) are in need of durable solutions. Of the more than 318,000 IDPs – includijng over 203,000 in Serbia, approximately 98,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and close to 17,000 in Kosovo – some 180,000 continued to require protection and support. Among these individuals, around 30,000 members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian (RAE) minority groups were assisted by UNHCR, including through voluntary returns and durable housing solutions. Approximately 15,000 individuals, mostly RAE minorities, remained at risk of statelessness in the subregion.
UNHCR achieved significant steps forward in the following areas: (i) completion of the planning, capacity building and priority assistance stages of the solutions programmes for the protracted conflict-related displacements of the 1990’s; (ii) improved capacity of asylum systems to provide protection and solutions to asylum-seekers and people in need of international protection in mixed movements; and (iii) delivery of essential documents to all known individuals at risk of statelessness and establishment of mechanisms to detect and prevent new cases.
Close to 340 and 1,220 families respectively benefited from the Regional Housing Programme and the Instrument of Pre-Accession Agreement, both of which were established to address displacement issues. The projects are still ongoing in Bosnia and Herzegovia, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. UNHCRcontinued to implement the Council of Europe Development Bank II project, which focuses on the closure of 121 collective centres. UNHCR continued to promote transparent and fair implementation of these projects, in particular regarding the identification of beneficiaries according to needs.
Operational Environment and Strategy
While the number of asylum-seekers in South-Eastern Europe continues to rise, most national asylum systems in the subregion do not meet international standards. The majority of new asylum-seekers are Syrian, with Serbia receiving by far the largest percentage of those seeking international protection in the subregion.Following the regional initiative on Refugee Protection and International Migration, UNHCR, IOM and key stakeholders are pursuing dialogue with Governments in the western Balkans, at national and regional level, to promote protection-sensitive asylum and migration systems consistent with European and international standards
As part of the Sarajevo Process, implementation of the Regional Housing Programme continues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, as well as in Croatia (now covered under the Northern, Western, Central and Southern Europe subregion).
Advances made in the durable solutions process in the western Balkans have led UNHCR to recommend that refugee status should cease for Croatian refugees by December 2014. Where local integration or repatriation processes are still underway, this deadline may be extended until 2017. A similar process, which will lead to a recommendation concerning the cessation of status for refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ongoing. UNHCR is of the view that all remaining displaced people should be able to access durable solutions by the end of 2017.
Despite efforts to improve relevant laws and administrative practices, 17,000 people who are stateless or of undetermined nationality, many of whom belong to the Roma minority, continue to lack access to civil registration and documentation in the subregion. All countries are parties to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and only the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has yet to accede to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
Response and Implementation
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNHCR is working in close partnership with local authorities, NGOs and international actors to achieve solutions for the remaining 84,500 IDPs and 47,000 minority returnees. For new arrivals, the organization is working with IOM and an intra-ministerial group under a regional initiative on asylum and migration, with the aim of strengthening reception conditions and refugee status determination procedures, and reducing the use of detention for asylum-seekers. UNHCR will continue to focus on preventing statelessness and providing legal aid to existing populations, including at least 1,500 Roma, who lack birth certificates or proof of citizenship.
UNHCR’s work in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is primarily aimed at assisting the Government in building and maintaining high quality asylum procedures as mixed migration movements to the country increase. The country has seen a sharp rise in arrivals from outside the region seeking asylum. The Office will continue to advocate for durable solutions for around 900 people of mainly Ashkali, Egyptian and Roma origin, and will provide direct assistance to some of the most vulnerable. UNHCR will work with the authorities to resolve the situation of another 800 people who lack civil registration and documentation.
As its European integration process progresses, national legislation and practice around Montenegro’s new asylum system is being harmonized and UNHCR is offering assistance to the Government to strengthen its capacity to deal with mixed migration flows. Particular attention will be given to cross-border cooperation and prevention of refoulement.
Serbia observed a sharp increase in asylum-seekers in 2014, with more than 5,000 new applications received by July. As these asylum-seekers arrive in mixed flows, UNHCR remains focused on safeguarding asylum space and helping to build the capacity of both national authorities and other stakeholders. The Office estimates that some 88,000 internally displaced people still need assistance and will work with the authorities on a comprehensive package of durable solutions. The Regional Housing Programme will provide permanent solutions for approximately 43,000 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The priority in Kosovo (S/RES/1244(1999)) is to strengthen the national asylum system, primarily by building the authorities’ capacity to manage mixed migratory flows efficiently. UNHCR is working with the Kosovo authorities on implementing durable solutions for around 17,000 IDPs and around 10,000 people willing to return to Kosovo from the region. The Office is implementing a return and reintegration project for Ashkali, Egyptians and Roma, and returnees from camps in Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and will provide support to community-level reconciliation initiatives. Ensuring access to birth registration and civil documentation remains central to the Office’s work.
2015 Budget and Expenditure in South-Eastern Europe | USD
| Operation | Pillar 1 Refugee programme |
Pillar 2 Stateless programme |
Pillar 3 Reintegration projects |
Pillar 4 IDP projects |
Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Regional Office | Budget Expenditure | 28,612,473 20,240,933 | 3,844,207 2,323,369 | 5,793,306 2,027,760 | 22,755,682 9,719,624 | 61,005,667 34,311,686 |
| Total | Budget Expenditure | 28,612,473 20,240,933 | 3,844,207 2,323,369 | 5,793,306 2,027,760 | 22,755,682 9,719,624 | 61,005,667 34,311,686 |
2015 Voluntary Contributions to South-Eastern Europe | USD
| Earmarking / Donor | Pillar 1 Refugee programme |
Pillar 3 Reintegration projects |
Pillar 4 IDP projects |
All pillars |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South-Eastern Europe overall | |||||
| Norway | 1,177,024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,177,024 |
| Private donors in Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 971 | 971 |
| Slovenia | 33,670 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,670 |
| South-Eastern Europe overall subtotal | 1,210,695 | 0 | 0 | 971 | 1,211,665 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Regional Office | |||||
| Canada | 373,134 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 373,134 |
| Council of Europe Development Bank | 0 | 0 | 407,214 | 0 | 407,214 |
| European Union | 3,346,521 | 795,623 | 5,815,685 | 0 | 9,957,829 |
| Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | 529,101 | 529,101 |
| Italy | 339,674 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 339,674 |
| Japan | 1,000,000 | 0 | 0 | 2,501,668 | 3,501,668 |
| Montenegro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82,745 | 82,745 |
| Private donors in Australia | 963,365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 963,365 |
| Private donors in Sweden | 29,771 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29,771 |
| Private donors in the Netherlands | 38,610 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38,610 |
| Republic of Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 500,000 | 500,000 |
| Russian Federation | 0 | 0 | 100,000 | 0 | 100,000 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 617,284 | 617,284 |
| UN Trust Fund for Human Security | 0 | 0 | 76,635 | 0 | 76,635 |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 3,236,777 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,236,777 |
| WFP | 87,465 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 87,465 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Regional Office subtotal | 9,415,318 | 795,623 | 6,399,534 | 4,230,797 | 20,841,272 |
| Total | 10,626,012 | 795,623 | 6,399,534 | 4,231,768 | 22,052,937 |