South-Eastern Europe

People of concern to UNHCR Regional Office for South-Eastern Europe include some 345,000 displaced people resulting from the conflicts of the 1990s: refugees and returnees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; internally displaced people (IDPs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Kosovo (S/RES/1244 (1999)); and returnees in Kosovo (S/RES/1244 (1999)). In addition, the Western Balkans hosts some 12,000 people at risk of statelessness, with more than half being in Albania. A key priority for UNHCR in South-Eastern Europe over the last three years has been to assist States to build fair and efficient asylum systems. This will remain a key priority in and beyond 2017. In partnership with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNHCR is engaged in implementation of the EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Agreement’s project (IPA II) “Regional Support to Protection-Sensitive Migration Management in the Western Balkans and Turkey”.
 
UNHCR will continue to address the needs of refugees and IDPs through its engagement in the Regional Housing Programme (RHP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Agreement, of 2012, “Annex VII Action: Support to durable solutions of Revised Annex VII Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) Implementation Strategy” in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Meeting the remaining needs of people of concern, including displaced Roma communities, will be a priority in 2017. If planned work on durable housing solutions proceeds, this will allow for the closure of some 120 collective centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia and Kosovo (S/RES/1244 (1999)). In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, UNHCR will provide direct support to meet the shelter and other basic needs of vulnerable groups, while also strengthening local capacity with a view to handing over the process of achieving durable solutions to national authorities by the end of 2017.
 
For returnees and IDPs in Kosovo (S/RES/1244 (1999)), and within the context of the Regional initiative on durable solutions for displaced people from Kosovo (S/RES/1244 (1999)), known as the Skopje Process, UNHCR will focus on achieving durable solutions, including by facilitating voluntary returns, with priority for the most vulnerable groups such the residents of temporary collective centres and the Ashkali, Roma and Egyptian communities.
 
There was a significant change in the scope and scale of mixed movements along the eastern Mediterranean route at the end of February 2016, due to the progressive establishment of border restrictions between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, combined with further restrictions along the Western Balkans route. Following the adoption of the EU-Turkey statement in March 2016, which sought to limit the number of refugees and migrants crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, the eastern Mediterranean route became less used.
 
A number of people of concern to UNHCR remain in transit countries, including the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia. Alternative, unofficial routes are also being exploited by smuggling networks, including through Albania, Montenegro and Serbia and Kosovo (S/RES/1244 (1999)). The majority of people travelling as part of these movements come from refugee-producing countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic.
 
Since March 2016, there has been a downscaling of UNHCR operations in countries and territories in South-Eastern Europe, corresponding to the reduction in movements from Greece.  These operations provided among other things, transit accommodation, protection monitoring, legal counselling, core relief items, safe spaces for women and children, and services for people with specific needs. UNHCR has sought to rationalize
its services and activities, while maintaining a contingency capacity to respond to new events. The focus of UNHCR’s response in 2017 will be on ensuring protection of people of concern, detention and border monitoring, and strengthening of asylum systems. UNHCR will also seek to strengthen communication and advocacy, including with affected populations and communities.