With elevated numbers of migrants and refugees entering Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2017, the European Union has just allocated more than EUR 7.2 million in grants to support the work of the UN Migration Agency, IOM, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The funds were provided through an Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance special measure. Resultant projects will be implemented by IOM in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency and UNICEF to help further strengthen the country’s migration management, asylum, border control, and surveillance capacities.
This allocation will also build on the existing support in the distribution of food and provision of emergency shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene services, protection, as well as other necessities to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.
“With close to 22,000 migrants having arrived in the country since January, it is clear that Bosnia and Herzegovina needs international support. This new funding will allow IOM and partners to assist migrants and authorities and relieve the pressure on local communities,” noted Peter Van Der Auweraert, IOM’s representative in the western Balkans.
Access to asylum, protection and social security systems, including healthcare and education for children, will be improved through support to the Border Police, Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, the Sector for Asylum, Centres for Social Welfare and relevant Cantonal and Municipal authorities.
Shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure will be put in place or expanded to provide secure and dignified accommodation, protecting families with children and other vulnerable individuals from the looming Balkan winter.
This project will further build on EU’s longer-term support for protection-sensitive migration management in line with EU standards.
Original source: IOM
Published on 9 November 2018
