By Lino Brosius
On Thursday, 8 December 2016, the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Center for International Legal Cooperation and the Dutch Council for Refugees officially marked the closing of the project “Further strengthening asylum and migration management in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
This bilateral project over the past two and a half years has linked up numerous Dutch and Bosnia and Herzegovina professionals. The objective of the project was to further enhance the effective management of asylum and migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by increasing the access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure for asylum seekers, and by enhancing the treatment of illegal and legal migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Over 50 activities, including on the job-coaching, trainings, seminars, and advisory meetings on a range of topics have been organised in close collaboration with the Bosnian implementing partners, the main beneficiaries and project stakeholders. The project team is proud to have made such a contribution to achieving great results, most notable of which are:
- enhanced knowledge in the BiH migration authorities of asylum and migration management, relevant EU directives, and legislation more in line with EU acquis
- improved practice of document checking by the Border Police
- improved cooperation between relevant government stakeholders and civil society on migration and asylum with a clearer delineation of tasks
- a handbook on assisting asylum seekers and migrants developed by Vaša Prava, the prime non-governmental organisation in the field of asylum and migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina
A detailed report on the project’s implementation will be published soon.
This bilateral Dutch – Bosnia and Herzegovina project was funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.