In 2015 our project on asylum and migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina enters a new phase. CILC, the Dutch Council for Refugees and the Dutch Migration Service will focus on coordinated asylum and migration management by cultivating the chain approach. In January-February the team will undertake interactive training needs assessments on current assistance procedures for asylum seekers and on the status and functionality of the referral system of the migration service and the NGO community. These assessments are expected to provide relevant data for tailor-made training programs and a reinforcement of the referral system.
In the first period of project implementation – the third and fourth quarters of 2014 – project activities centred around the Bosnian legislative framework on asylum and migration. The respective working groups in the Ministry of Security, together with Dutch experts, assessed ways to ensure that the future laws on asylum and migration* are aligned with the relevant EU Directives and Regulations on reception, qualification, family reunification, the Visa Code, and the Schengen Borders Code. Although these EU regulations are not yet binding for Bosnia and Herzegovina, in redrafting the law the country wants to already transpose the mandatory (as well as several optional) provisions in order to be in line with the EU acquis. End 2014 two recommendation reports have been delivered by Dutch experts, and one of them has already been presented to the working group. In 2015 the Bosnian working groups will continue their extensive redraft of the current law into two separate laws. The project will ensure that these experts are supported by their Dutch colleagues. The first next opportunity to address this topic is the study visit to the Netherlands scheduled for the first quarter of 2015.
In Fall 2014, the project also focused on the position of the Bosnian Border Police in the asylum and migration system. A combined Dutch-Bosnian team of experts assessed the infrastructure of five Border Crossing Points (BCP’s) and the working procedures of the respective Border Police Units: two air borders at Sarajevo and Tuzla, and three land borders in Hum, Vardište and Karakaj. This resulted in a comprehensive report with recommendations for specific training and coaching. The project experts will start developing and conducting specific trainings on profiling, first and second line control, and the recognition of counterfeit and forged documents in the first quarter of 2015.
For an overview of the updated work plan please follow this link.
*The single law that deals with both elements is currently under revision.