In July, the number of refugees/migrants met and interviewed by Praxis’ mobile team did not exceed 200 on a daily basis, including the newly arrived ones, the refugees/migrants accommodated in the Asylum Centre Krnjača and the Reception Centre Obrenovac and those who returned to Belgrade after unsuccessful attempts to cross the Croatian, Hungarian, Bosnian or Romanian border. During this period, Praxis provided assistance to a total of 1883 refugees/migrants, through information, psychosocial support, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres. During this reporting period, up to 44 refugees/migrants were seen sleeping rough in the parks near the Belgrade Bus station every morning.

Praxis continued its field work and provided a total of 1541 newly arrived refugees and migrants (1159 adults - 1034 men and 125 women, and 382 children - 313 boys and 69 girls, including 252 potential unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), 249 boys and 3 girls) with relevant information.

The refugees/migrants of other nationalities were from Bangladesh (61), Eritrea (10), India (23), Libya (3), Somalia (16), Tunisia (3), Egypt (1), Nepal (10), Nigeria (1), Russia (1), Sri Lanka (6) and Turkey (3). Refugees/migrants arrived to Serbia via Macedonia (873 or 56.7%), Bulgaria (270 or 17.5%), Albania (5 or 0.3%), BiH (3 or 0.2%), while 41 of them did not specify where they had entered Serbia and 349 refugees/migrants, mostly from Iran, arrived by plane.

The families and UASC waiting for registration or transport to one of the asylum or reception centres they had been referred to still had the option of spending the night in the aid hub Refugee Aid Miksalište, in the proximity of Belgrade Bus and Train Station. Info Park continued to provide one meal a day for newly arrived refugees/migrants, and occasionally covered the costs of transport to the reception and asylum centres. Beside Praxis and Info Park, SCRM organised transportation to asylum and reception centres several times during this reporting period. The MSF clinic continued to provide medical support. In this reporting period, there was no organised distribution of clothing and footwear in the field in Belgrade.

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report here.

In June, the number of refugees/migrants met and interviewed by Praxis’ mobile team did not exceed 150 on a daily basis, including the newly arrived ones, the refugees/migrants accommodated in the Asylum Centre Krnjača and the Reception Centre Obrenovac and those who returned to Belgrade after unsuccessful attempts to cross the Croatian, Hungarian, Bosnian or Romanian border. In this period, Praxis provided assistance to a total of 1598 refugees/migrants, through information, psychosocial support, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres.

Praxis continued its field work and provided a total of 1294 newly arrived refugees and migrants (994 adults - 865 men and 129 women, and 300 children - 215 boys and 85 girls, including 145 potential unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), 143 boys and 2 girls) with relevant information.

Comparing to the previous period, there was a noticeable increase in the number of refugees/migrants from Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. In May, 167 refugees/migrants or 19.4% of them arrived from Iraq, while in June, this number increased to 252. In previous month, 114 (13.3%) refugees/migrants arrived from Afghanistan, while in June, this number increased to 248. As for the refugees/migrants from Pakistan, 191 refugees/migrants (22.2%) arrived in May, while in June, this number increased to 396. The refugees/migrants of other nationalities were from Bangladesh (27), Eritrea (6), India (4), Cameron (2), Libya (9), Ivory Coast (1), Romania (1), Somalia (17), Palestine (1) and Turkey (2). Refugees/migrants arrived to Serbia via Macedonia (808 or 62.4%), Bulgaria (227 or 17.5%), Croatia (12 or 0.9%), Hungary (2 or 0.2%) and Romania (1 or 0.1%), while 15 of them did not specify where they had entered Serbia and 229 refugees/migrants from Iran arrived by plane.

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report here.

In May, the number of refugees/migrants met and interviewed by Praxis’ mobile team did not exceed 200 on a daily basis, including the newly arrived ones, the refugees/migrants accommodated in the Asylum Centre Krnjača and the Reception Centre Obrenovac and those who returned to Belgrade after unsuccessful attempts to cross the Croatian, Hungarian, Bosnian or Romanian border. In this reporting period, Praxis provided assistance to a total of 1078 refugees/migrants, through information, psychosocial support, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres.

Praxis continued its field work and provided a total of 859 newly arrived refugees and migrants (642 adults - 534 men and 118 women, and 207 children - 157 boys and 50 girls, including 103 potential unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), 102 boys and 1 girl) with relevant information.

The families and UASC waiting for registration or transport to one of the asylum or reception centres they had been referred to still had the option of spending the night in the aid hub Refugee Aid Miksalište, in the proximity of Belgrade Bus and Train Station. In this reporting period, SCRM organised, on one occasion, the transportation of the refugees/migrants to the Reception Centre in Bosilegrad. Info Park continued to provide one meal a day for newly arrived refugees/migrants, and occasionally covered the costs of transport to the reception and asylum centres. Beside Praxis and Info Park, RAS also occasionally covered the transport costs. MSF clinic continued to provide medical support. In this reporting period, there was no organised distribution of clothing and footwear in the field in Belgrade.

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report here.

“When I was little I liked to go to my father’s workplace. He worked at a construction site. We would sit on the floor of the unfinished building, talking and watching the city. When my mother died, I used to spend a lot of time with him. My father was married three times, and I had three mothers. Two of them died. In late 2014, the Taliban intercepted my father's car while he was going to work. Someone called me from my dad's phone number and told me that my father had been shot. I rushed to the hospital, but it was too late, my father was dead.

Four months later, while I was walking to school, three black Jeeps blocked my path. They tried to throw me into the car, but I managed to break loose. I was running away through the narrow streets towards the police station. The door of the police station was closed. I was banging on the door with my foot. When the door opened, the police officers were standing there with guns pointed at me. I raised my hands up, they thought that I was one of the Taliban. Because of banging, they were as scared as I was.

Since then I no longer went to school.

Shortly after, the Taliban broke into our house at night. We slept on the upper floor and heard that someone was down there. I peeked, everything was ransacked, things were scattered around. The men dressed in black caught me, tied my hands and placed me into an armchair. They were beating me; I was covered in blood. They left after the robbery. After that, my stepmother and my uncles decided that I had to leave Afghanistan.
B.I. (16) Afghanistan“


Even though the Western Balkan route was formally closed in March 2016, Praxis records new arrivals of refugees and migrants in Belgrade on a daily basis. People we meet run away from war, persecution, poverty, hoping to find safety and a chance for a better future. Since the beginning of the year, we interviewed almost 4,000 newly arrived refugees/migrants. Approximately 1,000 of the new arrivals were children, while half of them travel without parents or guardians.

At the moment, there are almost 3,000 refugees/migrants in the reception and asylum centres in Serbia. Due to lack of available legal options, refugees and migrants continue their journey through Hungary, Croatia, Romania and, more often through Bosnia and Herzegovina, using the assistance of smugglers. In these attempts to cross borders, children and unaccompanied minors are at constant risk of violence and exploitation.

Today, on the World Refugee Day, we should not forget the people, especially children, who left their homes fleeing from armed conflicts. It is our obligation to provide them with assistance and protection on their journey to the safe refuge.

“Now more than ever, we need to stand #WithRefugees”

In April, the number of refugees/migrants met and interviewed by Praxis’ mobile team did not exceed 180 on a daily basis, including the newly arrived ones, the refugees/migrants accommodated in the Asylum Centre Krnjača and the Reception Centre Obrenovac and those who returned to Belgrade after unsuccessful attempts to cross the Croatian, Hungarian or Romanian border. In this period, Praxis provided assistance to a total of 1176 refugees/migrants, through information, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres.

Praxis continued its field work and provided a total of 704 newly arrived refugees and migrants (542 adults - 470 men and 72 women, and 162 children - 126 boys and 36 girls, including 102 potential unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), 95 boys and 7 girls) with relevant information. Out of the total of 704 newly arrived refugees/migrants, 123 persons or 17.5% of them were from Afghanistan, which is almost double compared to the previous period when 64 Afghans arrived. 15 newly arrived refugees/migrants were from Syria, which accounts for 2.1% of the total number and represents a decrease compared to the previous period (in March, 33 newly arrived refugees were from Syria). 66 refugees and migrants came from Iraq (9.4%). 175 refugees/migrants (24.9%) came from Pakistan. A total of 254 refugees/migrants (36.1% of the total number) came from Iran, which is also a significant increase compared to the previous period when 125 refugees/migrants arrived from Iran. Out of 254 Iranian refugees/migrants, 230 arrived by plane. 15 refugees/migrants (2.1%) came from Algeria and 1 (0.1%) from Morocco. A total of 55 (7.8%) refugees/migrants came from other countries - from India (4), China (1), Bangladesh (4), Egypt (1), Ghana (7), Congo (1), Libya (14), Nepal (1), Ivory Cost (1), Somalia (13), Sri Lanka (5) and Tunisia (3).

The families and UASC waiting for registration or transport to one of the asylum or reception centres they had been referred to still had the option of spending the night in the aid hub Refugee Aid Miksalište, in the proximity of Belgrade Bus and Train Station. In this reporting period, there was no organised transportation of the refugees/migrants to the reception and asylum centers. Info Park continued to provide one meal a day for newly arrived refugees/migrants, and occasionally covered transport costs to the reception and asylum centres, while MSF clinic continued to provide medical support. In this reporting period, there was no organised distribution of clothing and footwear in the field in Belgrade.

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report here.

In March, the number of refugees/migrants met and interviewed by Praxis’ mobile team did not exceed 150 on a daily basis, including the newly arrived ones, the refugees/migrants accommodated in the Asylum Centre Krnjača and the Reception Centre Obrenovac and those who returned to Belgrade after unsuccessful attempts to cross the Croatian, Hungarian or Romanian border. In this reporting period, Praxis provided assistance to a total of 823 refugees/migrants, through information, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres

Praxis continued its field work and provided a total of 538 newly arrived refugees and migrants (423 adults - 377 men and 46 women, and 115 children - 91 boys and 24 girls, including 63 potential unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), all boys) with relevant information. Out of the total of 538 newly arrived refugees/ migrants, 64 persons or 11.9% of them were from Afghanistan. 33 newly arrived refugees/migrants were from Syria, which accounts for 6.1% of the total number. 67 refugees and migrants came from Iraq (12.5%). 189 refugees/migrants (35.1%) came from Pakistan, which is a significant increase compared to the previous reporting period when 100 newly arrived refugees/migrant were from Pakistan. 125 refugees/migrants (23.2% of the total number) came from Iran. The refugees/migrants from Iran continue arriving by plane: 106 out of 125 of them in March. 5 refugees/migrants (0.9%) came from Algeria and 4 (0.7%) from Morocco. A total of 51 (0.7%) refugees/migrants came from other countries - from Russia (1), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1), Burundi (1), Congo (1), Ghana (1), India (17 – out of whom 4 arrived by plane), Lebanon (1), Libya (17), Myanmar (2), Nepal (4), Sri Lanka (4) and Turkey (Kurd) (1).

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report here.

In February, the number of refugees/migrants met and interviewed by Praxis’ mobile team did not exceed 125 on a daily basis, including the newly arrived ones, the refugees/migrants accommodated in the Asylum Centre Krnjača and the Reception Centre Obrenovac and those who returned to Belgrade after unsuccessful attempts to cross the Croatian, Hungarian or Romanian border. In this period, Praxis provided assistance to a total of 828 refugees/migrants, through information, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres.

Praxis continued its field work and provided a total of 425 newly arrived refugees and migrants (325 adults - 276 men and 49 women, and 100 children - 79 boys and 21 girls, including 56 potential unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), all boys) with relevant information. Out of the total of 425 newly arrived refugees/ migrants, 61 persons or 14.4% of them were from Afghanistan. 23 newly arrived refugees/migrants were from Syria, which accounts for 5.4% of the total number. 75 refugees and migrants came from Iraq (17.6%). 100 refugees/migrants (23.5%) came from Pakistan. 136 refugees/migrants (32.0% of the total number) came from Iran. The refugees/migrants from Iran continue arriving by plane: 115 of them in February. 7 refugees/migrants (1.6%) came from Algeria. A total of 23 (5.4%) refugees/migrants came from other countries - Libya (12), India (3), Sri Lanka (1), Nigeria (1), Kuwait (3), Bangladesh (1), Sudan (1) and Ukraine (1).

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report here.

Praxis participated at the first public hearing on Draft Law on Child’s Rights and Child Ombudsman that was held in  Belgrade, on 5 June 2019.  The Children’s Rights Council of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, consisting of representatives of relevant state institutions and the civil sector, in 2017 unanimously launched an initiative for adopting a comprehensive Law on Child’s Rights and Child Ombudsman. 

At present, professionals apply more than 80 legal texts in the field of child’s rights and their mutual incompatibility is one of most often highlighted problems. Therefore, the future Law on Child’s Rights and Child Ombudsman, as the so-called "umbrella" law, should contribute to the harmonisation of the entire legal system in the field of children's rights, because it will be necessary to harmonise the existing legal solutions in all sectoral laws with the solutions contained in the said law.

The civil sector has continuously pointed out, to both state institutions and international UN bodies that monitor the implementation of international instruments for the protection of human rights in Serbia, the necessity of adopting a comprehensive law in the field of child’s rights. By adopting this law, our country would fulfil one of its international obligations stemming from membership in the Council of Europe, which was the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child from 2008, repeated in the next cycle, and the recommendation from the latest Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council from January 2018. Praxis also had the opportunity to participate actively in the public hearing on the Draft Law on Child’s Rights, held ten years ago, but due to the lack of political will, further work on drafting the Law was suspended. We hope that this time the state will be more determined and adopt by September 2019, as planned, this extremely important law as an instrument whose primary aim will be to promote and improve the rights of the child, coordinate activities in exercising the child’s rights and control the observance of child’s rights by public authorities and other entities in society.

Public hearings will be held also in Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Novi Pazar and Niš. 

On Thursday, 23 May 2019, the newly established Thematic Group on Early Childhood Development and Education of Children, coordinated by the Network of Organisations for Children of Serbia, held its first meeting. 

The meeting was dedicated to the formal establishment of the Thematic Group on Early Childhood Development and Education of Children, agreement on future work, dynamics, ways of cooperation, possible joint activities, identification of stakeholders, relevant decision makers and the media.

The meeting participants shared current information in the field of early childhood development, about relevant initiatives such as Call for Action of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, supported by UNICEF, development of early intervention models, creation of Internet Platform for Parents and Practitioners.

As a member of the newly-established Thematic Group, Jasmina Miković, Praxis Deputy Executive Director, shared the experience and findings of Praxis, especially pointing out the importance of investing in early childhood development without discrimination, which should be one of the important priorities because it would allow each child to fully enjoy the guaranteed rights. In addition, she stressed the importance of promoting the registration of every child into birth registry books immediately after birth, providing adequate living conditions, as well as working on the prevention and elimination of harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriages.

More than 150 participants attended the Eurochild General Assembly and Members’ Day in Brussels on 17 and 18 April 2019, making it the largest gathering in Eurochild’s history. On that occasion, the Network of organizations for children of Serbia - MODS, as a member of the Eurochild’s National Partner Networks, was represented by Jasmina Miković from Praxis, President of the MODS Management Board.

The aim of this annual gathering of Eurochild members was to reflect on child rights advocacy in a changing Europe, share experiences and gain new knowledge in specific topics linked to Eurochild’s strategic goals, in order to be able to work/influence more effectively and work with the next EU legislature. Therefore, the meeting was attended by the high level EU stakeholders from the European Commission, who provided input to Eurochild’s advocacy work for children’s rights.

This meeting was the opportunity for Eurochild to reaffirm its Strategic Plan2019-2021, as the result of a process of reflection with Eurochild members, Management Board, and children and young people. In the period 2019-2021, Eurochild’s advocacy will focus on tackling child poverty and social exclusion (promoting a children’s rights approach), reforming child welfare and protection systems (promoting systemic change centred on strengthening families and communities), and making children’s rights visible at the highest political level. 

For more information, see the announcement here.