International Rescue Committee UK – Written Evidence (BUB0028)

Executive Summary

 

1.       The International Rescue Committee (IRC) welcomes the decision of the International Relations Committee to hold an inquiry into the UK and the Balkans, especially with the inclusion of questions on migration in the region. The IRC is focusing this written evidence on the patterns of migration through the Balkan region and highlights recommendations to the UK Government moving forward. We stand ready to provide the Committee with any further information relating to the points that follow and would be willing to provide oral evidence to the inquiry.

 

Section I: The International Rescue Committee (IRC)

 

2.       The IRC works in conflict-affected and fragile countries around the world to deliver life-saving assistance to people affected by war and disaster, and remains working with communities to assist with rebuilding through the post-crisis phase. Our presence in some 40 countries in education, health, protection, environmental health, women’s protection and empowerment, and economic recovery programming provides us with an expert understanding of humanitarian and development challenges in contexts of conflict and fragility.

 

3.       The IRC works with local partners in Serbia to implement protection programmes with a special focus on women, children and other vulnerable individuals. Further to this, the IRC supports Serbian authorities to provide better care to the most vulnerable refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, and improve accommodation facilities. In Bulgaria and Hungary, the IRC is implementing protection programmes with three Bulgarian and one Hungarian partner. Finally, the IRC monitors migration in Macedonia, Romania and other countries across the Balkans route.

 

Section II: Root causes of migration in the Balkans

 

4.       Ongoing conflict in countries around the world are causing high levels of displacement. Millions of individuals are fleeing war and regimes such as ISIS and the Taliban in order to save themselves and their families. Many of these individuals suffer psychological and physical effects of war.

 

5.       The ongoing Syrian war has destroyed the structure of Syrian society, resulting in a shattered economy, bombed schools, medical facilities and other civilian infrastructure, and widespread daily insecurity and violence. This has subsequently led to over 5 million people fleeing their homes. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed. It has become the largest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.

 

6.       The vital and growing needs of refugees have strained host countries’ resources and infrastructure, and exacerbated pre-existing issues regarding resource scarcity, such as children’s access to education and peoples’ access to legal employment.


7.       2017 has been one of the most violent years in Afghanistan for security incidents since the ousting of the Taliban by the Northern Alliance more than a decade ago.

 

8.       There is a need for the continuation of support to and leadership in the global efforts to resolve conflict and invest in the sustainable development of countries such as, but not limited to, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and South Sudan. ‘Global Britain’ has shown great contributions to these efforts, however, now is a vital time to continue this and show continued leadership.

 

Section III: The Balkans Migratory Route

 

9.       The so-called Balkan route consists of Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia.

 

10.   The EU-Turkey Statement has not stopped refugees from seeking alternate routes into Europe – including the use of the Black Sea from Turkey to Romania. Thousands of refugees, including unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), continue to transit through Serbia and other Balkan countries.

 

11.   Of those moving onwards irregularly, most travel from Greece via Macedonia to Serbia or cross directly from Bulgaria to Serbia in order to then try to cross to Hungary, Croatia, or Romania.

 

12.   People moving onwards irregularly from Greece and Bulgaria reported abuses at the hands of smugglers, as well as being beaten, and set upon by police dogs, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in its new “Desperate Journeys” report. Allegations of push-backs by state authorities continued, including in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Macedonia. There were also reports of access to asylum procedures being denied and allegations of violence in some instances.

 

13.   On August 14, a young man committed suicide by throwing himself under the wheels of a moving locomotive in Sid, near Serbia’s border with Croatia. In the same town last November, a 23-year old committed suicide after several unsuccessful attempts to cross the border irregularly. As options for onward movement decrease, these tragic incidents highlight the need for systematic psychosocial support to refugees and migrants stranded along the so-called Balkans route.

 

14.   According to the EU’s data on asylum seekers in 2016, there were over 39,000 asylum applications lodged for unaccompanied children. Since most refugee children hope to travel beyond the Balkans and farther into Europe, they often fear and avoid formal registration and detection by the authorities. The actual number of UASC present in countries along the Balkan route is therefore likely much higher than official estimates.

 

Section IV: What are the patterns of migration through and from the region? What have been the consequences for the region?

Across the region

 

15.   A total of 3,412 people arrived along the so-called Eastern Mediterranean Route between January 1 and July 31, 2017 (IOM).


16.   As of September 10, 2017, 7,200 refugees and migrants were in government-run centres in countries along the Balkan route, with hundreds more moving under the radar each week towards Western Europe (IOM).

Serbia

 

17.   According to IRC’s partners in Serbia, the number of irregular arrivals was on a slight increase late August and early September, though only a fraction of the mass influx of the previous summer.

 

18.   4,061 refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants were counted in Serbia on 10 September. 3,754 were housed in 18 government-run centres. Among them, at least 300 are UASC. 225 new arrivals have been recorded from August 28 – September 10, almost doubling from the previous fortnight, when there were 120 arrivals (UNHCR). Most were Yazidi families from Iraq, mainly arriving from Bulgaria.

 

19.   Hundreds of people continue to try and cross the borders irregularly and stay in urban and rural informal shelters, including 100 individuals living in Belgrade.

 

Bulgaria

 

20.   At the beginning of September 2017, there were about 2,200 refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in Bulgaria according to a regular report by the country's Interior Ministry.

 

21.   Most of the migratory pressure is at the border between Bulgaria and Serbia, as individuals try to make their way onwards to Western Europe.

 

22.   The danger of drowning across the Mediterranean has forced people to seek alternative routes, and in the summer they headed to the Maritsa and Rezov rivers. Organisers of cross-border traffic take between EUR 2.000 and 3.000 per person for the transfer and about EUR 10 for forged documents (Bulgarian Interior Ministry).

 

23.   Bulgaria, which in 2015 pledged to accept 860 asylum-seekers transferred from Greece, has so far accepted 50 according to the European Commission’s most recent progress report on the EU’s temporary emergency relocation scheme.

 

Hungary

 

24.   According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Hungary currently hosts 551 asylum-seekers.

 

25.   In a recent statement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said that Hungary clearly intends to “severely limit” the access refugees have to protection in the country and expressed his particular concern with Hungary’s practice of detaining asylum-seekers in closed centres at the border while they await decisions on their applications and appeals.

 

26.   The Hungarian government has decided to extend by six months, until March 2018, the state of emergency declared early last year because of the migrant crisis.

 

Other Balkan Countries

 

27.   Croatia is hosting 526 asylum-seekers (IOM).

 

28.  Slovenia is hosting 234 asylum-seekers (IOM).

 

29.  Macedonia is hosting 47 asylum-seekers in two centres (IOM); however, many more are known to be in transit each day under the radar.

 

Unaccompanied and Separated Children

 

30.  The number of children stranded in the Balkans who could be eligible to join family in the UK and elsewhere in Europe is unknown, and the IRC is urging the UK Government to ensure appropriate resources are available to identify eligible children in the Balkans and support them through the family reunification process.

 

31.  In May 2017, UNICEF warned that tens of thousands of children are stranded in countries along the so-called Eastern Mediterranean Route, including Greece, risking long-term psycho-social distress. While the numbers accommodated in camps have decreased as many choose to move forward irregularly, thousands of children remain in countries along the Balkan route. For example, roughly 40% of refugees, asylum seekers and migrations registered in Serbia are children.

 

32.  UASC face a very high risk of violence, including gender-based violence (GBV), and some fall into the hands of traffickers. Those arriving to a new country with smugglers are often in immediate need of medical assistance, food and rest. They require specialised child services including psychological support. Despite this, in Serbia, Bulgaria, FYROM and Croatia, identified UASC are not consistently provided with safe accommodation options or services, including in specialised centres which are overcrowded and underfunded.

 

33.  Best interest assessments (BIA) and best interest determination (BID)1 are often carried out in an ad hoc manner, using different criteria, with language barriers when translation is poor or non- existent.

 

34.  Smugglers often also prey on UASC under 14 to support them in gaining clientele, because children cannot be prosecuted for these offenses—for example, English-speaking UASC in camps are used by smugglers as interpreters. NGO staff report that smugglers are highly visible and there are reported instances when the smugglers purposely separate sibling groups or children from their parents to have better control of them.

 

35.  The situation is particularly acute for single mothers travelling with children. In addition to suffering psychological distress, they are also exposed to a heightened risk of violence if they decide to move on irregularly. Those deciding to move on irregularly expose themselves to risks of trafficking, sexual violence, exploitation and other abuse. Keeping families together is the best way to ensure that families are protected.


Section V: Implications for the UK - Recommendations to the UK Government

 

36. There are a number of policy adoptions the UK Government could make which the IRC has outlined below.

 

37. The Department for International Development (DfID) should provide funding and technical support for the humanitarian response in the Balkans, ensuring that all arrivals have immediate access to shelter, health care, safe water, sanitation, information, and protection for vulnerable groups.

 

38. DfID should advocate for UNHCR and IOM to support responses to the crisis, especially in monitoring arrivals and providing arrivals with information on reception and asylum processes.

 

39. The UK should commit to expanding the use of all possible tools for safe entry into Europe. Safe and legal channels that present an alternative route to (and therefore undermine) the smuggling networks must be made available. The UK should increase the use of:

 

40. The UK should work with the EU and Member States to adopt a comprehensive, common asylum policy with minimum standards of protection. EU Member States must ensure they fully uphold the rights of those seeking international protection and ensure due process, as provided for by the EU asylum acquis.

 

41. The UK should advocate for an end to blanket detention policies that most worryingly also affect children, as well as efforts to increase violence prevention measures and efficient response to GBV, human trafficking and other forms of violence and exploitation against women, children, and other vulnerable refugees.

 

42. The UK should advocate for more capacity for dedicated accommodation for children (separate from adults) with specialised support in line with international standards is needed across the Balkans, as well more options for alternative care for refugee children, including fostering.

 

Submitted 20 September 2017

1 UNHCR, “Safe & Sound: What States can do to ensure respect for the best interests of UASC in Europe,” October

2014, http://www.refworld.org/docid/5423da264.html “[a] Best Interests Assessment: For all actions affecting individual UASC as part of a continuous process   (e.g., safe accommodation and care, age assessments where necessary, family tracing, appropriate health and educational provision). Best Interests Determination: A formal procedure to determine a durable solution for the individual UASC, addressing the child’s care needs and protection needs resulting in a recommendation regarding, (e.g., integration, a third-country solution or return to a country of origin or habitual residence in the child’s best interest