Conditions in reception facilities

Author

Nikola Kovačević

Overcrowding, lack of privacy and poor hygiene have been just some of the reported issues in the previous years. These deficiencies were already highlighted in the 2017 report of the Council of Europe Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees who emphasised that standards of accommodation in both Asylum and Reception Centres could potentially raise issues under Article 3 ECHR.[1] However, and due to the significant reduction in arrivals, the reception facilities which were operational in 2024 were not overcrowded. Still, the dilapidated and worn-out state of most of the facilities, accompanied with poor hygiene, remained a problem.[2]

Conditions in asylum centres[3]

 Asylum Centre in Banja Koviljača

AC Banja Koviljača was established in 2008 as the first Asylum Centre in Serbia and is located in an urban area near Loznica town. The closest public services, primary school and police are approximately 1 km away from the AC, which represents an example of good practice. With a capacity of 120 persons, the overall conditions in the centre were of the highest quality, especially after its refurbishment. The centre operates an open regime and the living conditions in it are satisfactory: families with children and persons with special needs are prioritised in terms of accommodation, with single women residing in separate rooms from single men. Asylum seekers accommodated there usually do not have many negative remarks concerning the reception conditions.

The centre in Banja Koviljača has three floors with eleven rooms each, and there are eight showers and eight toilets on each of the floors. The centre has a TV room and a children corner where various creative workshops and activities are organised every day. Measures are taken for the preservation of family unity and of ethnic affiliation on reception and placement of persons. This means that members of different ethnic communities are placed on different floors or that the selection is made on the basis of the language the beneficiaries of accommodation speak. The AC also has eight indoor cameras inside the facility, and eight outdoor cameras, and the AC gate is locked during the night. The AC has its own heating system and it does not depend on the external heat supply. Asylum seekers are provided meals three times a day, and the meals are specially adjusted to their religious and health needs.

An auxiliary building within the Asylum Centre was adapted for provision medical services with a view to securing the permanent presence of medical staff.

A room has been designated for legal counsel and associations providing legal counselling to asylum-seekers. Still, AC Banja Koviljača was not operational in 2024.

Asylum Centre in Bogovađa

AC Bogovađa remained closed in 2024. It was a Red Cross facility 70 km away from Belgrade, that was used for the accommodation of asylum seekers since 2011 with an overall capacity of 200 (which could be extended to 280, as was the case during the COVID-19 lockdown). In 2022, the AC was gradually used less and less, and it was finally closed in 2023.

While conditions improved since the renovation of the main building in 2018, during the time it was open it was clear that AC was not properly maintained and that most of the premises and sanitary facilities were in a dilapidated state with a poor level of hygiene. Its location in a weekend village surrounded by a forest also made it difficult for asylum seekers to use all the services they needed, with the exception of attending the primary school.

When in use, however, inspectors of the Asylum Office regularly visited the AC, and charity organisations also had access to it. Furthermore, a medical team used to be present in the centre every working day and, in case healthcare needs could not be addressed within the AC healthcare centre, the asylum seekers were transported to the outpatient clinic in Bogovađa, the Health Centre in Lajkovac or the hospital in Valjevo.

Asylum Centre in Tutin

AC Tutin opened in January 2014 in the ‘Dalas’ former furniture factory. It was located there until March 2018, when a new accommodation facility for asylum seekers was opened in Velje Polje, four kilometres away from downtown Tutin, and 295 km away from Belgrade. In July 2024 AC Tutin was closed and all residents were transferred to AC Sjenica.

As a new building, the accommodation conditions in this centre had significantly improved compared to earlier years (including with a doctor present twice a week, security staff present 24 hours a day, workshops being facilitated by the CRM, and CSOs providing interpretation services).

However, the location of the town of Tutin was problematic, especially during the winter months when access by CSOs and the Asylum Office is severely hindered due to unfavourable weather conditions. Since 2020, the Asylum Office failed to regularly conduct the asylum procedure-related activities (and it only visited this facility in December 2023), which meant that asylum seekers there did not have effective access to the asylum procedure.[4] This situation remained unchanged until its closure in 2024.

Officially, the centre could accommodate 230 persons. In 2023, AC Tutin was operational from January to March 2023 and then it was closed until the end of July. After it was reopened, it functioned normally until the end of October in terms of the number of residents. However, and after the CRM and MoI decided to transfer all asylum seekers to AC Sjenica and AC Tutin, AC Tutin became overcrowded hosting between 250 and 330 residents in the period of November-December, until it finally closed in July 2024.

Asylum Centre in Sjenica

AC Sjenica was set up as a temporary centre in the former Hotel Berlin, in the town of Sjenica, to accommodate an increased number of asylum-seekers in Serbia in August 2013. In March 2017, the former textile factory Vesna was added to the Asylum Centre. The old Hotel Berlin, with inadequate conditions and collective dormitories in the hall, was closed in July 2018. The centre in Sjenica is now located only in the former factory Vesna, downtown Sjenica. Its reception capacity is of 440 persons, accommodated in 27 rooms. It is approximately 250 km away from Belgrade and the underdeveloped road infrastructure poses particular difficulties for the NGOs and the Asylum Office.

Within the AC, there is a children’s area, a TV room, and a playground in front of the building. Meals are provided to asylum seekers three times a day and are specially adjusted to their religious and health needs. There is also a designated room for the social workers from the local SWC.

Mandatory examinations on admission into the AC for assessment of health status or identification of potential contagious diseases are conducted at the local Health Centre. A doctor is present in the AC from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on workdays. The asylum-seekers in need of specialised examinations and stationary treatment are transported to the hospitals in Novi Pazar or Užice.

In 2020, AC Sjenica was mainly used to accommodate UASCs but was mostly empty in 2021, with the exception of between 10 and 20 beneficiaries who required medical attention. In 2022, AC Sjenica hosted less than 80 residents on average and the turnover was high. The living conditions could be described as inadequate in the old part of the factory, while significant improvements were made during 2019 when the entrance, kitchen and a certain number of bedrooms were refurbished. The new part of the building provides more privacy and plenty of accommodation space. The children who used to be accommodated at the AC are satisfied with the organised activities. Between January and August 2023, AC Sjenica hosted between 40 and 200 residents on average. Since July 2024, AC Sjenica has been designated as the main facility for accommodation of single male adult asylum seekers. It accommodated around 120 persons on average.

Asylum Centre in Krnjača

AC Krnjača was founded in the Belgrade municipality of Palilula in 2014 as a temporary centre for accommodation of asylum-seekers. The AC is located in the compound of workers’ barracks used – since early 1990s – for accommodation of refugees from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as of IDPs from Kosovo. It can officially host 830 persons – making it the second biggest asylum centre destined to accommodating asylum seekers in Serbia. In practice, however, the AC’s actual and realistic capacity is of approximately 500 to 600 residents, when taking into consideration other standards including privacy, safety, overcrowding and hygiene.

The conditions in the centre partially improved after the 2017 renovation of the older barracks. However, video surveillance was installed but the number of security staff is inadequate. Asylum seekers also often report poor hygiene and lack of privacy. Three meals per day are provided and are specially adjusted to asylum seekers’ religious and health needs. The AC has a hair salon and a tailor shop, and civil society organisations organise various courses in the common premises so that accommodated asylum seekers can improve specific crafts or languages. Still, the fact that large number of people come and go has led to the situation in which most of the barracks are in dilapidated state, including the toilets and showers.[5]

Free health care is available to all the persons residing in Krnjača, irrespective of their legal status. A medical team is present until 8 p.m. every day except Sunday in a designated area adapted for adequate provision of this type of services. Asylum seekers and others in need of specialised examinations are referred to one of the hospitals in Belgrade and are assisted by interpreters and CRM representatives. The lack of interpreters can sometimes create problems in communication with doctors, and there were several instances in which ambulance failed to respond to the calls of CRM workers, which has led to a situation in which camp employees had to transfer applicants to the hospital themselves.

AC Krnjača hosts vulnerable applicants, including SGBV survivors, families with small children, women who travel alone, LGBTQI+ persons and others. Since 2023 many incidents have been reported including physical assaults and constant psychological abuse (people being offended, mocked and verbally bullied) by the residents of the nearby informal settlement. The most sever incidents were reported to the Police, but the ill-treatment continued and the abusers continue to act with impunity. In 2023, there was a serious physical altercation between the group of Russian asylum seekers and inhabitants of the informal settlement which led to physical injuries.[6] Many asylum seekers have clearly outlined that they are afraid to walk to the AC during the night. In 2024, IDEAS published two assessments which clearly corroborate the lack of special reception guarantees to vulnerable asylum seekers in reception facilities in Serbia, and especially in AC Krnjača.[7]Both publications clearly indicate that there is no vulnerability assessment of beneficiaries upon their arrival, nor are there specially-designed programs of support. Accommodation is identical for everyone, and the testimonies collected by IDEAS clearly indicate that CRM has failed to design special programs and that accommodation in general implies provision of the most basic needs such as food, shelter and clothes.

Asylum Centre in Vranje

In May 2017, the Reception Centre in Vranje (220 places) opened, in a motel at the entrance of the town. The conditions in Vranje may be described as very positive bearing in mind their provisional nature, but the realistic capacities that would guarantee human dignity and a longer stay are several dozen less. In June 2021, this facility became an asylum centre, accommodating Ukrainian families (28 persons in total) at the end of March 2022, and 40 persons in mid-April. The living conditions in the AC Vranje are of the highest standards and this facility was completely refurbished and equipped with new furniture for Ukrainian refugees. In January 2023, AC in Vranje accommodated 83 refugees from Ukraine, while this number at the end of the year was around 50. In 2023, the official capacity according also to the CRM data, was reduced to 150, which is more reasonable. However, in 2024, the official capacity was once again 220 even though no major refurbishments or extensions were performed.

Asylum Centre in Obrenovac

Another reception centre for the accommodation of a larger number of refugees and asylum seekers was opened in a military barracks in Obrenovac (1,000 places) in January 2017 – the capacities are assessed in relation to available beds. The capacity in 2020 and 2021 was estimated to be of 650 persons by the CRM. Still, this number was not realistic and it is clear that RC Obrenovac should not have hosted more than 400 persons at that time. The idea behind the opening of the centre was to provide accommodation for persons in need of international protection who used to stay in unhygienic and unsafe conditions in Belgrade. However, at the outset of its functioning, it started to suffer from overcrowding, which led to a number of violent incidents among its population. The presence of organised criminal groups involved in smuggling is evident

In June 2021, this facility was turned into an Asylum Centre but no official activities of the Asylum Office were reported in 2022 and 2023. However, at the end 2021, detailed reconstruction of the facility started and in the last quarter of 2022, the capacities of this AC had extended to 1,000 beds officially. As previously mentioned, the capacity of the centres should be lower, but newly refurbished areas are clean, provide privacy and smaller rooms, in combination with old bigger dormitories with 10 to 15 beds. The conditions in most of the areas in the AC are satisfactory. In 2023, AC Obrenovac hosted between 340 and 950 residents, while that number in 2025 was around 50. This fact clearly indicates that CRM’s policy to refer people to AC Sjenica cannot be justified and that it further undermines the effectives of the Serbian asylum system. AC Obrenovac had sufficient capacity to host all persons who genuinely wanted to apply for asylum and who could have had their asylum interviews facilitated in a more timely manner due to the vicinity of this facility to the headquarters of the Asylum Office.

The number of foreigners accommodated in asylum centres and reception centres on 31 December 2024 were the following:

Source: Migration Profile of the CRM[8]

Conditions in temporary reception facilities

As already outlined, the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Serbia was significantly higher in 2022 in comparison to 2021, but the last quarter of 2022 saw a significant drop in arrivals, and thus in the number of people accommodated in RCs.[9] In 2023, the number of arrivals was 108,808, while in 2024 the sharp decrease was detected leading to 19,603 arrivals.

The authorities started opening temporary reception facilities in 2015 in order to provide basic accommodation and humanitarian support to persons who were likely in need of international protection but were not interested in seeking asylum in Serbia. These are not Asylum Centres and are not meant for long-term stay, even though the Asylum Act provides for the possibility for the asylum procedure to be facilitated there. Persons in need of international protection and other categories of migrants were placed in the majority of these centres throughout the year.

Reception centres on the South of the country

The reception (‘one-stop’) centre in Preševo (950 places), close to the border with North Macedonia, was opened during the summer of 2015. Emergency support was initially provided by Red Cross Serbia and the local municipality, but the Government soon decided to have a local tobacco factory adapted and turned into a registration and accommodation facility. The centre has a reception capacity for several hundred persons at any given moment.

On 3 January 2023, 768 persons were accommodated there, while that number in April 2022 was 1,511. In the period from 5 November 2023 until 31 December 2023 the number of residents varied from 727 to 290. In January 2024 it accommodated 279 persons, while that number at the end of the year was 233.

It is important to highlight that RC Preševo is mainly built for short-term stays and is comprised of collective sleeping premises, with several dozen bunk beds and without the possibility to enjoy the right to privacy. In general, RC Preševo cannot be considered as suitable accommodation for persons in need of international protection and its realistic capacities that could meet relevant housing standards are significantly lower than 950, which is the 2024 official number.

Also, it is important to note that the geographical location of RC in Preševo is easy for identification, registration and vulnerability assessment of newly arrived foreign nationals because is located close to the border with North Macedonia, a main entry point into Serbia. However, vulnerability assessments are not conducted in practice, leaving this facility to be the place where people would spend several days and would move on with their journey.

RC Bujanovac (230 places) in Southern Serbia opened in October 2016, in a former automotive battery factory lying along the Belgrade-Skopje highway. The reception conditions may be described as satisfying, especially when the number of residents is lower than the official capacity. RC Bujanovac was not operational for most of 2021 and 2022, but was fully operational in 2023. Its occupation varied from 100 in January to 452 in November 2023 and remained overcrowded until the end of the year. In 2024, the occupancy varied from 82 to 116 maximum in February.

Reception Centres on the north of the country

The reception centre in Sombor (300 places) opened in 2015, in the warehouse of a military complex close to the border with Croatia. The centre’s capacity was increased to 160 places, in comparison to the 120 places available in 2021. On 19 December 2021, the overcrowding rate in this RC was 580%. On 26 September 2022, 768 persons were accommodated in this RC, while on 3 January 2023, this number significantly decreased to 384. In 2023, its official capacity was of 300 places and it hosted between 220 and almost 400 until November 2023 when it was official closed. It remained closed throughout 2024.

RC in Sombor is the facility that was known to be run by organised criminal groups involved in smuggling with dozens of security incidents, poor living conditions, lack of privacy and in general its failure to meet the requirements for the respect of human dignity (see section on Access to the Territory). In March 2023, a part of RC Sombor where people lived in tents burned down.[10]

Additional centres operate in Principovac (200 places), Adaševci (1,000 places), and Šid municipality, close to the Croatian border. In 2022 at RC Principovci did not reach more than 250 people, while that number in 2023 varied from several dozen to 316. In September 2022, RC Adaševci accommodated 1,243 persons, but in the last quarter of the year, the numbers dropped to 195 persons, all accommodated in solid building outside the rubb halls.[11] The drop-in number of residents mirrors that of general arrivals at that period. However, in 2023, RC Adaševci hosted several dozen to 929 foreign nationals. RC Adasevci has been closed since December 2023, while RC Šid has been closed since July 2024. RC Adaševci has been known for extremely overcrowding conditions, poor hygiene, lack of security and privacy and ill-treatment committed by the hands of employees towards residents.[12]

The reception centre in Subotica (220 places) was opened in 2015 at the height of the refugee and migrant movement into Hungary. Like the other reception centres, it was inadequate for long-term residence. Residents are accommodated in group container rooms which do not guarantee privacy or the possibility to maintain hygiene. There were instances of attacks and stabbing reported by beneficiaries who resided there, as well as attacks from the local population.[13] The RC Subotica was overcrowded in 2022, when it illustratively hosted 431 persons in September. In 2023, the highest recorded number of residents was 248. In November 2023, RC Subotica was closed and it remained closed in 2024.

In April 2017, an additional centre was opened in Kikinda (300), close to the Romanian border, in refurbished agricultural facilities. The vast majority of the persons accommodated Kikinda and Subotica used to be on the waiting list for entry to Hungary.[14] For instance, during the COVID-19 lockdown, RC Kikinda hosted 660 refugees and migrants. The number remained unchanged on 10 January 2021, while on 6 June 2021, it hosted 884 persons. Only 216 beneficiaries were accommodated in Kikinda in September 2022. The highest number of residents was recorded in August 2023, when 172 foreign nationals were accommodated there. RC Kikinda has been closed since November 2023.

In mid-2016, the authorities of Serbia opened three additional centres in Dimitrovgrad (90), Bosilegrad (110) and Pirot (190) to handle the increasing number of arrivals from Bulgaria. Another reception centre was opened in Bela Palanka (280) on 30 December 2016. All of these centres offer very basic, ageing facilities and are inadequate for anything other than very short-term stay: for example, the centre in Dimitrovgrad only offers collective dormitories, and there are no separate male and female toilets. RC Dimitrovgrad was not operational in 2021 and 2022, while RC Pirot and RC Bela Palanka reopened but no overcrowding was recorded. In 2023, RC Dimitrovgrad became operational at the end of the year hosting between 40 and 75 residents, while RC Pirot was overcrowded for most of the year hosting around 350 persons in July, mainly from Morocco. RC Bosilegrad was opened for most of the year offering the best living conditions in a refurbished building with separate 4 to 8 bunk beds per room. It was briefly overcrowded in November 2023. RCs Pirot, Bosilegrad and Dimitrovgrad were closed in the first half of 2024. RC Bela Palanka was permanently closed in 2024.

In general, the majority of Reception Centres lack adequate living conditions due to their nature and purpose. Namely, the Reception Centres were established and designed during the 2015/2016 mass influx of refugees with the aim to provide a short-term stay not exceeding several days. However, as the border policies of neighbouring countries changed, and the time of stay in Serbia increased from several days to several weeks or months, the living conditions in the RCs deteriorated. For that reason, arguably the living conditions in the majority of RCs are inadequate and the main features are the following: overcrowding, poor hygiene, lack of privacy and safety, poor sanitation and lack of basic psycho-social services.

What is also important to note is the fact that every year capacities of different reception facilities are officially changed, even though major reconstructions were not undertaken. The criteria used by CRM when officially increasing or decreasing the official capacities are not clear, except for the one relating to the number of beds available.

Finally, it is also important to outline that CSOs in Serbia have not paid particular attention to the living conditions in Reception Centres and that all the data is collected through general observations made during the visits conducted for the purpose of legal counselling. Thus, thematic visits aimed at thoroughly documenting and reporting on the living conditions in the Reception Centres should be prioritised in the future. This is important for several reasons. First of all, the official narrative in the past was that Serbia can accommodate up to approximately 8,200 persons. However, this capacity is determined by the number of beds and not quality of the living conditions. This is also important for the future and potential cases of expulsions to Serbia, where sending states should bear in mind the quality of the reception conditions in respect to Article 3 of ECHR.[15] And finally, more detailed data on the current state of asylum and reception centres could be used as an advocacy tool for improvement of the living conditions. According to the official data, but also reports published by the NPM, realistic capacities of reception centres are at least 30 to 50% lower than the official number, when one applies the standards of the EUAA and other human rights standards.

Source: Migration Profile of CRM[16]

[1] Council of Europe, Report of the fact-finding mission by Ambassador Tomáš Boček, Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees to Serbia and two transit zones in Hungary, 12-16 June 2017, available at: http://bit.ly/2DwCnI2.

[2] Information obtained from IDEAS field officers.

[3] For those instances where a source is not provided, the information was obtained from IDEAS field officers.

[4] APC, Azilni postupak nedostižan za izbeglice, 27 November 2020, available in Serbian at: https://bit.ly/39BgZnj.

[5] Observed by IDEAS legal representatives during regular visits.

[6] Observed by IDEAS legal representatives during regular visits to AC Krnjača and reported to IDEAS by its clients.

[7] IDEAS, Assessment of LGBTIQ+ Asylum Seeker Experiences in Serbia: Analysis of Reception Conditions, Support Services, and Recommendations for Policy Reform, April 2024, available here and Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Support for GBV Survivors in Serbia’s Asylum System, April 2024, available here.

[8] Available at: https://kirs.gov.rs/lat/azil/profili-centara.

[9] An average number of refugees and migrants residing in Serbia was between 7,000 to 8,500 on a daily basis in the first 9 months of 2022, after which this number dropped to 3500 to 5,000 persons, inside and outside reception facilities.

[10] RTV, U požaru izgoreo objekat u Prihvatnom centru u Somboru, 2 March 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/4ahzTvD.

[11] Rubb halls are big tent constructions used to accommodate up to 100 foreign nationals.

[12] See more in AIDA Country Report: Serbia – 2023 Update, pp. 175-177.

[13] APC Twitter, available at: https://bit.ly/3ioXFgC.

[14] AIDA, Country Report: Hungary – Update on the year 2018, March 2019, available here, 18.

[15] ECtHR, Tarakhel v. Switzerland, Application no. 29217/12, Judgment of 4 November 2014, EDAL, available at: http://bit.ly/2RvQipS.

[16] Available at: https://kirs.gov.rs/lat/azil/profili-centara.