Conditions in reception facilities

Overcrowding, lack of privacy and poor hygiene are just some of the reported issues. These deficiencies were also highlighted in the 2017 report of the Council of Europe Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees who highlighted that standards of accommodation in both Asylum and Reception Centres could potentially raise issues under Article 3 ECHR.[1]

Conditions in asylum centres

The conditions in the Asylum Centres vary from one to the other, with those in the centres in Banja Koviljača and Bogovađa being arguably of the highest quality. However, at the beginning the COVID-19 lockdown, all Asylum Centres except for AC Banja Koviljača were overcrowded, with a lack of privacy and poor hygienic conditions.[2] AC Banja Koviljača was closed for refurbishing for most of 2021 and for the whole of 2022. In the following paragraphs, the living conditions, regime of life and available services in different reception facilities in Serbia will be outlined. The vast majority of descriptions are provided by relevant CSOs who are conducting regular visits to asylum and reception centres.

All the Asylum Centres are open, but for “night quiet” they are locked for security reasons and no activities outside the rooms are allowed in line with the House Rules. The centres in Banja Koviljača and Krnjača are the only centres to have a Ministry of Interior official present at all times for recording incoming asylum seekers.

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 are satisfactory. 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.

Prior to the renovation, the centre in Banja Koviljača had 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. Care is taken of 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 selection is made on the basis of the language the beneficiaries 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 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 permanent presence of medical staff.

A room has been designated for legal counsel and associations providing legal counselling to asylum-seekers. Translators are present on a daily basis, while legal aid is provided by APC, BCHR and HCIT. The asylum procedure is regularly conducted by the Asylum Office and all foreigners are registered in line with the Asylum Act.

One doctor and one medical technician are present four hours on each workday. Ever since the AC was opened, only a medical technician is present in the centre. The practice remained unchanged in so far as specialist examinations are concerned, meaning that asylum seekers in need of such examinations are referred to the hospital in town of Loznica in the company of the Asylum Centre staff. The health-care assistance is supported by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Medical check-ups are available on all working days, and the GP can intervene in urgent cases 24/7 as she herself stays at the AC. PIN and Group 484 provide psycho-social counselling on a regular basis.

AC Banja Koviljača was the only AC which was not overcrowded during the COVID-19 lockdown if we take in consideration its official capacity (120). However, since the capacities of all accommodation facilities are measured in relation to available beds, it is safe to assume that realistic capacities of this Centre are at least couple of dozens less. On 10 January 2020, AC accommodated 54 asylum seekers. It can be safely argued that AC Banja Koviljača is the best accommodation facility for asylum seekers in Serbia and CRM should strive to keep the number of asylum seekers below 80 in the future.

It is reasonable to assume that AC Banja Koviljača will be one of the best accommodations for asylum seekers after the refurbishments are concluded. Still, it remains unclear why this asylum centre remains non-operational.

Bogovađa is a Red Cross facility that has been used for the accommodation of asylum seekers since 2011 with an overall capacity of 200. It is located 70 km from Belgrade, while the closest public services are 11 km away. The AC itself is not located in an urban area, i.e., it is located in a weekend village surrounded by forest. This makes it difficult for the asylum seekers to use all the services they need, with the exception of attending the primary school. The nearest shop is 2–3 kilometres away. This also why many of them are dissatisfied when referred to this AC and why the fluctuations of foreigners are very intensive.

The capacity can be extended up to maximum 280 beds. During 2018, around 110 persons on the average were residing in the centre. Families from Afghanistan and Iran represented the majority of residents in 2019, as well as the women travelling alone were accommodated in dormitories with other single women. In 2020, AC Bogovađa was designated for UASC, and in late 2021 as a family centre as well, and it was running at its capacity most of the time. During 2021, after one barrack in AC Krnjača was designated for UASC, half of AC Bogovađa’s capacity were designated for asylum seekers from Cuba.

In December 2020, an incident between the children and the employees occurred,[3] and almost half of its population was transferred to RC Preševo, even though this facility is not designated for UASC. The conflict between employees and the UASC who were praying arose after on the employees accidentally stepped on the prayer rug. This led to a protest by the UASC and a CRM employee was forced to kiss the prayer rug Even though this kind of behaviour was unacceptable, the fact that dozens of UASC were transferred to RC Preševo gives serious reasons for concern, especially if we take in consideration that, during 2020, CRM and MoI were frequently resorting to ‘disciplinary measure’ which implies that ‘problematic’ foreigners are transferred to reception centres where living conditions can be even described as inhumane and degrading.[4] This kind of measure was applied several dozen UASC and this act was praised by the Ombudsman,[5] which gives another reason for concern because informal forms of punishment which imply transferring of children to poor living conditions is in clear contradiction with the best interest of a child principle. In 2022, it accommodated mostly UASC until late December 2022, when all UASCs were transferred to RC Šid, while AC Bogovađa remained almost empty.

In June 2020, a video appeared showing members of private security ill-treating children in their rooms. The video shows one of the security officers yelling and slapping boys who allegedly did not want to go to sleep. This video became viral and triggered reactions by almost all state institutions and CSOs, and BCHR submitted a criminal complaint.[6] The Ombudsman issued a recommendation failing to qualify such acts as at least inhumane and degrading and simply indicating that CRM had failed to timely inform MoI and the competent public prosecutor.[7] This once again showed that the Ombudsman (excluding NPM department) is reluctant to properly assess cases of human rights violations of refugees and migrants.

In comparison to the Ombudsman’s reaction to the December incident, when a group of boys forced an employee to kiss the prayer rug on which she accidentally stepped on, recorded and published video online, it can be clearly seen that the Ombudsman reacted with different intensity. The difference in reaction was also evident with regard to the Public Prosecutor who, in the case of misbehaving boys, ordered pre-trial detention, while in the case of the private actors who ill-treated children just opened a pre-investigative procedure.

There were no noteworthy incidents recorded in 2021 and 2022.

The conditions in this Asylum Centre have substantially improved bearing in mind that the main building was renovated in 2018. The centre has central heating and an adequate number of bathrooms, though they are unisex – for men and women. The meals at this AC are regular, three times a day, and are served in the common dining room.

The AC is not physically fenced off, it has video surveillance, and the security staff are present. Within the AC grounds, there are several separate buildings for different purposes, one of which is used by the AC management, doctors, the Asylum Office inspectors, and the Red Cross staff. The largest building is used for asylum seeker accommodation, and there is also a facility that is used by charity organisations, such as Caritas, to carry out their activities. There is a children’s playground in the courtyard.

In the second half of 2020, an Asylum Office police officer was deployed to AC Bogovađa for the purpose of registration of UASC who wish to express the intention to seek asylum and issuance of registration certificates and identity cards for asylum seekers. However, the registration officer was not present in AC Bogovađa in 2021 and 2022, and those UASC who wished to apply for asylum had to be transported to PS Lajkovac. During 2020 and 2021, the vast majority of children residing in this Centre was unregistered and lodging of asylum application or hearings were not facilitated after the COVID-19 lockdown. The same situation was recorded in 2021 and 2022. One of the main reasons for such state of affairs is the fact that most of UASCs do not want to remain in Serbia. A CRPC translator is present on a weekly basis.

A medical team used to be present in the centre every working day. However, the full time employed doctor decided to leave during 2021, leading to a situation in which nurses were providing primary health care, while the doctor from Lajkovac Health Care Center was visiting the AC as necessary. In case of interventions surpassing the capacities of the centre’s medical team, the asylum seekers are transported to the outpatient clinic in Bogovađa, the Health Centre in Lajkovac or the hospital in Valjevo, depending on the specific case. Mandatory medical check-ups are most often conducted several days within arrival and depend on the availability of places at the competent health care centre. Access to healthcare services outside the AC is impeded due to the lack of transportation means and drivers for that purpose. Another obstacle is the lack of interpreters, which causes difficulties for doctors when it comes to the communication with patients. Psychological counselling is provided by PIN and Group 484.

It is important to highlight that AC Bogovađa does not meet the standards for accommodation of UASC. The reason for this mainly lies in the fact that the Social Welfare Centre in Lajkovac does not have sufficient capacity to provide adequate support to all UASC, but only to those who have resided in Centre for more than 6 months, and those who wish to apply for asylum (two boys from Afghanistan in 2020 and 2 boys in 2022). They tend to be then transferred to Belgrade, to a social institution for children. A total of 24 children was enrolled into elementary school in 2021.

However, the situation in AC Bogovađa can be described as harmonious in 2022, mainly due to the fact that AC was not overcrowded. Still, children were not satisfied with the location of the camp. At the end of December, this AC accommodated less than 10 persons and this trend remained in the first quarter of 2023.

Tutin was opened in January 2014 in a former furniture factory Dalas. It was located there until March 2018 when a new facility for accommodation of asylum seekers was opened in Velje Polje, four kilometres away from downtown Tutin, and 295 km away from Belgrade. Officially, the centre can accommodate 200 persons. The average number of persons in this centre was more than 200 per day in 2020.

As a new building, the accommodation conditions in this centre have significantly improved compared to earlier years. However, the location of the town of Tutin is problematic, especially during the winter months when access by CSOs and Asylum Office is severely hindered due to unfavourable weather conditions. Namely, the AC in Tutin is located at Pešter weald where winter is long and harsh and snow frequently blocks the road, thereby preventing access to the camp for several weeks or even months. In 2020, Asylum Office failed to conduct asylum procedure in AC Tutin, meaning that asylum seekers there do not have effective access to asylum procedure.[8]

The centre has 60 rooms and an adequate number of toilets which are shared. There is central heating and a drinking water tank has been installed. On placement, care is taken regarding ethnic affiliation in as much as the accommodation capacities allow. The principle of family unity is respected, and the families are always placed together into rooms with their own bathrooms. Security staff is present 24 hours a day and the centre is locked during the night in line with the House Rules. Interpreters for Arabic and Farsi are available. Tutin AC has a common TV room, a dining room, and a children’s playground. Three meals per day are provided and are adapted to religious needs. The Commissariat facilitates different workshops and activities within the children’s corner, but also for the adults (sewing, hairdressing). However, one of the major problems is the lack of interpreters, which are mainly provided by CSOs.

The new building has an outpatient clinic with a doctor present twice a week which is a significant improvement in comparison to 2017. In addition, a nurse and a Farsi interpreter are present in the outpatient clinic thus raising the level of the medical services provided. The residents in need of specialised examinations are transported to the Health Care Centre in Tutin or to the hospital in Novi Pazar.

Sjenica was set up as a temporary centre in the former Hotel Berlin to accommodate an increased number of asylum-seekers in Serbia in August 2013. Later on, 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, that can take up to 250 persons in 27 rooms. It is approximately 250 km away from Belgrade and the underdeveloped road infrastructure poses particular difficulties for the NGOs and Asylum Office. An average of 100 persons per day stayed in this centre in the course of 2020. Children comprised 93% of the residents of the centre, the majority of them being unaccompanied. The principle of family unity is observed at placement, so families are always accommodated together.

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.

The AC in Sjenica was mostly used for UASC accommodation during the 2020 but in 2021 it was mainly empty, accommodating between 10 and 20 beneficiaries who required medical attention. In 2022, AC Sjenica hosted less than 80 resident on average and the fluctuation 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. Thus, 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.

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. All unaccompanied children interviewed by the BCHR were informed of the possibility of using medical services.

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 optimally take up to 750 persons, and up to 1,000 at times of urgency, making it – in addition to the reception/transit centre in Preševo – the biggest centre for accommodation of migrants and asylum – seekers on the territory of Serbia. However, it can be safely argued that the most realistic capacities are up to 600 places and taking in consideration other standards which refer to privacy, overcrowding and hygiene.

Given its proximity to downtown Belgrade, this Asylum Centre housed the greatest number of persons in 2021 and 2022 i.e., an average of 300 to 400 persons per day. CRM staff observed the principle of family unity at placement. There is a direct bus line connection to downtown (20 minutes). Also, the proximity to Belgrade provides greater employment and integration opportunities for the asylum seekers, which has positive effects on their attitude to apply for asylum in Serbia.

The conditions in the centre were partially improved after the 2017 renovation of the older barracks. However, video surveillance was installed but the number of security staff is inadequate. Further, asylum seekers often complained of 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.

The presence of organised criminal groups involved in smuggling and potentially human trafficking is evident and it is clear that security in Krnjača is highly problematic. However, the incidents and tensions which were recorded in 2020 were rare in 2021 and 2022.[9]

Free health care is equally 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 the interpreters and CRM representatives. The lack of interpreters can 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 transferred the applicant to the hospital.

At the beginning of 2023, the AC Krnjača was designated for vulnerable beneficiaries such as single women, LGBTQI+ persons, families with small children, but also asylum seekers from Russia. All single male persons were transferred to AC Obrenovac. This transfer was conducted unannounced, producing disturbance among residents. Still, this reception facility do not meet the requirements for the placement of the most vulnerable asylum seekers. On 3 January 2023, AC Krnjača accommodated 328 persons mainly from Burundi, while that number in early April 2023 was 172 with around 70 Burundians and 30 Russians.

In May 2017, the Reception Centre in Vranje (220 places) was opened, in a motel at the entrance into the town. The conditions in Vranje may be described as satisfactory bearing in mind their provisional nature, but the realistic capacitates 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.

Another reception centre for the accommodation of a larger number of refugees and asylum seekers was opened in a military barracks in Obrenovac (400 places) in January 2017. The centre was initially designed for 900 persons, but as it is the case of all other reception facilities, the capacities were assessed in relation to available beds. The capacities in 2020 and 2021 were estimated by the CRM on 650 persons. Still, this number was not realistic and it is clear that RC Obrenovac should not host 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 Asylum Centre but no official activities of the Asylum Office were reported in 2022. However, at the end 2021, detailed reconstruction of the facility had started and in the last quarter of 2022, the capacities of this AC have extended to 1000 beds. This number is not realistic, 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 AC are satisfactory.

The number of foreigners accommodated in asylum centres and reception centres on 19 December 2022 were the following:

Conditions in temporary reception facilities

The number of refugees and migrants arriving in Serbia was significantly higher in 2022 and in comparison to 2021, but the last quarter of 2022 implied significant drop in arrivals, and thus in the number of people accommodated in RCs. [10] 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.

The reception (‘one-stop’) centre in Preševo (1100 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 2023 was 1,511. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the highest recorded number was 1,501. It is important to highlight that RC Preševo is mainly built for a short-term stay and is comprised of collective sleeping premises, with several dozen bunk beds and without the possibility to enjoy the right to privacy. As in the past years, throughout 2021, APC reported poor living conditions, overcrowding and lack of privacy.[11] 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 then 1,100, which is the official number.

Bujanovac (255 places) in Southern Serbia was opened in October 2016. The centre was opened in a former automotive battery factory lying along the Belgrade-Skopje highway. Bearing in mind that the facilities have only recently been renovated and that the centre is intended only for short-term stay, the reception conditions may be described as acceptable, although there is no staff recording asylum seekers in the centre, meaning that persons who arrive in Bujanovac cannot get a certificate of having expressed the intention to seek asylum unless they already have one. However, in the second part of 2019, the number of persons accommodated in Bujanovac increased and the occupancy rate was around 150%. This led to a deterioration in hygiene, privacy and to certain extent safety. On 10 January 2020, the number of persons accommodated was 182, while the highest number was 260 during the COVID-19 lockdown. RC Bujanovac was not operational for most of 2021 and 2022.

The reception centre in Sombor (380 places) was opened in 2015 in the warehouse of a military complex close to the border with Croatia. The centre’s capacity was increased in comparison to 2021 when it was officially 120 to 160 places. However, RC Sombor was one of the most overcrowded RCs during 2020, accommodating during the COVID-19 lockdown 537 refugees and migrants. Several dozen tents have been installed in the yards in front of the centre and people were crammed inside the tents with limited access to water, sanitation and hygienic packages. Many foreigners were forced to sleep on the floor, on dirty mattresses and rugs and in unhygienic conditions.[12] It is reasonable to assume that longer stays in such conditions, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown, amounted to inhumane and degrading treatment. On 10 January 2021, 847 refugees and migrants were accommodated in RC Sombor whose official capacities are 120 persons.[13] On 20 June 2021, 636 persons were accommodated in this RC. APC reported appalling conditions on several occasions.[14] On 19 December 2021, overcrowding rate in this RC was 580%. On 26 September 2022, 768 persons was accommodated in this RC, while on 3 January 2023, this number was significantly reduced to 384. RC in Sombor is the facility 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 lack of necessary requirements for the respect of human dignity. See section on Access to the Territory.

Additional centres function in Principovac (220 places), Adaševci (1000 places), and Šid municipality, close to the Croatian border. Identically as RC Sombor, RC Adaševci and RC Principovac have been among the most overcrowded RCs in the course of 2020 and at the beginning of 2021.On 6 April 2020, 665 refugees and migrants were accommodated in RC Principovci, compared to 606 on 10 January 2021. On 19 December 2021 there was no overcrowding and the number of accommodated refuges and migrants was 227. A similar trend continued in 2022, when the number of residents was never above 250. As regards RC Adaševci, on 9 April 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, it accommodated 1,142 refugees and migrants, compared to 1,168 on 10 January 2021, 608 on 20 January 2021, and 601 on 19 December 2021, which implied an overcrowding rate of 150%. In September 2022, it accommodated 1,243 persons, but in the last quarter, the numbers finally dropped to acceptable rate of 195 persons accommodated in solid building outside the rap-holes. The reason for significant drop can be related to the general drop of arrivals in the last quarter of 2022.

The continuous overcrowding in these two centres has led to foreigners being crammed inside huge tents (‘rap-holes’) with limited or no heating during the winter, with access to a limited number of toilets and showers, where hygiene was on an extraordinary low level and where foreigners complained of live lice and different types of skin disease. The NPM in his report outlined the following:

‘In the first of the two rap-holes located on the west side of the area where the camp is located, about 150 migrants were found, who were sleeping on a total of 142 bunk beds, which were arranged in three rows along the length of the facility. So, each person has less than 2m2 at his disposal. The beds are in extremely poor condition, with dilapidated mattresses that are in most cases without sheets. Some of the beds have been completely destroyed and cannot be used, so it is clear that there are not enough beds in the rap-whole for all the people staying in it, and that it is often the case that two people sleep on one bed or three on two connected beds. Due to the high rate of overcrowding, lack of windows and unsuitability of the building to climatic conditions, the rap-whole itself is stuffy and steamy, and an unpleasant odour is intensive, which is a consequence the lack of personal hygiene and inability to maintain general hygiene inside the building. Practically, there are no conditions for a minimum degree of privacy, nor are there lockers or cassettes for storing personal belongings.’[15]

NPM recommended that all of the rap-holes be put out of use and that overcrowding in the solid building be resolved by decreasing the number of inhabitants. Taking in consideration NPM’s findings, it can be concluded that maximum capacities which meet the standards necessary for the respect of human dignity, cannot be higher than 200 to 250 places.

At the same time, RC Principovci and RC Adaševci are considered to be the most unsecure RCs with a high level of fluctuations in terms of people coming and going towards the border with Croatia. Smuggling groups are present in all of the Western RCs, including RC Šid and inter-foreigner violence is common. In RC Adaševci the NPM recorded testimonies which implied the violence committed by the camp employees. The Ombudsman stated in the Report the following:

‘The NPM received several allegations of inadequate conduct of CRM officers in both reception centres, and allegations of other actions in the PC in Adaševci, which by their nature indicate the possible presence of corruption. In addition, it was noticed that there was an atmosphere of fear and mistrust among the migrants because they were not ready to openly discuss the relationship with CRM officers, RC security, police and military officers. In fact, the people who made up the visiting team were, according to the migrants, the first people to visit the centre and talk to them about the conditions in which they live, the needs and the overall realisation of their rights.

A number of migrants interviewed by the NPM reported allegations of ill-treatment that included: insults, threats, slaps, kicking, but also beatings with rubber truncheons, metal bars and wooden poles. Migrants pointed out that security workers often pushed, slapped, kicked or shouted at them, threatened them with physical violence and insulted them, and that they were afraid to complain about them, often in line for a meal or when distributing masks, gloves, hygiene kits, shoes or clothes. They are afraid to report many things that bother them because in that case they would be “marked”, after which they would be transferred to the temporary reception centre in Morović. Some also pointed out that they procure blankets and hygiene packages from certain employees, whose names they did not want to say for money.’[16]

‘The NPM uses this opportunity to draw the attention of CRM officials to the fact that the prohibition of ill-treatment is absolute and that physical and mental integrity is inviolable. For this reason, and having in mind the allegations received, the NPM makes the following recommendation:

The Commissariat for Refugees and Migration will send a clear message to its officials, which contains a clear position that torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is absolutely forbidden and that there will be zero tolerance for such acts at the level of the entire Commissariat.’[17]

These testimonies were repeated in 2021 and 2022, when several dozen beneficiaries reported physical violence committed by the employees of CRM and private security,[18] but the situation was less intense in the last quarter of 2022 when the numbers significantly dropped.

During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, at that time RC Obrenovac, which has been operating as an Asylum Centre since June 2021, hosted 1,063 foreigners, with most of them accommodated in the military tents, without heating, electricity and sanitary facilities. The NPM highlighted in its report on April 2020 visit to RC Obrenovac the following:

The NPM team performed a detailed inspection of two larger and one smaller tent located behind the concrete sports field. A total of 22 Kurdish refugees from Syria were found in the tent number one, which measures 3.3 m by 11 m. Thus, 22 people were accommodated in a building of about 36 m2, which means that about 1.6 m2 was left at the disposal for each person, which indicates an extremely high overcrowding rate. During the night, or during the day during Ramadan, migrants are forced, due to lack of space, to sleep close and crammed next to each other, with their legs bent, in conditions depriving them of any privacy.

The floor is covered with a dilapidated and torn tarpaulin in several places, on which dirty and dilapidated dark grey blankets have been thrown. Not a single bed, in the sense of a sponge or mattress found in other tents, was observed in this facility. Therefore, migrants are practically separated from the ground only by a thin tarpaulin and possibly another blanket used by those migrants who managed to provide themselves an additional one. The NPM team noticed that the surface and blankets on which the migrants were lying during the visit seemed damp.

The building itself was stuffy, and there was an unpleasant odour that was a combination of moisture, mould and lack of personal hygiene. Ventilation is extremely difficult because there are only 10 windows measuring 20 cm by 20 cm on the tent itself, so the only purposeful way to ventilate the room to some extent is by opening the door to its full width. However, when the door is wide open, insects enter the tent. And indeed, at the time of the visit, swarms of flies were spotted in the tent itself. The small windows and the very nature of the building are such that the inflow of natural light is also problematic, so it is in the tent in addition to being stuffy and quite dark. There is no artificial lighting because there is no electricity in the entire tent part of the centre.[19]

Several incidents were recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown, some of which involved CRM workers who, according to some testimonies, ill-treated refugees and asylum seekers. On 6 April 2020, refugees and migrants rebelled against their detention and there was a conflict with employees from the camp, which ended with the intervention of the gendarmerie. According to the testimonies of many foreigners, the gendarmerie entered the PC and randomly started hitting people, who were mostly housed in the tent area of the PC, with rubber truncheons. After the intervention, all foreigners were ordered to lie on the floor facing the ground. The foreigners remained in such a position for several hours, and about 30 people who were marked as the perpetrators of the incident were transferred to PC Morović.[20] On 13 May an Egyptian citizen was allegedly beaten with a metal bar by CRM employees and members of a private security company. The Ombudsman opened an inquiry on this case,[21] but as of March 2022, this institution has failed to disclose its findings.

On 10 January 2021, RC Obrenovac hosted 591 persons, and many of them were accommodated in tents, while this number on 20 June 2021 was 449.

The reception centre in Subotica (220 places) was opened in 2015 at the height of the refugee and migrant movement into Hungary. The centre remained open. Like the other reception centres, it is inadequate for long-term residence. Beneficiaries are accommodated in group container rooms which do not guarantee privacy and the possibility to maintain hygiene. There were instances of attacks and stabbing reported by beneficiaries who resided there, as well as attacks from local population.[22] The RC Subotica was overcrowded throughout 2021 and 2022 In June 2021, it hosted 162 persons, while in September 2022, 431 persons.

In April 2017, an additional centre was opened in Kikinda (280), 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.

Both of these centres were overcrowded during the year, many people were placed in tents, the hygiene was at a disturbingly low level and it appears that living conditions were identical to those which were recorded by NPM in relation to RCs Adaševci and Obrenovac. 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.

In mid-2016, the authorities of Serbia opened an additional three 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. Still, the COVID-19 lockdown did not lead to the overcrowding of these facilities, and on 10 January 2021, the number of reported people staying in these centres was far below their capacities. Moreover, RC in Dimitrovgrad was not operational in 2021 and 2022, while RC Pirot and RC Bela Palanka reopened but no overcrowding was recorded.

In general, it can be safely argued that the vast 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 an aim to provide a short-term stay (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 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.

Moreover, during the COVID-19 lockdown, the living conditions in most of the Reception Centres could be described as inhumane and degrading and completely contrary to COVID-19 circumstances.[23] Namely, the recommendations of the World Health Organization,[24] but also the CPT principles[25] which were applicable during the lockdown, indicated that States should undertake measures to reduce overcrowding in all places of deprivation of liberty.[26] Thus, even though every reception and asylum centre designated premises for isolation and quarantine, and masks and gloves were distributed on several occasions, the level of overcrowding in 9 out of 18 functional reception facilities had been epidemiologically contentious.

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 in which the legal counselling was provided. Thus, thematic visits aimed at thorough documenting and reporting of the living conditions in the Reception Centres should be prioritised in the future. This is important for several reasons. First of all, the usual narrative is 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.[27] And finally, more detailed data on the current state of affairs in 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, if we apply the standards of the EUAA and other human rights standards.

[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] A11 Analysis on Detention of Foreigners during the State of Emergency, 4-6.

[3] N1, Zaštitnik građana traži podatke o incidentu sa migrantima u Bogovađi, 24 December 2020, available at: http://bit.ly/39A2Tmg [accessed on 1 February 2021]

[4] NPM, Извештај о посетама прихватним центрима у Обреновцу и Адашевцима, 16 June 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/2NLywRc, 25.

[5] The Ombudsman, Недовољно обезбеђење Центра за азил у Боговађи, део миграната пребачен у Прешево, available at: http://bit.ly/3aCLSav [accessed on 1 February 2021].

[6] Mondo, JEZIV SNIMAK iz Bogovađe: Obezbeđenje TUČE DETE MIGRANTA! (VIDEO), available at: http://bit.ly/3pQuu8B [accessed on 1 February 2021].

[7] The Ombudsman, Заштитник грађана тражи да МУП Србије утврди све околности физичког злостављања малолетних миграната, 23 June 2020, available at: http://bit.ly/2YAvK3C [accessed on 1 February 2021].

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

[9] See more in AIDA, Country Report Serbia, 2021 Update, March 2020, p. 84.

[10] 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, after which this number dropped to 3500 to 5,000 persons, inside and outside reception facilities.

[11] APC Twitter, available at: https://bit.ly/3uaRMcx.

[12] APC Twitter, available at: https://bit.ly/3tfQTy2.

[13] SoInfor.org, Više od 850 izbeglica u somborskom centru, 18 January 2021, available at: http://bit.ly/2MHtK6S.

[14] APC Twitter, available at: https://bit.ly/37Q88zX.

[15] The Ombudsman, Извештај о посетама прихватним центрима у Обреновцу и Адашевцима, June 2020, available at: http://bit.ly/3j6eL2w, 14.

[16] The Ombudsman, Извештај о посетама прихватним центрима у Обреновцу и Адашевцима, June 2020, available at: http://bit.ly/3j6eL2w, 26-27.

[17] Ibid., 26.

[18] N1, N1 u centru Adaševci: Izbeglice se žale na uslove i nasilje, uprava negira, 9 Feruary 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3ilvKhB.

[19] Ibid., 7.

[20] Hod po žici, 80-89.

[21] Ibid.

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

[23] The Ombudsman, Извештај о посетама прихватним центрима у Обреновцу и Адашевцима, June 2020, available at: http://bit.ly/3j6eL2w, 23.

[24] World Health Organization (WHO), Preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention, Interim guidance, 15 March 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/34h5du5.

[25] CPT, Statement of principles relating to the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, 20 March 2020, CPT/Inf(2020)13,

[26] A11 Analysis on Detention of Foreigners during the State of Emergency, 22-24.

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