Throughout the world, 20 of June is a day that marks the strength, courage and perseverance of some 21.3 million refugees, almost half of whom are children. On this day every year attention is focused on the position of refugees and displaced persons around the world, on the reasons for which they leave their countries and the difficulties they face in countries of refuge. The number of forcibly displaced persons has reached an all-time high of 65.3 million people. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warns that 34,000 people are expelled from their countries daily as a result of armed conflicts or persecution. Bearing in mind the development of the situation in several crisis areas around the world, it is reasonable to expect that this number will rise in the following year, and that the position of refugees will only become more difficult as a result of the rise of far-right extremism in Western European countries.
This year, Serbia again welcomes the World Refugee Day in the midst of a protracted refugee crisis, with several thousand asylum requests (pending) and a large number of individuals lacking regulated legal status, but determined to continue their journey towards Western Europe. In 2017, Serbia has yet again not managed to shift from being a transit country to becoming a country that grants refugees asylum and a dignified life. Out of the 622,023 individuals who requested asylum in Serbia in the previous ten years, only a small number decided to actually stay in it, while international protection was granted to just 90 of them.
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights wants to use this opportunity to remind all people of the problems refugees face in Serbia and to give honour to all those who perished on their journey towards Europe. Throughout the crisis, Serbia has shown great humanity towards refugees and migrants. However, it still needs to invest significant effort and improve its asylum and integration systems so that the persons awarded international protection could enjoy a dignified life and equal opportunities.