The project is expected to help bolster the system of migration and asylum management in Republic of Serbia. It has placed an emphasis on the following areas: implementation of new laws and practices in the area of asylum and migration; boosting capacities for reception, identification, orientation and return and advancement of sustainable capacities of competent institutions in Republic of Serbia for provision of training.

The project has been created in order to empower professionals to ensure more substantial support to migrants, especially in the area of protection of rights.

During the preliminary stage of the project “Support to Strengthening Migration and Asylum Management in Serbia“ in early 2017, IOM has made an assessment of the needs of state institutions of Republic of Serbia for trainings and education in the context of the current migrant crisis. The team in charge of assessment working on that task has closely cooperated with UNHCR office in Republic of Serbia and has paid special attention to the need to develop capacities in the procedure of granting an asylum. On the basis of this assessment, a proposal of a comprehensive plan of capacity building, as well as a strategy for responding to identified needs, has been made.

During the validation workshop held on March 28, 2017, the Government of the Republic of Serbia has given its approval to this plan. On the same occasion, it has identified several areas in which it is necessary to conduct targeted interventions in order to develop capacities, including building capacities of all three decision-making instances in the procedure of granting an asylum; improving coordination of asylum and reception centers’ management; advancing identification of vulnerable categories of migrants, such as victims of gender-based violence, torture, forced marriages, human trafficking and other vulnerable categories; raising awareness on the rights of migrants; developing sensitivity to cultural differences in communication with migrants; increasing capacities for the process of assisted voluntary return and boosting capacities of employees in reception centers.

This project will enable practitioners in the field to acquire new knowledge and skills, through training of trainers or the use of electronic tools and learning manuals which will be at the disposal of all stakeholders as learning resources in the Training Center in the Field of Migration, among other things.

In the design and implementation of the training program, IOM has relied on assistance of relevant institutions and bodies of Government of the Republic of Serbia that have particular expertise and interest in order to ensure that organized trainings are correctly updated and correspond to missions and needs of targeted government bodies.

Project Status: Completed

Project Area: Other