Recent research of "Konrad Adenauer" Foundation, Association "Atina" and Macedonian Lawyers Association has shown that the refugee crisis is not over, that it simply changed form, and it implies new needs of migrants, given that they are now staying in our country for longer periods of time. Director of the Asylum Protection Center, Rados Djurovic, believes that the integration of migrants in our society is “much needed”, and that the system, plan and state must have the main role in the process of integration of migrants.

It is time for the integration of migrants into Serbian society

Institutions in Serbia can no longer treat migrants from Middle East as if they are passing through our territory, but need to take responsibility for their integration into Serbian society.

Belgrade, December 18, 2017, 23:25

That is the message of today’s conference of the Association for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings “Atina” and Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the Media Center.

Serbia should work on creating conditions for long-term support and integration of refugees and migrants, as they are not simply in transit any longer, but are staying in the country for up to 10 months on average - this is the conclusion of the presented research “Opportunities and obstacles for the inclusion of refugees and migrants into the main streams of society in Serbia”.

On Monday, December 18, at 11 o’clock, in the small hall of the Media Center, there was a presentation of the results of a research “Opportunities and obstacles for the inclusion of refugees and migrants into the main streams of society in Serbia” (Protection of refugees and migrants in Serbia from 2015 to 2017). The research represents an overview of data on the position of migrants and refugees in Serbia, with a special focus on the rights of women among the migrant population.

Representative of NGO Atina, Jelena Hrnjak, was a panelist at the event organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) titled “Strengthening the capacities of actors to improve the level of protection of migrants in everyday practice”. Other speakers at the panel were representative of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, Svetlana Velimirovic, representative of UNHCR, John Andrew Young, Vesna Dejanovic from UNICEF, Emilija Joksic from the Asylum Office of the MoI of Serbia, and Miroslava Jelacic, representative of NGO Group 484.

Atina's representative gave a speech at the House of the National Assembly

An international workshop “Cooperation of European parliamentarians in the fight against human trafficking in the Western Balkans” was held on May 18, 2017, at the House of the National Assembly of Serbia in Belgrade. In addition to the members of the parliaments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania, Great Britain, and Serbia, participants were also representatives of international and nongovernmental organizations,  among whom was a representative of NGO Atina.

Sharon Gesthuizen, a member of the Dutch Parliament and the Socialist Party, met with the representatives of NGO Atina during the SCI visit to Serbia. The meeting was held in a positive atmosphere and resulted in a fruitful discussion about the refugee crisis, as well as the situation in Netherlands regarding national policies and integration.

Today, on the occasion of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, US Ambassador to Serbia, Kyle Scott, and Minister Zoran Djordjevic visited the social enterprise of Citizens’ Association Atina, Bagel Bejgl shop, whose profits are financing recovery programs this organization runs for the victims of human trafficking.

US Ambassador Scott has underlined that human trafficking is a global phenomenon, and that there is no country in the world that is not faced with the issue of modern slavery.

Interview with Jelena Hrnjak from NGO Atina for the monthly magazine "Business&Finance"

Social inclusion of the victims of human trafficking and violence

Work has protected women

The Committee on Labor, Social Issues, Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction held its third sitting on October 12, 2016. The agenda of the sitting included discussion of the state-of-play concerning the asylum-seekers/migrants’ welfare, setting up Working Group for the Political Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, and proposals on how to process the civic petitions received.