After three full years of project implementation, we are witnessing significant results. The event was also an opportunity to present certificates to representatives of 70 units of local self-governments for successfully completed training within the project. The training focused on standards in migration management as well as on the practices of creating local action plans in the field of migration and were organized within the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration Training Center. The participants of the event were addressed by Bratislav Gašić, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Tanja Miščević, Minister for European Integration, Nataša Stanisavljević, Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, Richard Kohli, Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland and Donatela Bradić, Head of Mission of the International Organization for Migration in Serbia.
The project achieved significant results and most of the planned tasks, thus contributing to the common goals identified in the Swiss-Serbian Migration Partnership. The project component implemented in cooperation with the Commissariat included 1) support for the development of policies and strategic documents in the field of migration, 2) capacity building and coordination, and 3) improvement of the protection of vulnerable migrants. In this sense, expert support was provided for the preparation of public policy documents and reports in the field of migration: Strategy for refugees and internally displaced persons for the period from 2024 to 2030, with the accompanying Action Plan for its implementation, Reintegration Program for returnees based on the Readmission Agreement for the period from 2024 to 2026, with the accompanying Action Plan for its implementation, Report on the quality of local planning documents in the field of migration management and Report on progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 in the field of migration.
Within the project, 25 trainings were organized, in which nearly 600 representatives of 70 local self-government units participated. Occupation workshops and psycho-social support programs for migrants were organized in a total of 13 reception/asylum centers (out of a total of 17 centers), with more than 4,000 center users participating in the workshops. Also, as a part of the project, support was provided to the work of the Commissariat with the donation of two new off-road vehicles, furniture and other equipment, which brought the Commissariat significantly closer to the European standards of accommodation in facilities under its jurisdiction and additionally ensured access to basic services for migrants staying in asylum and reception centers.
"There are still many challenges, efforts and joint efforts ahead of us because migration as a demographic challenge is our everyday life, and the most important thing is to fulfill our goal, which is to improve the humane and orderly migration management, while respecting human rights of migrants in accordance with the international law. I use this opportunity to thank all of you once again for your dedicated work and for the support you provide to the Commissariat, in all the segments in which we cooperate, and I hope that we will continue our joint and more than successful cooperation in the coming period,'' Commissioner Stanisavljević said.
The cooperation between the Government of Switzerland and the Commissariat began in 1991, as humanitarian aid, while the cooperation today focuses on contemporary migration problems such as mixed migration flows and providing support to vulnerable categories of migrants.
Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland, Richard Kohli expressed his satisfaction on the occasion of the successful completion of the fourth cycle of the Swiss-Serbian migration partnership and the successful accomplishment of trainings by the trustees and municipal representatives, provided within this partnership. “Today we are marking the end of the fourth iteration of this Serbian-Swiss migration partnership, and I truly believe - that this very partnership - is among the flagships of the current Serbian – Swiss cooperation program and bilateral relations”, highlighted Kohli.
“Migration in its multi-facetical expressions, is a highly complex and global phenomenon. There is a multitude of migration dynamics currently ongoing simultaneously: ranging from mixed migration flows, labor migration, asylum seekers, in need for protection from political persecution, and – last but least - simply to those unfortunate individuals that are desperately seeking for a better future. At the end of the day, we are all sitting in the same boat, and the better we cooperate and coordinate our agendas, the better will be the final result for all of us”, concluded Kohli.
Donatela Bradić, International Organization for Migration in Serbia Head of Mission, congratulated the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration and other project partners, the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior, on the successfully implemented project, improved intersectoral cooperation and thanked the donor for their support and exceptional cooperation.
The project "Strengthening capacities and partnerships for migration management in Serbia" is a part of the Migration Partnership that Switzerland has had with Serbia since 2009, when the Migration Partnership Agreement was signed in order to strengthen capacities for managing challenges in the field of migration. This project was implemented in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the key partners participating in the project are the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, as well as numerous civil society organizations.
