Citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Turkey Filed the Most Asylum Applications in BiH

(Patria) - A total of 1,555 illegal migrants were reported to the Service for Foreigners' Affairs in June 2020, a decrease of 26% compared to the same month last year (2,109), but three times more than in May of this year, when 514 were reported.

This is stated in the Information of the Ministry of Security on the situation in the area of ​​migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina for June 2020, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers of BiH and will be submitted to the Presidency of BiH. It is added that the largest number of reported illegal migrants are from Afghanistan (512), Pakistan (348), Bangladesh (255), Morocco (121), and Iraq (93).

In the first half of 2020, out of a total of 6,641 illegal migrants reported to the Service for Foreigners' Affairs, 5,207 expressed their intention to apply for asylum, of which 162 people submitted an asylum application. Citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Turkey filed the largest number of asylum applications in BiH during this period. Among the key challenges in the fight against illegal migration in the coming period are strengthening BiH institutions, primarily the Border Police, preventing illegal entries in areas where the greatest migratory pressure has been recorded, and strengthening the personnel and material-technical capacities of all security agencies.

Determining the identity of illegal migrants and the abuse of the asylum system, as well as prosecuting migrants who have committed misdemeanor and criminal offenses, are key challenges for the coming period. Bosnia and Herzegovina remains committed to strengthening cooperation with countries on the Western Balkan route, improving bilateral cooperation between institutions and agencies dealing with migration and security issues of BiH and EU countries, as well as continuing cooperation with international agencies.