2015 must not be repeated, migrants must be treated humanely

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), today held a ministerial meeting in Sarajevo titled Confronting the Challenges of Mixed Migration in the Region - Security and Humanitarian Aspects. Representatives from regional countries participated, and discussions focused on how to jointly address the migration issue. 

Participants discussed security aspects and the fight against illegal migration, as well as the humanitarian aspect of migration flows.

BiH Security Minister Dragan Mektić said that 2015 must not be repeated. 

- Every country must create its own database, i.e., biometric data registration, and it must be compatible, and then we can check whether any of these individuals have previously applied for residence in a particular country - said Mektić.

During this crisis, Western Balkan states should strive to return to bilateral agreements to demonstrate that they are functioning and that they will not allow any country along this route to be abused. Likewise, countries need to strengthen border patrols. 

BiH Minister for Human Rights and Refugees Semiha Borovac explained that BiH must create all conditions to provide humanitarian aid to migrants, but this must be done at precisely designated locations controlled by the authorities.

- We must not allow ourselves to be put in a situation where we create a bad image of ourselves, suggesting that there are certain problems here if migrants are not staying in accommodation facilities. That is precisely why our priority is to secure accommodation capacities for migrants. We must improve our action plan, but above all, accommodation capacities must be made available to migrants. We do not want to create an image of ourselves where migrants in BiH are fed in parks, because that is truly inappropriate - said Borovac.

Boštjan Šefic, State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior of Slovenia, stated that migrant movements have been monitored since 2015.

- Our forecasts have come true, and since November last year, the number of illegal migrants arriving in Slovenia via Croatia, Serbia, Albania, and Greece has been constantly increasing. The situation is under control, but we must all work together to ensure everything is well-coordinated and to overcome various situations and obstacles together. That is why I visited a number of countries in the region - colleagues from Austria and Italy.

The representative of Austria said that one of Austria's more important goals is to involve all countries, including the Western Balkan countries, and to resolve the problem jointly. 

- Although political processes are often very slow, the police forces of all these countries can still cooperate at the same level and resolve certain matters even before a particular political process is concluded. Yesterday, a meeting of police directors was held, and all EU police services will work together to improve the situation with migrants - emphasized today's conference participant from Austria.

After today's conference, it was concluded that one of the main goals is to stop illegal migration and that it is very important to take care of border security, but without the use of force and endangering the lives of those who appear at certain borders at that moment.