Response of the Republic of Serbia to the "migrant crisis": Laws and strategies for managing mixed migration flows

Abstract

The role of the Republic of Serbia as key transit state along the Balkan migration route has started to become more complicated with the increased importance of this "formalized corridor" for irregular migration of thousands of people since 2015. The unique development of events on the route has allowed migrants to cross the territory of the Balkans within several days, which has caused an unprecedented increase of the total number of asylum seekers arriving in Europe, mainly in Germany. The official closure of the Balkan Route in March 2016 has lead to the creation of a growing number of "stranded" migrants in Serbia, whose stay has lengthened from several months to two years. The subject of this work is a short presentation of the state on the Balkan Route from 2015 until today, with a focus on key events which have lead to significant changes. The goal of the work is to illustrate the role of the Republic of Serbia in managing these flows, as well as its humanitarian response via relevant institutions, first and foremost the Working Group on Mixed Migration Flows.

Uloga Republike Srbije kao ključne tranzitne države duž Balkanske migracione rute počela je da se usložnjava sa povećanjem značaja ovog "formalizovanog koridora" za iregularne migracije hiljada ljudi od 2015. godine. Jedinstveni razvoj događaja na ruti omogućio je migrantima da pređu teritoriju Balkana u roku od nekoliko dana, što je uslovilo nezapamćeno povećanje ukupnog broja azilanata koji dolaze u Evropu, uglavnom u Nemačku. Zvanično zatvaranje Balkanske rute u martu 2016. godine doveo je do stvaranja sve većeg broja ''zaglavljenih'' migranata u Srbiji, čija se dužina boravka povećala od nekoliko meseci do dve godine. Predmet ovog rada jeste kratak prikaz stanja na Balkanskoj ruti od 2015. godine do danas, uz naglasak na najvažnije događaje koji su doveli do velikih promena. Cilj rada jeste da ukaže na ulogu Republike Srbije u upravljanju ovim tokovima, kao i njen, humanitarni odgovor preko relevantnih institucija, pre svega Radne grupe za mešovite migracione tokove.