prijava
SARAJEVO, June 14 (FENA) - Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Mektić confirmed today in Sarajevo that although 611 migrants have applied for asylum, no one has been granted one because of the fact that migrants do not turn out for the asylum procedure, and they are not at the addresses they have listed as a temporary residence, therefore this results in the termination of the procedure.
After today's session of the Operational HQ on the issue of migration, he pointed out that 5,878 migrants expressed intention to seek asylum, and only 611 migrants actually applied for asylum, which points to the abuse of this protection mechanism.
Mektić noted that the procedure for asylum refusal can last for several months as it is necessary to determine all the facts about possible political prosecution in the country of origin, which individuals list as a reason for migration, adding that it takes 14 days from the moment they express intent until they actually apply for asylum.
To date, 6,513 illegal migrants have entered BiH, while 292 of them have been accepted from the neighboring countries (mostly Croatia) in the readmission process, also 517 have been handed over to other countries with whom BiH has readmission agreement, and Mektić claims that for now, there is no significant increase in influx of migrants in BiH.
The Minister of Security announced that a meeting on this issue will be held in Brussels on Monday, when once again they will present their position that this issue must be addressed at its outcome, and that BiH cannot cope with this problem by itself.
He also announced that a smaller donor conference will be organized next week for ambassadors and representatives of the international community in order to raise money, as some have already offered their assistance, and all the funds collected will be spent in accordance with the decisions of the Operational HQ” said Mektić.
He also said that BiH so far has been approved about two million euros for dealing with the migrant crisis, and that the Council of Ministers allocated 75,000 KM from the budget reserves, but this is not enough because the capacities of humanitarian organizations are running out.
Mektić also touched upon the issue of border protection, stressing that additional police officers from Republika Srpska and Brčko District will be engaged as of next Monday to guard the eastern border together with the BiH Border Police.
He also stressed that BiH will be left with no choice but to close its border if our Western neighbors do so, because as long as BiH is a transit country, the situation can be kept under control.
(FENA) S. R.
