prijava
STRASBOURG, November 8 (FENA) - I welcome Minister Mektić‘s efforts to solve the situation in the improvised migrant camp in Vučjak and the migration situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina more broadly and his announcement that the camp will be closed and migrants and asylum seekers relocated to facilities where they can be accommodated in more humane and dignified conditions, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, after talking to the BiH Minister of Security on recent developments concerning the situation of asylum seekers and migrants in Vučjak, stated the Council of Europe.
This process is carried out in close cooperation with the European Union and international organisations, as well as local communities. We agreed on the urgency of this relocation in view of harsher weather conditions in winter. While this process is very important, it is equally important to ensure that those migrants who wish to seek international protection have effective access to asylum in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She also discussed with Minister Mektić on reports about violent pushbacks of migrants, including asylum seekers from Croatia and Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"These allegations are not new to me, and they need to be addressed effectively by the authorities of these two countries. Police and border control officials in the region must refrain from pushing back migrants because this constitutes a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and prevents people who seek protection from exercising their right to asylum. Moreover, efficient and independent investigations should be carried out into all the allegations of ill-treatment of migrants by law enforcement or border police officers," said Mijatović.
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