#MigrationMeans
#MigrationMeans
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) is located at a migration crossroad between Eastern and Western Europe. The conflict in the former Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1995 destroyed the social and economic infrastructure and forced over half of citizens of BH to leave their homes. Today, the return of displaced persons and a rise in irregular migration, such as human trafficking and smuggling, make migration a major challenge for BH’s post-conflict recovery and development.
IOM initiated a mission in Sarajevo in 1992 in the basement of Koševo Hospital, setting up the MEDEVAC programme to evacuate war-wounded individuals who could not be treated locally. Following the end of the war, IOM expanded its activities to the return of refugees from abroad and to assist BH nationals resettling in third countries. Today, IOM’s programmes aim to prevent irregular migration, stop the trafficking of human beings, contribute to national development, and assist the BH Government to manage migration activities.
During the migrant and refugee crisis in 2015 - 2016, IOM - the UN Migration Agency - together with the international community, scaled up its presence in Greece and the Western Balkans, and in particular in North Macedonia and Serbia part of the so-called Western Balkan route, to support national authorities and civil society in responding to the emergency situation, and providing direct assistance and protection to migrants, particularly those most vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abuse, or a violation of their rights.
Following the significant increase of migrant arrivals to Bosnia and Herzegovina in late 2017, IOM, in coordination with State, Entity, cantonal and local authorities, scaled up its operations in key migrant locations across the country through the reinforcement of IOM Mobile Protection Teams. These mobile teams have been operating since June 2017, assisting migrants in vulnerable situations, providing safe transportation, interpretation services, provision of temporary and protection-sensitive accommodation, food and other necessities.
IOM Mobile Protection Teams – strategically located to be able to cover the entire migration route, from the Eastern border with Serbia and Montenegro to the North-West border with Croatia, and the main reception centres and informal settlements – performed vulnerability screenings and referred migrants to appropriate assistance and protection service providers.
The Migration Translation Application (MiTA) is a smartphone application, developed by the IOM, UN Migration Agency, that allows migration management officials in the Western Balkans to access a basic interpretation service with pre-determined and pre-recorded questions during first contact with migrants.
European Union supports the establishment of the new temporary reception centre Lipa
Evropska unija podržala osnivanje novog privremenog prihvatnog centra Lipa
The Embassy of Italy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) highlight new migration data collection and trends in the Western Balkans
As part of the farewell, we had a chat with Alma, about her work for IOM, the importance of teamwork, plans for the future, and lessons learned.
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT/CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
OPEN TO EXTERNAL CANDIDATES
Duty Station: home based with a travel to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for holding the training
INVITATION TO BID
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental humanitarian organization established in 1951 and is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits both migrants and society.
In the framework of Technical Assistance to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Border Police to Identify Document and Identity Fraud, IOM now invites interested Vendors to bid for supply and delivery of the equipment for inspection and authentication of travel documents.
Senior Advisor for Migration management
Status: consultancy contract
Length of contract: the temporary post is foreseen for a period of 12 months starting from October 2019 with a possibility of prolongation, if needed.
The senior advisor will reinforce the office of the Ministry of Security (MoS) by providing guidance and advice to the MoS and the relevant implementing Agencies in managing increased migration flows.
Deadline for applications: 23 September 2019
International Organization for Migration (IOM) - the UN Migration Agency would like to use this opportunity to express our gratitude for the support and cooperation that the official institutions in Una-Sana Canton have provided to the IOM over the past period in response to the large influx of migrants. Without this support as well as the support of the local community, which have been crucial, the situation would have been much more complex and the humanitarian response to migrants whould not have been put under control in such a short period of time.
The Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina for managing the migrant situation has appointed IOM as a leading organization that will prioritize its activities in establishing the Temporary Reception Centers for migrants in the Una-Sana Canton.
Međunarodna organizacija za migracije (IOM)- UN Agencija za migracije ovim putem izražava zahvalnost na podršci i saradnji koju su zvanične institucije u Unsko-sanskom kantonu pružile IOM-u tokom proteklog perioda kao odgovor na veliki priliv migranata. Naime, bez ove podrške kao i podrške lokalne zajednice koje su od neprocjenljivog značaja, situacija bi bila mnogo kompleksnija i humanitarni odgovor migrantima ne bismo mogli da stavimo pod kontrolu u ovako kratkom periodu.
Operativni štab Ministarstva sigurnosti Bosne i Hercegovine za upravljanje migrantskom situacijom imenovao je IOM kao vodeću organizaciju koja će prioritizirati svoje aktivnosti na uspostavljanju privremenih prihvatnih centara za migrante u Unsko- sanskom kantonu.
Obzirom da je odgovor na masovni priliv migranata bila jedna od prioritetnih mjera donijetih od strane Ministarstva sigurnosti Bosne i Hercegovine u februaru 2018.g., a sa ciljem spriječavanja velikih humanitarnih i sigurnosnih problema, EU je obezbijedila sredstva u ukupnom iznosu od 9,2 miliona € koje je dodjelila IOM-u, UNHCR-u I UNICEF-u.
The Miral video footage that was shared on social media appears to show that private security guards did not deal with the incident at hand in a sufficiently restrained way and in line with the instructions and trainings provided to them by IOM and United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS). In response, IOM has alerted the local police and asked them to start an investigation about what occurred preceding, during and after the video footage, and take action as required. With immediate effect, IOM has allocated additional migrant protection staff in Miral and accommodation center Bira in Bihac to work alongside private security guards to further ensure that security and safety is maintained with the full respect of human rights and dignity of all.
With the support of the International Organisation for Migration - the UN's body in charge of managing global migration flows.
The project will support local authorities’ efforts to ensure improved delivery of public goods and services, both to migrants and the local population in Una-Sana Canton. The project will also support the reparation and revitalization of public spaces, such as the Bihac City Park and the Partisan Memorial Cemetery in Borici.
Interview with Peter Van Der Auweraert, IOM Chief of Mission in BiH and Western Balkans Regional Coordinator.
