IOM in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH)

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 illegal 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.

 

Latest News and Events

  • The first MoviEQ workshop for parents was held in Čapljina

     

    They performed all the tasks, and learned through fun and socializing a few things that they didn’t pay attention to until now. Besides performing their tasks diligently, the parents made new friendships and expressed gratitude that they were able to participate in the workshop.

     

     

  • The first MoviEQ workshop for parents held in Bileća

     

    "Everyone is encountered on a daily basis with many details we've been able to listen about over the past three days. I think that everyone should participate in this workshop, young people to gain new experiences and parents to improve the already acquired ones," one of the participants said.

     

  • ASSISTED VOLUNTARY RETURN AND REINTEGRATION (AVRR) BULLETIN 2018

     

    Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) is an indispensable part of a comprehensive approach to migration managemen aiming at orderly and humane return and reintegration of migrants who are unable or unwilling to remain in host or transit countries and wish to return voluntarily to their countries of origin.

    The successful implementation of AVRR programmes requires the cooperation and participation of a broad range of actors, including the migrants, civil society and the governments in both host and transit countries and countries of origin. The partnerships created by IOM and a diverse range of national and international stakeholders are essential to the effective implementation of AVRR – from the return preparation to the reintegration stage.

     

  • Projects "Za ljepši grad" and "Priroda za sve" have been realized in Zavidovići

     

    The Combined secondary school students created two parking lots for bicycles and the copies of tourist offer of Tajan Nature Monuments were printed and shared with mountaineers from other cities. In addition, two sport climbing training sessions were held in the First Elementary School hall, as well as workshops on "Stop violence against persons of both sexes".

     

  • Youth in Bugojno developed a project “Mjesec dana za veliki ekran"

     

    The realization of this project started with two panel discussions held at the Youth Center Bugojno. The first panel discussion was held with high school students who pointed out why it is important for them to re-launch the cinema in their town as more and more young people plead for active film productions within the Cultural and Sports Centre Bugojno. They also emphasized their feeling that film gives knowledge and power and enables the development of individuals what makes this project very important.

     

More news

Latest Vacancy

Title Duty Station Closing Date
JAVNI POZIV ZA DOSTAVLJANJE PONUDA ZA REKONSTRUKCIJU 32 STAMBENE JEDINICE NA PROSTORU OPĆINE BANJA LUKA 2019-04-11
05-03-19 Counter Migrant Smuggling Research Expert (International) 2019-04-05
JAVNI POZIV ZA DOSTAVLJANJE PONUDA – ZA GRAĐEVINSKE RADOVE NA REKONSTRUKCIJI ZGRADE MJESNCE ZAJEDNICE STIJENA, GRAD CAZIN 2019-04-03
EXTENDED - VN 06-02-19 Head of Field Office Bihac 2019-03-27
JAVNI POZIV ZA DOSTAVLJANJE PONUDA – ZAŠTITARSKE USLUGE ZA SLUŽBU ZA POSLOVE SA STRANCIMA 2019-03-29
JAVNI POZIV ZA DOSTAVLJANJE PONUDA – NABAVKA GORIVA ZA SLUŽBENA VOZILA 2019-03-27
JAVNI POZIV ZA DOSTAVLJANJE PONUDA – ZAŠTITARSKE USLUGE NA PODRUČJU UNSKO SANSKOG KANTONA I UŠIVKA HADŽIĆI 2019-03-25

Presentation on the occasion of the NATO field exercise in the Base Operations at the University campus

Peter Van Der Auweraert, IOM Sub-Regional Coordinator for the Western Balkans, held a presentation on the occasion of the NATO field exercise in the Base Operations at the University campus yesterday in Tuzla on behalf of the UN agencies. Field NATO exercise to manage the consequences of crisis situations, simulated in Tuzla, represents a central event exercise organized jointly by the NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and the Ministry of Security of BiH.

English

Coordination Meeting on the Prevention and Combatting Violent Extremism (P/CVE) in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Coordination Meeting on the Prevention and Combatting Violent Extremism (P/CVE) in Bosnia and Herzegovina was held yesterday, at the UN House, and organized by the Ministry of Security of BiH, with support from the IOM Mission in Sarajevo.

With opening remarks delivered by the BiH Minister, Mr. Dragan Mektić, the meeting took place within the framework of the BiH Strategy for Preventing and Combatting Violent Extremism 2015-2020, and it was chaired by the P/CVE National Coordinator for BiH, Mr. Samir Rizvo.

English

Interview with Peter Van der Auweaert, IOM Subregional Coordinator for the Western Balkans, on the Rohingya crisis and IOM's crisis response in Bangladesh and Myanmar

 

Watch the interview with Peter Van der Auweaert, IOM Subregional Coordinator for the Western Balkans, on the Rohingya crisis and IOM's crisis response in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

 

English

Representatives of non-governmental organizations from the Western Balkans region attended a two-day meeting on 19th and 20th of September 2017 in Budva on Cultural Sensitive Care of Victims of Trafficking in Mixed Migration Flows

Representatives of non-governmental organizations from the Western Balkans region attended a two-day meeting on 19th and 20th of September 2017 in Budva on Cultural Sensitive Care of Victims of Trafficking in Mixed Migration Flows. During the meeting, good practices were presented and exchanged experience in this field. IOM organized this activity in the scope of the project "Enhancing Counter Trafficking in Crisis in the Western Balkans", supported by U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP).

English