IOM Responds to Security Incident in Humanitarian Hub “Miral”, Velika Kladusa, as seen in Video Footage

Yesterday, video footage surfaced, showing private security guards employed in the humanitarian hub “Miral” in Velika Kladusa involved in a physical altercation with a migrant hosted there. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) runs the humanitarian hub and is conscious that it is responsible for what happens to the migrants under its temporary care. Ensuring security, safety and protection for all in Miral is an important part of that responsibility. The permanent presence of personnel from a local security company is an integral and necessary component of fulfilling that responsibility. The use of private security guards in Miral and the migrant accommodation centers in Una Sana Canton is done in coordination with the police which has neither the jurisdiction nor the resources to ensure a 24-7 police presence inside the centers.

Unquestionably, it is challenge to ensure peaceful coexistence in a location with a diverse, mostly male population from different nationalities. This is even more so in a period when weather conditions make it more difficult for migrants to pursue their dream of reaching the European Union. As in other centers of this kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina and elsewhere in the Western Balkans and Europe, tensions exist amongst the migrant population and disagreements and fights break out almost on a daily basis. Usually, they are dealt with professionally and without violence by the private security guards and the staff of IOM and its partners working in the centers. IOM also involves migrants themselves in both the prevention and resolution of conflicts arising in Miral and the migrant accommodation centers in Una Sana Canton.

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.

***

IOM odgovor na sigurnosni incident u privremenom humanitarnom centru “Miral” u Velikoj Kladuši, prikazanom na video snimku

Jučer se pojavio video snimak na kojem se vidi kako je osoblje privatne zaštitarske agencije koje je uposleno u privremenom humanitarnom centru “Miral” u Velikoj Kladuši umiješano u fizičku svađu sa migrantom koji tamo boravi. Međunarodna organizacija za migracije (IOM) rukovodi ovim humanitarnim centrom i svjesni smo da smo odgovorni za ono što se dešava migrantima o kojima trenutno vodimo brigu. Garantovanje sigurnosti i zaštite za sve ljude koji se nalaze u Miralu je važan dio te odgovornosti. Stalno prisustvo osoblja iz lokalne zaštitarske agencije je integralni i neophodni dio potreban kako bismo ispunili datu odgovornost. Upotreba privatnog osiguranja u Miralu i drugim centrima za smještaj migranata u Unsko-sanskom kantonu je dogovorena u koordinaciji sa policijom koja nema ni ovlaštenje ni resurse da osigura stalno (24/7) policijsko prisustvo unutar centara.

Nedvojbeno je da je veliki izazov osigurati mirnu koegzistenciju na jednoj lokaciji gdje se nalaze većinom muškarci različitih nacionalnosti. Ovo još više dolazi do izražaja u zimskom periodu kada vremenski uslovi otežavaju migrantima da slijede svoje snove o dolasku u Evropsku uniju. Kao i u drugim centrima ove vrste u BiH i drugim zemljama Zapadnog Balkana i Evrope tenzije između migranata, svađe i tuče dešavaju se skoro svakodnevno. Obično su reakcije privatnog osiguranja, IOM osoblja i naših partnera u centrima profesionalne i bez nasilja. IOM takođe uključuje i same migrante da rade na prevenciji i rješavanju konflikata u Miralu i drugim centrima za smještaj migranata u Unsko-sanskom kantonu.

Snimak iz Mirala objavljen na društvenim mrežama ukazuje na to da privatno osiguranje nije reagovalo na incident na ograničen i umjener način i u skladu sa instrukcijama i obukama koje su organizovane od strane IOM-a i Odjeljenja za sigurnost Ujedinjenih nacija (UNDSS). Kao odgovor na ovaj incident IOM je obavijestio lokalnu policiju i zatražio pokretanje službene istrage u vezio svega što se desilo prije, tokom i nakon događaja zabilježenog na video snimku kao i poduzimanje neophodne akcije po tom pitanju. IOM je odmah angažovao dodatno osoblje za zaštitu u Miralu i smještajnom centru Bira u Bihaću kako bi radili zajedno sa privatnim zaštitarima i pobrinuli se da se sigurnost i mir održavaju sa punim poštivanjem ljudskih prava i dostojanstva svih ljudi.