The project of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights is part of the support provided by a consortium of partners in the regional initiative “EU Support to Strengthening the Fight Against Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings in the Western Balkans” (EU4FAST). The consortium includes Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, and others.[1] The project aims to improve measures focused on the prevention and combat of migrant smuggling and human trafficking throughout the Western Balkans. The comprehensive 4-P approach—Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, and Partnership—aims to strengthen the rule of law in this area.
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights will enhance access to legal aid and improve conditions for preventing and combating migrant smuggling and human trafficking in the Western Balkans by providing legal assistance and field-based information, particularly in reception and transit centres run by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia. The project will specifically improve the provision of primary legal aid, access to territory, access to asylum procedures, and support for the integration and reintegration of (potential) victims of smuggling and trafficking. It will also enhance cooperation with authorities and frontline actors to identify and provide multisectoral protection for (potential) victims of trafficking and refer them to competent state and non-state service providers for assistance and support.
Project components include field visits and free legal counselling in asylum centres, as well as in reception and transit centres managed by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia. In addition, the project will provide primary free legal aid and support access to economic and social rights.
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights will implement a range of activities aimed at strengthening protection and access to rights for refugees, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable groups. Workshops will be organized in asylum and reception centres in cooperation with the Centre for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings, with the goal of empowering beneficiaries through information on labour rights, available services, and protection mechanisms.
In addition, BCHR will convene institutions and relevant stakeholders from Serbia and the wider region during project implementation, organizing meetings and conferences to facilitate the exchange of experiences and collaboration on the ground. At the end of the project, a policy paper with key findings and analyses will be published. Through these activities, BCLJP aims to strengthen cross-sectoral cooperation, improve legislation, and reinforce systemic support for the most vulnerable, ensuring their safe access to rights and justice.
Furthermore, the project supports the work of the Rainbow Migration Network (RMN), established under the GIZ project in 2022. The RMN comprises 16 civil society organizations working in the fields of asylum, migration, and LGBTI+ rights. The network will continue its activities throughout this project by strengthening capacities and advocating for the protection of LGBTI+ refugees, asylum seekers, and people on the move.
[1] The German Federal Police (Bundespolizei), the Dutch Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC), the international technical cooperation operator of the French Ministry of the Interior CIVIPOL, the Croatian Ministry of the Interior, the Italian Ministry of the Interior and the Slovenian Ministry of the Interior.
