The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) calls on the authorities of the Republic of Serbia to urgently find a legal solution extending the validity of temporary protection, which has been granted to all individuals who fled Ukraine and which expires on 18 March. According to official data, Serbia has granted temporary protection to over 1,500 persons from Ukraine since March 2022. These people are still in need of international protection given the ongoing armed conflict in that country.
The Serbian Government activated the temporary protection mechanism for the first time by its Decision on the Provision of Temporary Protection to Persons Displaced from Ukraine,[1] which entered into force on 18 March 2022. This mechanism, introduced by the Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection (LATP), applies to all individuals who have been forced to leave or have been evacuated from Ukraine, as their country of origin or habitual residence, and who are unable to return in safe and durable conditions to their country of origin due to the situation in that country. A year later, on 17 March 2023, the Government adopted another decision[2] extending the validity of temporary protection by another year, until 18 March 2024. In mid-November 2023, the European Council formally extended the protection regime until at least 4 March 2025.
Under the LATP, temporary protection shall be granted for a period of one year; should the reasons why it was granted persist upon the expiry of that time period, its validity may be extended by six monthly periods for one year at most. This is why the Serbian authorities need to urgently identify an effective legal solution to extend the temporary protection granted to people displaced from Ukraine, a solution which will be in accordance with international standards and EU practice and enable Ukrainian refugees to continue legally residing in Serbia, to extend the validity of their personal documents and to access their rights to work, healthcare, education, et al.
Estimates are that tens of thousands of people from Ukraine have passed through Serbia since March 2022. Some of them have settled in Serbia and integrated in its society, starting a family and/or a business. The Government designated the Vranje Asylum Centre for people displaced from Ukraine.
Ever since 2012, BCHR has been extending legal aid free of charge to asylum seekers and aliens granted international protection, including temporary protection, in the Republic of Serbia. It has also been assisting them in integrating in Serbia’s society and exercising their rights under the LATP. More information is available on our website (www.bgcentar.org.rs) in Ukrainian, Serbian and English.
Press Release PDF is HERE.
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[1] Official Gazette of the RS, No. 36/2022.
[2] Official Gazette of the RS, No. 21/2023-44.
