On the occasion of World Refugee Day, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights highlights the growing need for solidarity, protection and support for people who have been forced to flee their homes due to persecution, armed conflict and various human rights violations. The latest UNHCR data show that the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide reached a record 123.2 million by the end of 2024. At a time when millions are losing their homes through no fault of their own, the international community has a responsibility to ensure that they can live in safety and dignity, with the right to return when conditions permit. We are living in an era of global instability, in which modern armed conflicts are leaving behind devastated communities and immense human suffering. One of the starkest examples of such destruction is Gaza, where more than 52,000 people have lost their lives and over 2 million have been displaced as a result of relentless and brutal months-long violence. In these circumstances, renewed commitments to peace, the protection of human rights and long-term solutions for all refugees and displaced persons are more essential than ever.
This year has also been marked by intensive preparations among EU member states for the implementation of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum. Its enforcement is expected to fundamentally change migration governance, further dehumanise the treatment of refugees and migrants and expand the practice of externalising responsibility for asylum procedures beyond EU borders. Access to EU territory and asylum procedures, timely and effective decision-making on asylum claims and the prohibition of refoulement, together with full respect of the rights of asylum seekers, must not be pushed aside.
The number of people staying in reception and asylum centres run by the Serbian Commissariat for Refugees and Migration has been very low throughout 2025, while the number of people living outside the official system, particularly in border areas, continues to rise. According to UNHCR data from May 2025, around 354 people were residing in asylum and reception centres – the lowest figure registered since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015. Since the start of the year, 189 people have expressed their intention to seek asylum in Serbia, while 59 formally submitted an application and entered the procedure. Only one person has been granted asylum in 2025. A total of 255 individuals have been granted asylum or subsidiary protection in the Republic of Serbia from the establishment of the asylum system in 2008 to May 2025.
Serbia extended the validity of temporary protection for people who fled the international armed conflict in Ukraine for the second time in March 2025. Temporary protection has been extended to a total of 881 individuals this year. However, Serbia still needs to find long-term solutions for displaced persons from Ukraine, such as providing them with more permanent forms of residence in Serbia, including asylum or temporary residence.
BCHR would particularly highlight a key strategic case, in which the European Court of Human Rights found that Serbia had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by extraditing a Bahraini national in 2022, despite an interim measure issued by the Strasbourg Court ordering it to postpone his extradition due to the potential risk of torture, as well as political and religious persecution, pending the completion of the proceedings before the Court. In its judgment published on 25 March 2025, the Court found that Serbia had violated two articles of the ECHR: Article 3, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as the extradition exposed the applicant to such risks; and Article 34, which guarantees the right to individual petition before the Court.
BCHR calls on all the relevant state authorities to continue improving the material reception conditions for refugees, as well as the system for protecting particularly vulnerable groups within the refugee population, such as persons with disabilities, victims of human trafficking, victims of torture and sexual and gender-based violence, LGBTI+ persons, unaccompanied minors and other at-risk categories.
As it has for the past 14 years, BCHR will continue to provide legal aid, support integration efforts and advocate the advancement of the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and people on the move.
