Relations Between BiH and the EU: How to Achieve the Complete Respect of Human Rights of Migrants and Asylum-seekers

We are witnesses of the alarming trend of human rights violations of irregular migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in all parts of Europe which unfortunately also includes BiH.

Irregular migrations do not constitute a criminal act and, consequently, irregular migrants enjoy certain rights and freedoms. One of the rights is the right to express the need for asylum, that is the right to access to a just and efficient system and procedures related to asylum. A special focus of this analysis will thus be on the legal aspects of enjoying the right to asylum as a single key element for the protection of human rights which further enables the access to basic scope of rights, such as the access to health care and social services, education, unhindered movement, etc.

This analysis is not aimed at offering answers to all the questions and problems, but at pointing out several key consequences of the humanitarian crisis on the one hand, and, on the other hand, at reminding of national and international instruments of human rights protection in the context of accession to the EU for BiH which is a potential candidate, but where a great role definitely lies in the fact that it is not exempt from acting in line with the EU standards.

Available documents, strategies and laws applicable in BiH relating to migration management were used for the purpose of creation of this preliminary analysis. Additionally, data of relevant organizations, both international (primarily IOM, the EU Delegation, and UNHCR) and local, data of relevant ministries will be used as indicators of current situation in this area.

The publication in english language is available here.

The publication in B/H/S language is available here.