Strengthening local capacities to reduce irregular migrations to BiH and the EU through needs assesment
On 24th June 2021, Hilfswerk International and its local partner, Association HAJDE, gathered representatives of key localities that are closely tied to the movement of migrants and territorially significant for the issue of migration, within the project „Reducing irregular migration to the EU by strengthening the capacities of migration-related structures in the Western Balkans“. This meeting included representatives of local authorities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Canton Sarajevo and the Una-Sana Canton, as well as the government of Canton Sarajevo, with active participation of representatives from the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Service for Foreigner's Affairs of BiH.
The participants had an opportunity to exchange experiences and best practice examples, as well as analyse needs created by previous challenges and problems that they have encountered in the field of irregular migration. Challenges that they are still facing were presented, together with transfer of experiences in terms of their perception of their needs and the current situation in the area of migration in their local communities.
The status and issue of irregular migration today have been considered through a dynamic and active dialogue that will, in the future, result in the easing of the defined needs, as well as practical implications of networking of local government representatives, with the goal of more productive action and engagement in resolving the issue of irregular migration to the EU, strengthening local communities, and transferring knowledge and experiences.
The project "Reducing Irregular Migration in the EU by Strengthening the Capacity of Migration-Related Structures in the Western Balkans" is co-financed by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Austria and implemented by Hilfswerk International in cooperation with the Association for Help and Development "HAJDE”.
