Kosovo becoming asylum transit country

Kosovo has achieved the dubious distinction as a transit country, but is unprepared to handle the situation.

By Muhamet Brajshori for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 20/08/11

Porous borders, especially in the north, are blamed for the trend. [Reuters]

Since 1999, Kosovo has seen an increasing number of asylum seekers from Asia and Africa. They have other destinations in mind, but use Kosovo as transit point and often end up being arrested by police at the borders for illegal passage.

Mainly, their countries of origin are Afghanistan, Palestine, Pakistan and Nigeria. It is up to the internal affairs ministry to determine whether they will remain in Kosovo or be deported.

During a press conference earlier this summer in Pristina, Islam Caka, head of the ministry's Asylum and Immigration Department, noted that Kosovo is ill-equipped to handle asylum seekers in such numbers, given inadequate available housing.

"Not all are housed at the asylum seekers' camp. Because of the low capacities, the government needs to pay hotels to house the asylum seekers. But soon the European Commission will finance a new asylum camp where the capacity problems will be resolved," said Caka. T

he government estimates that housing, meals and other services for asylum seekers costs 39 euros per day per person. Experts say that requires a focus on developing strategies to address the issue.

Meriton Veliu, executive director of the Pristina Centre for Immigration and Asylum, says that until recently, officials did not take the issue seriously, mainly in light of the poor economy. Few imagined Kosovo would be the destination of choice.

"Kosovo's economic situation is not something which would motivate asylum seekers to come here," Veliu told SETimes. This, he said, has left the government "unprepared and under-equipped for dealing with the problem".

Kosovo has not yet imposed a visa regime, making it easy for foreigners entering the country, and procedures are unclear regarding lengths of stay.

Refki Morina, director for Migration and Foreigners with the Kosovo Police, confirmed to SETimes that since January, 109 people have been charged with illegally staying in Kosovo, which usually means they failed to apply for residence.

In addition, "182 local businesses opened by foreigners have been inspected, some of which did not have all required documents. Now we have begun a campaign to inform foreigners of their rights and responsibilities in Kosovo," said Morina.

Arber Kadriu, a researcher at the Kosovo International Law Institute, told SETimes that the country's legislative package on asylum seekers and immigration is in accordance with EU regulations and international practices. Implementation, however, is the main challenge, especially, he noted, "how the decisions are taken on asylum seekers".

Complicating efforts are media reports about racial incidents involving police officers working along the borders.

According to reports, said Velui, "Officers have offended foreigners due to their race, and I [wonder] if the decision whether someone can stay or not is independently and professionally taken. In some cases, officials might have racial thoughts when they take decisions."

The US State Department, in its annual Human Trafficking Report, has concluded that Kosovo is one of the main transit countries for such trafficking. Experts say Kosovo's borders are not guarded enough, encouraging traffickers.

"Especially in the north," says Kadriu, "where everyone who wants can enter, without controls, so policies for not intervening to strengthen border controls have given traffickers a green light to use Kosovo."

Source: SETimes.com