On 30 January 2021, a delegation of Italian Euro-MPs were stopped by the Croatian police in Bojna, at the border between Croatia and Bosnia. The delegation was on assignment to verify the conditions of migrants attempting to cross the Western Balkan Route, which was already the object of condemnation and news reports about the arbitrary pushbacks and violence against migrants. The trip was communicated to the Croatian authorities in due time, and the itinerary was planned with the supervision of the Croatian ambassador based in Rome.
The MPs have argued that the episode violated their right of free movement on European territory as European citizens and interfered with their duty as elected representatives to inspect the status of European borders. The border between Croatia and Bosnia is indeed controlled by Frontex, the European border and coastguard agency, whose financial report is approved by the European Parliament’s MPs. The Croatian police justified their actions by noting the presence of mines in the area, whilst the Croatian Interior Minister, Davor Bozinovic, dismissed the episode as a provocation against Croatian police forces.
Faced with the impossibility of following their chosen route, the European delegation later decided to visit Lipa Emergency Tent Camp by crossing the border with Bosnia at an official border point. The camp, built in response to unsuitable and over-crowding conditions elsewhere, was destroyed by a fire in December 2020. Further, according to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) Chief of Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the camp was never connected to the main water and electricity supply in Bosnia, which contributed to the dire conditions of camp life before the fire. Without any real, agreeable solutions being offered by the government, IOM estimates that approximately 3,000 individuals will be in need of humanitarian aid.
Currently, Lipa’s ruins and spare tents are used to provide shelter and food to migrants by IOM, the Red Cross, and the Danish Refugee Council. Migrants at the camp are struggling and have little access to basic medicine, heating, or electricity in freezing winter conditions. Some of these makeshift shelters are filled with smoke, as people use plastic bottles to create fires because of a lack of oil-powered heaters. Hundreds of migrants have been diagnosed with health concerns, mainly skin conditions and respiratory infections, but many refuse to visit local health reception centres because it would mean leaving their community amid such a difficult situation. Such conditions have created a refugee crisis.
Conflicts between the government and local communities are further exacerbating the crisis. According to Human Rights Watch, Bosnian officials attempted to relocate some Lipa refugees to a recently closed camp in Bira. The relocation efforts failed, however, because of local resistance and anti-migrant sentiments. This tension is the reason why the Bira camp shut down last September and will not reopen even if it could host a thousand people.
Bosnia is a central junction in the Balkan Route, with 65,000 people estimated to have crossed through Bosnia since 2018. However, the country has closed several camps instead of opening new ones. In January, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy urged the Bosnian authorities to address this refugee issue given that the country has received 90 million euros for reception centres, equipment, and medical and social assistance over the past two years.
Despite the clear failings on the part of the Bosnian authorities, the EU’s general acceptance of “pushback” policies is really the issue. Oxfam defines pushback as “the term used to describe the practice by authorities of preventing people from seeking protection on their territory by forcibly returning them to another country. By pushing back those seeking safety and dignity over a border, states abdicate responsibility for examining their individual cases.” The policy of pushbacks by EU countries on this Balkans route has, as demonstrated in the case of Bosnia, serious consequences for non-EU countries’ border management. Further, migrants who have been pushed back by the Croatian police have reported being victims of violence and abuses whilst trying to cross the border. And, it must be emphasized, that the problem is larger than Croatian pushback problem. Other countries like Italy and Slovenia have contributed in pressuring Bosnia’s government and institutions illustrating how this is a broader European issue. As the Euro-MPs noted when visiting Lipa’s camp, the responsibility is unanimous and must involve a radical change of EU migration policies.
Giulia holds an Italian Law MA and has gained experience in promoting Human Rights through volunteering with The European Law Student Association (ELSA). She has been involved in counselling related to residency permits, educational activities for marginalised young people, and in anti-discrimination issues. Her passion is Migration Law, International Law and Human Rights Law, with particular attention to Children and Women's Rights. She currently works as a Lead in a FinTech company in Estonia and holds a conditional offer for the GDL, starting in September 2020.