Reports

Calais Situational Update - October 2024

This Situational Update comes at an unprecedented time in French politics. In June 2024, President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election which was won by a leftist coalition, New Popular Front (NPF). However, they did not hold a majority and no new government was formed until early September. As a result, the country was run by a caretaker government from July - the longest period of instability in French politics since the birth of the Fifth Republic in 1958.

Sadly, in the time we were preparing this report, 2024 became the deadliest year in the Channel since recording began. The total number of deaths in the Channel this year stands at 57 as of the 27th of October, a number which exceeds the previous highest yearly total on record of 45 in 2021.

Serbia and Bulgaria Situational Update - July 2024

The situation for people on the move in both Serbia and Bulgaria remains contrary to international human rights standards. Up until October 2023, our teams witnessed daily the lack of basic necessities – food, water, clothes, shelter – that people on the move must survive in Serbia along with evidence of pushbacks and police violence. Now, the majority of these people have been invisibilized – forced to travel clandestinely, kept out of government run camps and at the same time prevented from returning to informal living sites.

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria numbers in camps have also recently decreased due to a documented rise in pushbacks with people now trying an average of 6 or 7 times to enter the country from Turkey. Local actors met one individual who had tried 17 times before successfully crossing the border.

Lesvos Situational Update - May 2024

In this situational update we aim to give an overview of the current conditions faced by people on the move on Lesvos. It is published one year after the Pylos disaster on June 14 2023 in which over 600 people drowned off the coast of Greece, eight years since the EU-Turkey deal came into effect, and 13 years since the start of the Syrian civil war, all of which drastically altered the situation on the island.

Lesvos is a so-called hotspot, the place where many people arrive in Europe after taking dangerous sea crossings on the eastern Mediterranean route. The main housing structure for people on the move is Mavrovouni. It was opened as an emergency camp in 2021 after the Moria fire and designated a CCAC in 2022. Since the EU-Turkey deal in 2016, Lesvos has effectively been an open air prison for those arriving,

Calais Situational Update - December 2023

This Situational Update comes at a defining moment for French and European Asylum policy as France has passed a new Immigration Law and the EU has finally agreed on the Migration Pact. Both of these legal moves have been heavily criticised by rights groups who have declared that the Pact alone will mean the end to an effective asylum procedure in the EU, increased detention and impact negatively on people’s fundamental rights. Among many condemnations, Amnesty stated that the Pact will lead to “a surge of suffering.” The following report will underline the level of suffering already present in Northern France. A further rise in the deprivation of people’s rights is simply not acceptable.

Sarajevo Situational Update - January 2024

During 2023, over 34,000 people on the move were recorded entering BiH. This is the highest number ever recorded. As we enter 2024, our team on the ground is again seeing increased numbers as people are still arriving from Serbia after the Special Police Operation in the area around Subotica which began in October 2023 and essentially closed the border to Hungary.

Concerns regarding the fundamental rights of people on the move remain with reports of pushbacks, inadequate living conditions and deeply concerning detention facilities. This report presents the situation which continues to unfold in the country with a focus on potential repercussions for people on the move and highlights the difficulties and dangers they experience on a daily basis.

Northern Serbia Report - April to May 2023

In the latest Advocacy Report, a collaboration between Collective Aid and Medical Volunteers International, the monitoring and evaluation of field dynamics in Subotica are noticeably changing. With the increase of violence, now witnessed even within temporary reception centres, the presence of AI reported at the borders, and additional hospital pushbacks, the on-the-ground teams adapt to best serve people traveling through the Balkans. To learn more about the changes at the border, click below.

Subotica Situational Update - November 2023

This report aims to give a clear snapshot of the current situation for people on the move in Serbia while highlighting the structural violence they are experiencing on a daily basis. This is the first of our new four- monthly situational reports.

The situation for people on the move in Serbia is not in line with international human rights standards. Through our work on the ground we see first-hand the medical injuries which result from violence at the Serbian-Hungarian border and the aftermath of mass evictions. Everyday our teams witness the lack of basic necessities – food, water, clothes, shelter – that people on the move must survive.

Northern Serbia Report - February to March 2023

In collaboration with Medical Volunteers International, we have released the third edition of our reports documenting developments on police action at the border, the presence of foreign European police aiding Frontex pushbacks, and the first-ever testimony of chain pushbacks occurring in the Eastern Balkans.

Our teams on the ground continue their work collecting testimonies, engaging with medical conversations, and on-the-field observations, as well as additional support from secondary resources to curate these reports

Northern Serbia Report - December 2022 to January 2023

In collaboration with Construct Solidarity and Medical Volunteers International, we have released the second edition of our reports documenting police evictions, camp conditions, pushbacks at the borders, and state policies affecting the community of people on the move in northern Serbia.

Northern Serbia Report - October to November 2022

The first edition of our reports documenting on the field teams’ observations and trends in pushbacks, border violence and conditions for displaced people in northern Serbia. In collaboration with Medical Volunteers International, this report features documentation from field observations, secondary sources, and testimonies received through our Border Violence Monitoring Network partnerships.