Bosnia and Herzegovina

To increase preparedness for the potential flooding event, 34 representatives of the civil protection and the first responders for the case of natural disasters in the municipalities of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje, Bugojno, Donji Vakuf and Jajce successfully implemented the first flood simulation exercise.

The Appeal

Thousands of vulnerable migrants are facing a cold and dangerous journey across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and are in desperate need of support, as are many host communities. The Red Cross Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are responding.

Snapshot

Progress on food security and nutrition stagnates in Europe and Central Asia

More than 14 million adults suffer severe food insecurity while overweight and obesity are on the rise

Violence, Abuse; Denied Opportunity to Apply for Asylum

(Budapest) – Croatian police are pushing migrants and asylum seekers back to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in some cases violently, and without giving them the possibility to seek asylum, Human Rights Watch said.

Budapest/Geneva, 10 December 2018 – Thousands of people trapped in Bosnia and Herzegovina desperately need humanitarian assistance ahead of freezing winter temperatures, says the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

• Total contributions for the Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) now close to EUR 130 million; 36 projects approved under the Initiative representing EUR 3.7 billion of financing;

• Over 160,000 jobs to be sustained in smaller businesses and midcaps enabled by lending via partner banks;

• EIB contributed to ERI with technical assistance and advisory services worth EUR 90 million

This Emergency Appeal seeks a total of some 3.3 million Swiss francs to enable the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support the Red Cross Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RCSBiH) to deliver assistance and support to up to 7,600 migrants every two weeks for a period of 12 months, as well as 1,500 households from local community for a period of two months, with a focus on the following areas of focus and strategies of implementation: shelter (Non-Food Items – NFIs), livelihoods and basic needs, health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Protection, …

This overview document presents 145 safety, security and access incidents affecting aid delivery in 18 countries in Europe between January 2017 and June 2018. The report is based on incidents identified in open sources and reported by Aid in Danger partner agencies using the Security in Numbers Database (SiND). The focus is on countries where possible changing or emerging risks can be identified. The total number of reported incidents below reflects the willingness of agencies to share information. It is neither a complete count nor representative.

PAS DE SECURITÈ NI DE DEVELOPPEMENT SANS RESPECT DES DROITS HUMAINS

• Over 22 370 detected refugees, asylum seekers and migrants have passed through Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) since the beginning of the year. An estimated 6 000 are still in-country, with 3 500 - 4 000 in need of assistance. With the onset of winter, these individuals are in dire need.

• Togerther with partners, DG ECHO has launched a winterisation action plan. Those living in sub-standard conditions have been relocated to winterised facilities. Vouchers for hostels are provided to the most vulnerable as well as non-food items such as jackets, shoes and blankets.

Eight years on from the end of armed conflict in Sri Lanka, the country is grappling with the legacy of massive human rights abuses committed during the war. As it does so, sexual violence against men and boys has only recently been recognised as among the violations that took place.

However, the issue remains little understood and responses have so far been even less adequate than for other serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by all parties to the conflict.

Signing the Grant Agreement on allocation of 630,000 US dollars for the “EXPLODE+” Project, the Royal Norwegian Government joined the activities of disposal of unstable ammunition in BiH, which will be implemented by the UNDP in the next year.

TRENDS AND KEY FIGURES

INTRODUCTION

UNHCR has long upheld age, gender and diversity (AGD) mainstreaming as an essential approach to understand and respond to the needs of all persons of concern. UNHCR makes considerable efforts in Europe to integrate AGD considerations both in operational planning, programme implementation and while engaging with governments in protection, advocacy and legal interventions. This report highlights a range of initiatives across the region in 2017 and 2018 to illustrate this.

The European Commission has committed an additional € 500 000 to continue assisting the most vulnerable refugees and migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This additional funding brings EU humanitarian assistance in the Western Balkans to € 31 million since the start of the refugee crisis in 2015, including € 2 million for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2018.

• On 14 November, a young man from Syria died in the hospital in Belgrade despite receiving all possible treatment, as reportedly he had not been able to properly treat an injury sustained on the way to Serbia, resulting in major complications. This is yet another example illustrating the dangers of the current situation of mixed movements of people.

Geneva – IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 104,029 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2018 through 18 November. Spain topped 50,911 – more irregular arrivals to Spain through 45 weeks of 2018 than all arrivals during the past three years combined (See Table 6).

THE HALO TRUST has begun operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) marking and registering weapons under a project financially supported by the government of Germany. The project aims to improve the safety and security of BiH by making it easier to track and trace the stock of military weapons in the country.

LES POINTS MARQUANTS

• Alors que le monde continue de s’urbaniser à un rythme toujours plus rapide et avec une ampleur sans précédent, les villes payent un tribut de plus en plus lourd aux conflits, aux crises et aux catastrophes naturelles.

• Un nouveau document de synthèse de la Banque mondiale et de l'UNESCO, intitulé CURE, propose un cadre amélioré, fondé sur la culture, pour la reconstruction et le relèvement des villes.