Ivica Dačić and Francesca Bonelli
National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia
16 December 2021
Wrapping up a successful year, UNHCR Serbia has devoted its final public event in 2021 to the marking of two very important anniversaries: the 70th anniversary of the Convention on the Status of Refugees passed in 1951 and the 45th anniversary of UNHCR operation in Serbia. Organized jointly with the Government of Serbia, a panel discussion entitled “70th Anniversary of the Refugee Convention – Lessons Learned and Prospects for the Future” took place at the National Assembly on 16 December and gathered together highest ranking local officials and distinguished representatives of the diplomatic corps, academia, and CSOs.
Opened officially by Mr. Ivica Dačić, Speaker of the National Assembly and one of the longest serving and most influential politicians in the Serbian political landscape, the discussion continued with an inspiring streamed speech delivered by Ms. Gillian Triggs, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, which added to the exclusivity of the event and sparked extremely positive reactions among the audience. The debate continued with addresses by other keynote speakers, including esteemed law professors, representatives of the EU, the Council of Europe, and line ministries, the European Nansen Awardee, and a UNHCR Representative. The common denominator running through all the speeches was the unequivocal recognition of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the treaty’s relevance today.
Panel discussion on the occasion of 70 years since the adoption of Refugee Convention.
Emerging global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic have only reconfirmed the significance and irreplaceability of the Convention’s provisions for refugee protection. In line with the UNHCR strategic approach in supporting Western Balkans countries in building their asylum capacities, and based on one of the key principles of the Convention that everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum, the asylum component was especially highlighted during the conversation.
In a video address, Ms. Gillian Triggs, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, reminded us that some 26.6 million refugees globally are seeking protection beyond national frontiers. In addition, 48 million people have been displaced in their own countries, in addition to unknown millions of persons who are stateless.
“Over the last 10 years, the number of those forcibly displaced has doubled, reflecting well-known root causes, including persecution, violence, intercommunal and other conflicts, environmental degradation, poverty, and inability to find livelihoods, inequality, especially for women and girls, discrimination, natural disasters and, in this time of COP 26, displacement prompted directly or indirectly by the impact of climate change,” said Ms. Gillian Triggs, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.
Speech by Gillian Triggs, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection
The prominent role of former Yugoslavia in adopting the Convention was highlighted, as well. SFR Yugoslavia signed the Refugee Convention in 1959, thereby becoming its 23rd signatory. To date, 149 countries in the world have signed the Convention.
Mr. Ivica Dačić, the Speaker of the National Assembly, has been a vocal supporter of the refugee cause in Serbia throughout his political career spanning decades, most notably of the Regional Housing Program, a unique initiative designed to contribute to the resolution of the protracted displacement situation affecting the most vulnerable refugees and displaced persons following the 1991-1995 conflicts on the territory of former Yugoslavia.
Upon opening the Conference, the President of the National Assembly Ivica Dačić sent a congratulatory message for the important dates, and on behalf of all the citizens expressed his deep gratitude for the devoted work of all members of the UNHCR and their partner institutions, as well as the domestic organizations involved in this important humanitarian mission in the past years. “Serbia will continue to provide maximum help to refugees until every single one of them has recovered dignified living conditions, from a roof over their heads, schooling and employment, to health care,” the President of the National Assembly said.
Ms. Francesca Bonelli, UNHCR Representative highlighted the importance of building of the asylum system as one of the key priorities of the UNHCR’s work in Serbia.
“Asylum system development is one of the key priorities of UNHCR in Serbia. Supporting the relevant authorities, we have gone through different stages of its development – starting from the advocacy and adoption of the first Law on Asylum of the Republic of Serbia in 2007. We managed to do so also thanks to the generous support of donors including EU which funded UNHCR’s first asylum building projects. Substantial progress has been made since 2008, the legal framework established provides a solid basis for further alignment with the international and EU standards which is an ongoing process,” the UNHCR Representative said.
Mateja Norčič Štamcar, Ivica Dačić and Francesca Bonelli
The importance of building a sustainable asylum system was also in the focus of the speech delivered by Ms. Mateja Norčič Štacmar, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia.
“Efficient and fast asylum procedures are very important in order to provide international protection to people forced to flee their homes, and Serbia has made a lot of progress in this field. This year we also celebrate 70 years since the creation of the European Pact of Coal and Steel, the foundation of the EU as we know it today. Just as these two anniversaries coincide, so does the relation between the Union as such and the Convention. That is why I am proud to be able to present the EU at this event, considering the importance of this document and its legacy on the European continent. The Convention has had a strong impact on Europe as a whole. As Commissioner Johannsson pointed it out ‘The Convention was once a global answer to a European catastrophe. Today we must give a European answer to a global emergency’. Today, we see that the Convention has been put under strain. The EU has been working hard on finding the solutions for the emerging problems,” said deputy head of the EU Delegation to Serbia
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