The efforts invested by Bosnia and Croatia to provide shelter and basic services to the increased numbers of migrants arriving to these countries is "commendable," Council of Europe's special representative on migration and refugees, Tomas Bocek, said in a report released by the Strasbourg-based human rights watchdog on Wednesday.

However, Bocek added, access to asylum procedures and support services in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still limited, and also pointed out that the accommodation and guardianship for unaccompanied children coming into the country remains a challenge.

“With shelter and basic services provided by different stakeholders, the authorities should better coordinate assistance to migrants and refugees and implement standards for adapted and safe reception facilities for women and children, especially unaccompanied children in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Bocek said in the report.

The Council of Europe noted that in 2018 Bosnia became the preferred transit country for Middle Eastern migrants travelling across the western Balkans, with over 24,000 arrivals recorded – or about twenty times more than the year before.

In order to cope with the high number of arrivals, the Council of Europe said, new reception facilities were put in place funded by its development bank (CEB) and the European Union. The organisation said on Wednesday that an estimated 4,000-5,000 people are currently in Bosnia, hoping to cross the border into Croatia and continue their journey towards western Europe.

Over the same period, Croatia, whose border with Bosnia forms European Union’s external border, also registered an increase in arrivals. Council of Europe said that more than 7,500 migrants were registered in the country in 2018, with only 352 asylum seekers remaining in the country.

In 2018, Croatia has focused on policies and measures to prevent unauthorised crossing of the border, and to deter access to its territory. The implementation of these policies and measures has coincided with the emergence of reports of pushbacks.

A number of human rights organisations raised concern over reports of violent pushbacks of migrants by the Croatian border police in 2018 and early 2019, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. A report by the Council of Europe released in October 2018 quoted UNHCR estimates that some 2,500 migrants have been expelled back into Bosnia over the first ten months of 2018. 

Zagreb officials have repeatedly dismissed allegations of mistreatment, and continue insisting that the Croatian police is acting in accordance with international law.

“Croatia is another example of the continued migratory pressure on European Union external borders. It is important that border management operations are human-rights compliant and do not prevent the identification of people in need of international protection. Croatia should set up credible complaint mechanisms and investigations to address the allegations of ill-treatment at the border”, Bocak said on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s report added that although Croatian authorities have succeeded in “providing fairly good material reception conditions” for migrants so far, the existing facilities in Croatia are inadequate for unaccompanied migrant and refugee children.

The Council of Europe said that Croatian authorities announced plans to open two new centres in 2019 designed to accommodate incoming children and offer them short-term stay, while formal decisions on family re-unification or foster care are being processed.

The report was based on Council of Europe’s visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia  in July and November 2018. Other countries visited by Bocak along the western Balkan migratory route included Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and transit zones in Hungary.

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