Govt. asked to grant 1-year asylum to all asylum seekers

Govt. asked to grant 1-year asylum to all asylum seekers

BELGRADE -- The Center for Protection and Assistance to Asylum Seekers has asked the Serbian government to grant 1-year asylum to all seekers currently in the country.

The center says 13,052 people fleeing war and persecution in Asia and Africa have entered Serbia since the start of the year, and the government is not able of regulating their status because the asylum system is not functioning.

Only four out of 11,000 asylum seekers were granted asylum by November 1, a statement said.

The asylum department has filed requests for only 309 people, while only 435 personal IDs for asylum seekers were issued and no more than 11 interviews held.

"As the weather gets colder, their lives will be even more at threat," the center noted, adding that 70 freezing people, including women and children, were located near Subotica, close to the country's northern border, in abandoned buildings.

Temporary asylum is the only solution for the current situation, until the government is able to run a procedure to determine asylum status, the center said.

It is the only way for Serbia to solve the problem temporarily and urgently and gain enough time to formulate the asylum system, reorganize and come up with a comprehensive strategy to solve the refugee problem, the center said.