Bosnia Succumbs to Pressure to Adapt Tent Camp for Winter

After ignoring warnings for months that the Lipa migrant tent camp in northwest Bosnia is not adequate for hosting people over winter, the government of Bosnia, the Council of Ministers, on Monday agreed to convert it into an official "container camp for the accommodation for 1,500 migrants".

Lipa was established in April in an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to get all migrants and refugees off the streets. The authorities promised to provide electricity, water and road access.

Despite repeated warnings from the International Organization for Migration, IOM, none of this was done. The camp is still reachable only by a dirt road, electricity comes from a generator and water is brought in on trucks.

With the latest decision, the Council of Ministers practically committed itself to do the things it promised eight months ago, but only after the IOM threatened to withdraw all services from the camp and so close it.

According to the decision of the Council of Ministers, funds provided through donations will be used to adapt Lipa into a temporary reception centre.

About 1,300 migrants staying in Lipa will not be left homeless, because the IOM, which has taken care of migrants in Lipa, has now also given up its intention to withdraw from the camp.

However, many issues remain open. The IOM told BIRN that it still did not know what would happen to the migrants while the containers were being set up, when the water and electricity would be installed, how quickly they would start work and how long the work would last.

Apart from this, the issue of about 1,500 migrants who have no place in existing migrant camps and who will spend another winter in. tents or abandoned facilities also remains unresolved.

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