International Organization for Migration

Pope Francis on Dec. 5 returned to the island of Lesbos, the migration flashpoint he first visited in 2016, calling the neglect of migrants the "shipwreck of civilisation".

The pope has long championed the cause of migrants and his visit comes a day after he delivered a stinging rebuke to Europe which he said was "torn by nationalist egoism".

Greek journalist Stavros Malichudis has described the activities of the country's National Intelligence Service, EYP as "alarming" after a report alleged that he and others were put under surveillance.

In the Presidency of Serbia, Serbian President and the European Commissioner discussed the Agreement on EU Support in Migration Management - the second phase for the improvement of reception capacities, protection services and access to education.

At least five people, including a woman and a child, drowned when a boat carrying at least 45 Europe-bound migrants capsized off Libya, a U.N. migration official said on Monday. The wreck was the latest disaster in the Mediterranean Sea involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

UN agencies are pressing the European Union to end the growing practices of denying migrants their right to apply for asylum, collectively expelling them and using violence against people trying to enter the bloc without authorization.

The world's leading inter-governmental organisation dealing with migration has warned in a document released on Wednesday that the COVID-19 panic is adding to existing strains between host communities and migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After locals in the town of Bihac in northwest Bosnia protested against plans to relocate migrants and refugees from the torched Lipa camp to the Bira centre, inside the town, Bosnia ordered its armed forces to set up new tents in the Lipa camp where the migrants can stay until the winter adaptation of the camp is completed.

About 1,000 migrants and refugees who have lingered at the site of the burned camp will now over-winter in what was formerly the largest migrant centre in Bosnia.

The decision concludes a several-day search for solutions to the emergency situation that arose after migrants torched the Lipa camp as it was about to close.

The troubled Lipa migrant and refugee camp near Bihac in northwest Bosnia was set on fire on Wednesday as it was due to close.

The camp has been at the centre of a battle between the local authorities and the International Organization for Migration, IOM, which has long threatened to close the camp if the authorities do not improve winter conditions.

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".