There is no accurate information on the exact number of refugees and migrants in Sarajevo and situation is changing hourly, said Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of Sarajevo Canton (SC) Amela Dautbegovic on Monday.
“Those people must be registered and obtain a status, either of asylum or migrant kind, so we can decide on further steps,” Dautbegovic said addressing the Sarajevo Canton Assembly.
According to the Bosnian Border Police, the number of migrants passing through the country dramatically increased during the first few months of the year and the authorities already encountered problems with the lack of accommodation capacities for incoming migrants.
Dautbegovic emphasized the necessity of legal registration of the migrants, in line with Bosnia's law regulation. “…and only after that we can discuss where to accommodate them and how to provide help,” she added.
The migrants, coming mostly from the Middle East, are seeking shelter in Bosnia on the way to their, as they say, final destinations in western Europe.
VEZANE VIJESTI
Prior to providing any help to the migrants, they must be registered, Dautbegovic told the Assembly.
“Any action of the Sarajevo Canton Government and the ministry in charge would be illegal without strategic decisions of the Bosnia's Council of Ministers,” she underlined.
According to the Border Police, more than 1,200 migrants were discovered in the attempt of or after entering Bosnia. Out of this number, some 400 illegal migrants were registered only in April, three times more than in January 2018.
