Border Managment and Protection of Refugees

Since January 2015 the Human Rights League continues with implementation of the project „Border Management and Protection of Refugees“ (BMPR), as implementation partner of the Regional Office of UNHCR for Central Europe, which has also financially supported this project.  

The Human Rights League has been involved in implementation of this project already since 2006, when it was monitoring transit zone of international airport in Bratislava. Since 2007 the Human Rights League has been covering monitoring of the whole territory of the Slovak republic.

The project is implemented in close coordination with the Bureau of the Alien and Border Police of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic. The Human Rights League conducts monitoring on behalf of UNHCR in position of its implementing partner.

The Human Rights League lawyers monitor the entry of foreigners in need of international protection to the territory of the Slovak Republic and their access to the asylum procedure. Monitoring takes place in the transit zone of both international airports in Bratislava and Kosice as well as at all the departments of border control at the Slovak-Ukrainian border and in both detention centres in Medvedov and Secovce.

The main goal of the project is assurance that all foreigners who are in need of international protection, all asylum seekers, refugees and other persons of concern to UNHCR have Access to the territory of the Slovak Republic and to the asylum procedure at any place regardless of the manner in which they enter the Slovak territory they chose. The project aims to monitor access to asylum procedure of foreigners in detention and monitoring of asylum procedure of detainees, as well as situation related to increased detention of asylum seekers.

The special focus group is unaccompanied (separated) children and other vulnerable persons.

The Human Rights League cooperates with non-governmental organisations in Ukraine, mainly NEEKA, with the aim of cross-border Exchange of information on persons of concern to UNHCR on both sides of the border.

In July 2013 Regional Office of UNHCR in Kyiv issued report on situation pertaining to Ukrainian asylum system. You can find it here: http://www.refworld.org/docid/51ee97344.html