Regional Conference
Sustainable return, asylum systems and border management in the Western Balkans 3/4 December 2007, Dubrovnik, Croatia European Council on Refugees and Exiles in collaboration with partner NGOs from Croatia, Serbia, BIH and FYROM has organised a regional conference entitled Sustainable return, asylum systems and border management in the Western Balkans. The Conference was the final event of ECRE’s South East European project funded by the European Commission’s CARDS programme and the Dutch Council for Refugees. The event was held at the Hotel President located in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 3 and 4 December 2007. As part of this project NGOs from the Western Balkans have been discussing the main regional concerns in the areas of sustainable return, asylum systems and border monitoring. Particular attention has been paid to the process of future accession to the European Union. At the conference, project partners presented policy papers and recommendations in the above areas, as well as a comparative analysis on the topic of ‘Obstacles to sustainable return to Western Balkans’. This in turn formed the basis for a two-day event and facilitate a discussion between 75 delegates from the region and the European Union, including Government Officials, Members of Parliament, representatives from the European Commission, EU Member States, UNHCR, IOM, OSCE, UNDP, MARRI and regional NGOs. The conference aimed to explore the relation between EU and the Western Balkans and more specifically how the relevant stakeholders (EU institutions, local governments, International organisations and NGOs) can work together in practice to bring solutions to problems in the areas of sustainable return, asylum systems and border monitoring. Overall, future cooperation and succession negotiations with EU will have an immense impact on the regional asylum systems. This process therefore presents an excellent opportunity to address and tackle the issues of improving standards, safeguarding refugee protection and human rights in a wider European framework. The main plenary session and subsequent panel discussions were chaired by Mr Philip Rudge former ECRE Secretary General (1983-1997), and a renowned independent consultant on refugee issues with extensive knowledge and experience in the region. In addition, the conference featured working groups focusing on practical issues by discussing recommendations, resolutions and examples of good practices, and by harmonizing future actions. Following the event, ECRE will compose a follow up report highlighting the main conference conclusions. The report will be also available online. Main Contact Persons: Berend Jonker, Project Co-ordinator (BJonker@ecre.org) |
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