Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Serbia has been accompanying refugees and people on the move for many years through integration support, education, psychosocial assistance, advocacy, and community-building activities. Through our Community Centre for Refugee Integration (CCRI), language classes, employment support, cultural mediation, and work with schools and local communities, we strive to promote dignity, solidarity, and inclusion for people forced to flee war, persecution, and poverty.

On the World Refugee Day, we wish to draw attention not only to the resilience and potential of refugees, but also to the growing challenges affecting their rights and integration in Serbia.

Serbia remains one of the key countries on the Western Balkan migration route and is increasingly under pressure to align its migration and asylum system with the New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which becomes fully applicable in June 2026. While better coordination and more efficient asylum systems are necessary, JRS Serbia is concerned that current reforms are placing increasing emphasis on border control, containment, and return policies, while insufficient attention is being dedicated to protection, integration, and human dignity. At the same time, Serbia is already facing real long-term integration needs. Refugees, asylum seekers, and foreign workers increasingly remain in the country, while Serbia itself faces demographic decline and labor shortages in many sectors of industry. In this context, integration policies should not be viewed as a burden, but as an investment in social cohesion and the future development of society.

However, organizations who support refugees in Serbia continue to face serious difficulties due to decreased fundings. There is also limited institutional and donor support for practical integration activities such as Serbian language classes, psychosocial support, and employment orientation, despite the evident need for such services. In addition, asylum recognition rates in Serbia remain very low, and the authorities apply a highly restrictive approach to granting international protection.

On this World Refugee Day, JRS Serbia strongly supports:

• Protection of the right to seek asylum and respect for international human rights standards according to international law and conventions;
• Stronger investment in integration and inclusion programs;
• Greater support for independent civil society organizations working with refugees and migrants;
• Future changes in migration policy should be based not only on security, but also on solidarity, responsibility, and human dignity because every person deserves opportunity to contribute positively to society.

Belgrade, June 19, 2026.