The response is led by IOM’s Country Emergency Coordinator, overseeing around 150–200 field staff members directly engaged in the migration response – the vast majority working in the six temporary reception centres established and managed by IOM, on behalf of the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs within the Ministry of Security of BiH.
In these centres, supported by the EU, IOM is providing for the basic needs of migrants, including food, hygiene products, clothes, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, 24/7 IOM centre management staff, and 24/7 cleaning, maintenance and security personnel.
IOM is also supporting the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs (the BiH Ministry of Security) in Centre Coordination and Centre Management (CCCM), coordinating all activities and all actors/implementing partners providing services in the centres.
IOM, together with partner agencies, has established structures and mechanisms to promote migrants’ participation in the daily life and operations of the centres, and established migrant/community structures and community representatives/leaders facilitating dialogues between migrant groups, and between migrants and centre management, and for migrants to be able to express concerns and emerging needs.
There are also reporting mechanisms established for migrants to report incidents of violence, exploitation or abuse, and other protection concerns, in their own language and anonymously.
IOM also works closely with UNHCR and UNICEF mainstreaming protection in the migration response, while working to identify and address protection concerns in the centres, with particular attention given to gender-based violence, trafficking in human beings.
Additionally, IOM also provides support to the Border Police and the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs to further strengthen their human and technical capacity to register irregular migrants, and to proactively screen and identify those vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abuse.
