Reducing risks to public health and general security, supporting the media in objective reporting on migration in BiH, and infrastructure projects are some of the activities of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) realized within the project “BiH: Strengthening social cohesion in communities hosting people on the move”.
At the presentation of the results of this project tonight in Sarajevo, it was pointed out that special attention was devoted to the reconstruction of public lighting, roads, sports fields and public service facilities in local communities in the Sarajevo Canton and Una-Sana Canton.
The coordinator of the International Organization for Migration for the Western Balkans and the Head of the IOM Mission in BiH, Laura Lungarotti, pointed out that the IOM is proud to be the link between the EU and local communities, which supports dialogues between citizens and authorities, and works to bring the community closer to migrants – which are prerequisites for creating social cohesion.
The representative of UNHCR in BiH, Lucie Gagné, stated that through this project, UNHCR, in cooperation with partners, strengthened local authorities in providing effective protection to asylum seekers and refugees, including psycho-social assistance, educational activities and infrastructure projects in the communities where they reside.
The implementation of the project was financed by the European Union with two million euros.
The Head of the Department for Justice and Internal Affairs, Migration and Public Administration Reform in the EU Delegation to BiH and the Head of the Operations Section for Justice, Internal Affairs and Public Administration Reform of the EU Delegation to BiH Karel Lizerot said that the EU will continue to provide support to communities that receive migrants and fight against discrimination, xenophobia and social exclusion while strengthening the capacity of all stakeholders in migration management in BiH.
