Migrants travelling the Western Balkans route are subject to a multitude of risks. The EU and their partners in the region have a shared responsibility to protect those in vulnerable situations.

Migrants refer to it as the ‘game’. The objective is simple: to cross the border into the EU without being caught. Since 2016, the Western Balkans authorities have registered 959,397 irregular crossings of migrants, including refugees, asylum seekers and people in search of a better life.[1] Today, the Western Balkans route remains one of the most utilised routes for mixed migratory movements from the Middle East and South Asia (the Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, Türkiye and Iraq) towards the EU. But with time, the ‘game’ has become considerably riskier.

At least 400 migrants have died while travelling the Western Balkans route since 2014, with road accidents, drownings and violence the top three causes of death.[2] The real toll is likely to be much higher: the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that 87% of those who go missing on Europe’s southern borders are never found.[3] The Western Balkan region has dozens of unmarked graves, leaving little information for families to trace their lost ones.[4]

As they move across the region, migrants face numerous risks, including harsh winter conditions, treacherous natural environments and the presence of landmines. In August 2024, 12 migrants including a baby drowned after their boat capsized on the Drina River at the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The same year, dozens of migrants were injured after falling from bridge crossings between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Violence, exploitation and abuse

Experience of violence, exploitation and abuse (VEA) is frequent for those travelling the Western Balkans route. A total of 19% of 1,350 migrants interviewed by IOM in 2024 reported personal experience of VEA during their travels on the Eastern Mediterranean route (one of the migratory routes of the Mediterranean primarily involving arrivals in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria), which represents the main corridor for onward movements through the Western Balkans and towards Northern and Western Europe.[5] In the Western Balkans, violent pushbacks at borders have been routinely reported by various human rights organisations and actors.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, IOM collects testimonials from migrants sheltering in temporary reception centres, which shed light on some of the alleged practices in place at borders. Confiscation and destruction of documents and personal items, denial of access to asylum procedures, detention without food, water or opportunities to communicate with family members, pushbacks through remote or risky environments, as well as the use of dogs, are frequently mentioned. In 2024, 5,741 migrants reported having experienced pushbacks and inhumane treatment at or after crossing the border, with 12% of cases involving women and unaccompanied or separated children. In 55% of the incidents documented, migrants reported excessive use of force by Border Police officials.

In one illustrative account, one group reported being intercepted by two alleged police officers with a police dog. As they stated, the police unleashed the dog who started biting them, and two migrants sustained serious injuries. They were then transported to another location where another group of masked ‘police officers’ awaited. During this traumatising event, the migrants were beaten, all their belongings were confiscated and they were forced to lie on the ground while the masked officers stamped on them. After the beating, they were forced to jump into a river and swim back towards Bosnia and Herzegovina.[6]

IOM also started receiving reports from migrants of encounters with criminal gangs extorting, robbing or even kidnapping migrants. According to investigative research commissioned by IOM in the Western Balkans, local criminal groups also acted as agents for foreign smuggling groups and perpetrated violence against migrants being moved by rival smugglers.

The profile of people on the move is another significant dimension. With regard to the experience of VEA as documented by IOM on the Eastern Mediterranean route, risk factors include primarily age (younger men are more likely to be subject to VEA than older ones) and the reasons for leaving countries of origin (those who migrated for ‘economic reasons’ are 60% less likely to report experience of VEA than those who cited ‘other reasons’). In particular, victims of VEA are more likely to be people from Afghanistan, who more often cite ‘fleeing conflict’ as the main reason for leaving their country and who are particularly vulnerable due to the foothold that violent smuggling networks from Afghanistan have acquired in the Western Balkans.

Efforts to ‘close’ the Western Balkans route

In 2023, Europol declared that the smuggling networks operating in the Western Balkans were among the most violent in Europe.[7] Police operations to crack down on smuggling networks were initiated in Serbia in October 2023 and effectively disrupted movements in the region, with a reported 66% decrease in registrations of new arrivals in the Western Balkans in 2024 compared with 2023.[8] However, an increasing proportion of migrants interviewed by IOM claimed not to have been formally registered as they travelled the Western Balkans route in 2024. To a large extent, the changes in Serbia contributed to a shifting of flows towards the Bosnia and Herzegovina–Croatia border, extending travelling times and forcing passage through more difficult terrain. Evidence suggests that smuggling groups previously operating in Serbia moved to other routes, contributing to a notable increase in violent incidents involving firearms in reception centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Indeed, efforts to ‘close’ the Western Balkans route have had paradoxical effects in the region. Today, migrants who have successfully navigated the entire route on their own are increasingly rare. In 2023, 11% of the 8,052 migrants interviewed by IOM in Bosnia and Herzegovina reported having used smugglers or facilitators during their travels. This proportion increased to 37% in 2024. Tellingly, the closer migrants move towards the EU, the more likely they are to rely on smuggling groups.

Addressing the gaps

Amid complex migratory dynamics, authorities along the Western Balkans route have demonstrated commitment to addressing shared challenges related to mixed migratory movements, especially with regard to reception and accommodation. However, security considerations have continued to be prioritised over protection and prevention of deaths and disappearances along the route, with only limited resources and capacities invested in search and rescue and in rights-based assistance to migrants, as well as in helping families looking for lost loved ones.

In the Western Balkans, the migration response remains piecemeal and lacks a long-term, strategic outlook. Furthermore, political and operational challenges relating to cooperation in the region continue to hamper efforts to build a more sustainable, solutions-oriented approach to addressing mixed movements in the Western Balkans. However, there has certainly been no lack of humanity and solidarity shown by local communities, which have been at the forefront of the response in the municipalities most affected since the activation of this route.

From the failure to make safe dangerous bridges across borders to the slow response in situations of distress, recent events bring new evidence of the ad hoc nature of the mechanisms in place to manage migration in the region. Migrants have limited information on how to stay safe during their journey and little to no support should they need help. From an operational and a policy perspective, there are many ways to address the gaps.

Data and information provision

The importance of providing reliable information in appropriate languages, including information on assistance points along the route, cannot be overstated. Information on safe migration options and pathways (such as asylum, family reunification and complementary options such as return) is also critical in enabling informed decisions prior to departure and during the journey. In the Western Balkans, IOM works with local partners and other international organisations – notably the UNHCR – to ensure access to rights-based information. In temporary reception centres, legal information sessions and focus group discussions on rights and on the risks associated with irregular migration are held regularly. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, almost 1,000 migrants and first responders have attended Mines Awareness Information Sessions – delivered in reception centres – since the tragic death of a migrant due to a landmine in 2021. Lastly, through the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), IOM meets with thousands of migrants to report on their profiles, experience, needs and intentions. The DTM system set up along the Western Balkans–Türkiye corridor enables IOM and its partners to develop route-based analysis. This data has proven exceptionally important for understanding, responding to and occasionally anticipating needs and risks.

Mobile operations

In collaboration with local authorities and the local Red Cross Society, IOM has set up mobile rescue teams to ensure migrants have access to information and life-saving assistance (such as food, non-food items and health care) along the route, improve identification and registration processes, and provide referrals for medical assistance and reception. In some specific settings in the Western Balkans, mobile assistance was the only option possible amid complex and ever-changing political and operational conditions. However, to ensure effective modalities for reaching migrants in distress and the most vulnerable, a transfer of ownership from international organisations to local authorities and local partners is needed, alongside a more widespread network of local organisations capable of supporting people on the move in various locations and situations. Mobile rescue teams and local organisations can play a crucial role in reducing risks and vulnerabilities for people on the move and providing effective means of monitoring and relaying instances of human rights abuse at borders.

A comprehensive approach

IOM developed ad hoc standard operating procedures (SOPs) for search and rescue missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, following the tragic drownings of August 2024. However, to date, the SOPs have not been institutionalised by the relevant authorities. In a context where incidents involving migrants in distress are frequent, the country – and most of its Western Balkans neighbours – requires well-organised, comprehensive approaches and effective systems to manage search and rescue operations. These measures can help save lives by clarifying roles and responsibilities and the cooperation required during border incidents and by ensuring that rights-based procedures are in place during and after the response to an incident. Moreover, while authorities in the region have strengthened protection-sensitive border management procedures, additional efforts are required to ensure regionally coordinated approaches to tackle violent criminal organisations and reduce the risks they represent for vulnerable migrants.

Political commitments on safe migration

The involvement of Western Balkans authorities has been central to the humanitarian response to mixed movements in the region, but it has also been limited by political considerations, notably in determining responsibility for incidents, taking long-term measures to reduce risks faced by migrants travelling irregularly – including the most vulnerable, such as unaccompanied and separated children – or agreeing on common approaches and systems to address certain situations, such as cross-border search and rescue operations. To overcome these obstacles, Western Balkans authorities engaged in policy dialogues during ministerial gatherings in both 2022 and 2023. Through the Skopje Declaration and the Jahorina Action Plan, Western Balkans partners reaffirmed their leadership and commitment to advancing comprehensive, sustainable and solutions-oriented approaches to making migration safe, orderly and regular. IOM is committed to helping partners in the region to translate these important commitments into concerted and concrete actions.

Looking ahead

Ten years after the start of the mixed movements in this region, migrants continue to face enormous risks while travelling the Western Balkans route. While the response of local authorities has noticeably improved, structural approaches and solutions are needed to make migration safe, orderly and regular.

The governance of migration in the Western Balkans remains a critically important dimension of the region’s EU accession process. The EU Action Plan on the Western Balkans, which encompasses clear objectives to strengthen border management, tackle migrant smuggling, enhance readmission cooperation and returns and achieve alignment of visa policy, continues to drive policy changes in relation to migration management.

The EU has funded most of the critical actions implemented in the region since 2016, balancing life-saving protection-sensitive interventions with border management and return, reintegration and readmission support. Diverging political views on how to tackle migration within the EU, often sending mixed messages to partners and the public alike, have also had an impact on priorities in the Western Balkans. In this context, political efforts to set up functioning systems to monitor the risks faced by migrants along this route and the impact of laws, policies and practices on the human rights of migrants have been limited.

The EU Pact on Asylum and Migration, which will enter into force in 2026, will provide a comprehensive compendium of legislative instruments and operational instructions for States to abide by – and its implementation will have an immediate impact on the EU’s direct neighbours, including countries in the Western Balkans. All stakeholders will follow the situation closely to see whether the implementation of the Pact provides an opportunity for greater coherence in the region’s migration management systems, and greater emphasis on fairness of treatment and due process to uphold migrants’ rights, so that those travelling the Western Balkans route have alternatives to playing dangerous ‘games’ with their lives.

 

Laura Lungarotti
Coordinator for the Western Balkans, IOM Country Office with Coordination Functions in the Western Balkans
llungarotti@iom.int

Joanie Durocher
Head of Programme Support, IOM Country Office with Coordination Functions in the Western Balkans
jdurocher@iom.int

The opinions expressed in the article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

 

[1] Official data from authorities in the Western Balkans, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo*. References to Kosovo* shall be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).

[2] IOM Missing Migrants Project

[3] ICRC (2022) Counting the Dead: How Registered Deaths of Migrants in the Southern European Sea Border Provide Only a Glimpse of the Issue

[4] ‘Nomen Nescio: Dying En Route to Europe, Buried Without a Name’, Balkan Insight, 8^th December 2023; ‘Border Graves Project Wins Investigative Award’, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, 2^nd October 2024.

[5] IOM (April–June 2024) ‘Experiences of Violence, Exploitation and Abuse factsheet – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia’

[6] Testimonial collected by IOM in a temporary reception centre in north-west Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 2024.

[7] Europol (2024) Tackling threats, addressing challenges: Europol’s response to migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings in 2023 and onwards

[8] 163,531 irregular arrivals registered by Western Balkans authorities in 2023, compared with 55,663 in 2024.

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