Reception of migrants
(from Sofia) The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees of the Council of Europe (COE), Ambassador Tomáš Boček, will be on a fact-finding mission to Bulgaria from 13 to 17 November. He will visit several reception centres for asylum seekers both in Sofia and in the central-eastern part of the country, near the Turkish border where migrants arrive. Boček will also meet with representatives of the Bulgarian authorities, the Ombudsman, the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, the State Agency for Refugees, and the State Agency for Child Protection. The Ambassador will also hear the views of various international organisations and NGOs. In the last three years, Bulgaria has been primarily a transit country for migrants and refugees arriving in Europe. At the end of 2015 and 2016, the Bulgarian legislation in this area has undergone substantive changes. There are currently some 1,670 asylum seekers and migrants living in open and closed reception centres across the country. The aim of Boček’s visit to Bulgaria is to gather information on the situation of migrants and to elaborate proposals for concrete Council of Europe action on how to assist Bulgaria in this area. One of the priorities of the special envoy will be unaccompanied children. Following his visit to Sofia, Boček will publish a report with his conclusions and recommendations. Other reports have been compiled on the situation of migrants and refugees in Serbia and in two transit zones in Hungary.
