COUNTRY: Germany, Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania
CLIENT: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
PROJECT DURATION: 18.04.2017 – 30.09.2018
OVERALL PROJECT VALUE:  236,165.00 €

Background

Accession to the EU is a declared political goal of the five countries of the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia. Furthermore, with the exception of Kosovo, they have ratified the European Social Charter and have assumed the obligation to guarantee comprehensive social rights.

There are still deficiencies in these countries’ transposition of the Community Acquis (the body of rights and obligations common to EU Member States). This is particularly evident in terms of social policy and the guarantees for social rights, including the right to non-discrimination. Those suffering the consequences are primarily the members of vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities (above all the Roma), internally displaced people, people with disabilities, migrants, refugees, women and girls.

Objective

The aim of the regional project SoRi is to improve the conditions for securing equal social rights to vulnerable groups in selected municipalities in the Western Balkan. Primarily state institutions, which are the entities obliged to guarantee human rights and social services, but also Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) which provide services are at the focus of the human rights approach of the project. Their capacities (both the employees' individual capacities and the organisational capacities of state institutions) should be strengthened with this project.

Type of Services Provided

• Identify relevant institutions and organizations  in Germany working in the field of migration and returnees.
• Facilitate contacts and communication between the regional project and those organizations.
• Identify and list specific questions and problems, which the repatriation advising facilities, are confronted with, in particular contact professionals in social institutions working with migrants from the region to collect information about frequent concerns of migrants before (mostly involuntarily) returning to their country of origin.
• Interview some selected migrants from the region in Germany about their concerns and questions before returning to their countries of origin to get the direct impression about their concerns. 
• Identify other gaps in information and knowledge exchange and sharing between stakeholders in Germany and their counterparts in the Western Balkan countries. 
• Draw conclusions and recommendations for information and training needs on both sides (German and Western Balkan professionals).
• Provide and organize corresponding short trainings combined with exchange visits.
• Provide recommendations on an appropriate exchange format or mechanism organizations/institutions and the staff working on migration and returnee related issues in Germany and their counterparts in our 5 countries.
• Prepare and conduct exchange visits with professionals of the region and Germany working in the field of migration and return, anti-discrimination and social inclusion (visits in both directions).