SPECIAL REPORT ON FOLLOW-UP VISIT TO THE TEMPORARY TRANSIT CENTER TABANOVCE Skopje, 28.09.2016
Timeframe, Methodology and Purpose of the Visit The Ombudsman - National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) performed a surprise follow-up visit to the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce - Kumanovo on 28 September 2016. This visit was the last one in the series of follow-up visits made by the National Preventive Mechanism Team on: 03 June 2016, 08 July 2016, 22 July 2016, 29 July 2016, 10 August 2016 and 18 August 2016. The Ombudsman - National Preventive Mechanism performed these visits under its mandate and competencies arising from the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Law on Ombudsman. These visits followed the regular visit that the NPM paid to the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce Kumanovo on 20 May 2016, and on which it prepared a Special Report including its respective conclusions and recommendations submitted to the Macedonia s Government, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, the Minister of Health and the Crisis Management Center s Director. The purpose of these follow-up visits was to monitor the implementation of recommendations contained in the National Preventive Mechanism s Special Report of 01 June 2016, and to identify risks in order to prevent torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Visits were conducted in cooperation with authorities and organizations participating in the Temporary Transit Center s management and operation, where the National Preventive Mechanism Team had unfettered access to the places where migrants/refugees were accommodated and was free to talk to them without the presence of any officials. FINDINGS - Evaluation of the Level of Implementation of Recommendations Dated 01 June 2016: The NPM performed a purposeful visit focused on the adverse findings contained in the Special Report of 01 June 2016 and on inspecting the implementation of recommendations given to improve the situation and eliminate the shortcomings and risks potentially leading to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Recommendation 1 - Better and more effective cooperation and coordination between authorities managing and operating the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce is necessary.
Response to recommendation: Coordination takes place weekly (coordination meetings are organized every Thursday in the week) with institutions of the system and NGOs and international organizations represented in Tabanovce TTC, while during the ongoing operation, briefing meetings are held every morning between the commander of North Border Police, MLSP and Tabanovce TTC s Manager who is also the representative of CMC. Situation established on 28 September 2016: During its visit, as well as during its previous follow-up visits, the NPM Team could see that cooperation and coordination between authorities and organizations present on the ground was far better and more efficient aimed towards better operation and organization of activities at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce. Assessment of this recommendation s implementation: The recommendation has been implemented. Recommendation 2 - Greater cooperation between field representatives of competent authorities and organizations, and provision of unfettered access of the National Preventive Mechanism Team to the List with records of people present at the Center. Response to recommendation: Records of persons by name, sex, age, place of birth and country of arrival are maintained by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, and they are supported by adequate evidence and personal documentation, as well as an appropriate document in the form of an ID card including a photo and identification data. Also, identification cards with bar code readers for food and supplies have been provided for each individual person. Situation established on 28 September 2016: With respect to this recommendation, the NPM Team has good cooperation with relevant institutions in terms of its unhampered access to the List with records of people accommodated at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce. Institutions responsible for keeping these records, during each visit of the NPM Team, provide
insight into the Lists of currently present persons and into anything that is additionally requested for inspection by the NPM Team. Assessment of this recommendation s implementation: The recommendation has been implemented. Recommendation 3 - The Ministry of Interior should ensure the presence of its Asylum Department representatives in the Temporary Transit Center, in order to inform refugees on their right to submit an asylum-granting request and enable them an unlimited access to the procedure. Response to recommendation: This recommendation has not received any response. Until the date of preparation of this Follow-up Report, the Ombudsman Office did not receive any response from the Ministry of Interior, although an Intervention Letter was sent on 20 July 2016 to urge the response. Situation established on 28 September 2016: Asylum Department Teams are not present at this Center, given the changed actual situation and reduced number of refugees housed in the Center, while all the information and legal advice regarding the procedure for recognition of the right to asylum is still provided through interviews with field representatives of the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association (MYLA). Assessment of this recommendation s implementation: The recommendation has been partially implemented. Recommendation 4 - Official and updated records should be kept of the number of incoming persons and persons who leave the Center permanently or temporarily (disaggregated by age, gender, date of arrival, etc.). Response to recommendation: Record-keeping of people by name, sex, age, place of birth and country of arrival is performed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and it is accompanied
by adequate evidence and personal documentation, as well as an appropriate document in the form of an ID card including a photo and identification data. Situation established on 28 September 2016: From the actual situation established, the NPM Team concluded that regular records were maintained of the number of persons officially accommodated and kept at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce. Assessment of this recommendation s implementation: The recommendation has been implemented. Recommendation 5 - The Ministry of Health should provide the necessary medical equipment and refrigerated storage of drugs, while the authorities responsible for the Temporary Transit Center s infrastructure should ensure continuous access to water for medical needs. Response to recommendation: This recommendation has not received any response. The recommendation has not been taken into consideration in the written correspondence - Response to the Special Report submitted by the Ministry of Health on 20 June 2016. Situation established on 28 September 2016: With respect to this recommendation, the NPM concluded that the necessary medical equipment and refrigerator for storage of drugs had indeed been provided, but the continuous access to water for medical needs still remains an issue at the Temporary Transit Center. In connection with this problem, the NPM Team met with other authorities and institutions within the Center, and it was confirmed that providing access to running water for medical needs was still an issue. Assessment of this recommendation s implementation: The recommendation has been partially implemented. Recommendation 6 - Authorities should ensure greater transparency regarding the distribution of donated funds.
Response to recommendation: This recommendation has not received any response. Until the date of preparation of this Follow-up Report, the Ombudsman Office did not receive any response from competent authorities and institutions. Situation established on 28 September 2016: During this visit and in the follow-up visits, the NPM Team was informed that in respect of the recommendation for a more transparent distribution of donated funds and supplies, Red Cross teams had placed a list in front of the distribution center, translated into English and Arabic, and specifying the donations and material products that refugees at the Reception Transit Center Tabanovce are entitled to get on a weekly, monthly and quarterly level. Assessment of this recommendation s implementation: The recommendation has been implemented. SITUATION ESTABLISHED (as of 28 September 2016) The NPM Team concluded that on the day of its last visit paid to the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce, a total of 61 people were accommodated there, of whom 13 men, 12 women and 36 children. It is evident that compared to the visit on 20 May 2016, the number of refugees officially accommodated in this Temporary Transit Center is much lower, which suggests that residents of this Temporary Transit Center can leave it more easily, unlike the Temporary Transit Center Vinojug.
Figure 1 - Entrance to Tabanovce TTC From the interviews with NGO representatives, the NPM Team was informed that in the previous period, groups of irregular migrants identified in the Republic of Macedonia arrived at the Reception Transit Center Tabanovce and they were accommodated and held there for a short period. What is particularly worrying is the fact that some of these persons are unaccompanied minors and Standard Operating Procedures for Treatment of Unaccompanied Foreign Children were not applied to them, because the Center for Social Work, which is supposed to appoint a guardian to them, was not immediately informed thereof. The NPM established that refurbishment and installation of 10 (ten) toilets and 10 (ten) showers was completed in the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce, while the existing IKEA cabins were replaced with containers, and in terms of food and its provision and supplies, the responsibility was transferred solely to the Red Cross.
Figure 2 - Toilets and showers When it comes to infrastructure, a children s playground was built in cooperation with UNICEF and SOS Kinderdorf, and mosquito nets were set on the windows of migrants accommodation facilities. At the same time, the construction of a bio-treatment plant is in its final stages, and it is expected to be finished within the shortest possible period, while paved paths for easy movement within the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce are also being planned for construction. Figure 3 Children s playground donated by UNICEF and SOS Kinderdorf
In terms of the organization and coordination of competent authorities and organizations on the ground and their cooperation with the NPM Team, improvements and implementation of National Preventive Mechanism s previous recommendations were noted, leading to more efficient and organized management of the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce. During its visits, the National Preventive Mechanism Team noticed the evident deterioration in the mental state of people accommodated at the Temporary Transit Center due to their lack of information about the status they enjoy in this country and their uncertain future. Therefore, in this Report, the National Preventive Mechanism devotes greatest attention to the issue of deteriorated mental health of refugees, and problems caused by their insufficient work engagement. From its interview with the NGO SOS Kinderdorf s representatives, the NPM established that their presence in the Center is continuous, and they provide psychosocial care to the youngest by implementing daily activities to animate and fulfill the time of migrants housed in the Center. Program activities for children are divided into recreational and educational classes, tailored and structured according to their age. Outdoor activities were singled out as most productive, while noting that art therapy classes help to learn a lot about children s psychological state. In this regard, it was pointed out that children already feel some hyperactivity and small aggression due to the limited space in which they are located. Representatives of the NGO La Strada informed the NPM that their activities are also aimed at providing psycho-social care and taking various program activities (both recreational and educational) for children and adults present at the Center. From the interview with the psychologist and social workers of this organization, information was received that persons placed in the Temporary Transit Center suffer from anxiety, anticipation and high levels of depression leading to insomnia, tachycardia, and even to cases in which certain people expressed suicidal intentions. It is because of this newly emerged situation that the National Preventive Mechanism in August hired external associates to examine the issue of deteriorating mental health of refugees at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce, namely, Ms. Andromahi Naumovska PhD, from the Chamber of Psychologists and Prof. Dimitar Bonevski PhD, from the Association of Psychiatrists of Macedonia, with whose assistance, research was performed regarding the psychological condition of people accommodated at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce.
To that end, the methodology in the preparation of this survey included visits and observation of ongoing activities at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce, behavior and non-verbal communication of children, adolescents and adults, interviews with volunteers and helpers at the Center, as well as with the medical personnel and staff engaged in the information desk, while also using specifically structured questionnaires for refugees mental state self-assessment. Mental Health General Questionnaire was used for adult refugees and Child & Youth Mental Health General Questionnaire Recommendations were used for child refugees. These questionnaires were filled in by 1/3 of the refugees in the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce. The main objectives of this research were to: 1) Establish the frequency of psychological and psychiatric disorders in both child and adult refugees; 2) Assess the need for treatment of these disorders and specify this in refugee camps conditions. Situation established by external associates External associates, during their presence on the ground, found that there were some educational workshops for children in place, but this was far from real education that would be equivalent to learning in order to get a certificate of a completed term or school year. This suggests that children are educationally neglected. Also, experts emphasized the need for parents to get involved in the education of their children, given that in this way they would have certain activities themselves, feel that they are important, and be able to better coordinate some educational activities with the current educators. This would positively influence children in terms of their school assignments and social adaptation. The introduction of additional psycho-social activities for adults would be of great significance to improving their overall psychological condition. In this context, the creation of a specific occupational therapy for adults (especially with some possibility for monetary income) would have a pronounced positive impact on improving the image of themselves and their sense of satisfaction, and it would reduce their frustration by the fact that they are staying in a place where they are closed and isolated in a country where they do not want to be, simultaneously facing the uncertainty about the duration of such situation. External associates concluded that the reduction of boredom and feelings of loneliness would certainly help to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-
traumatic stress disorder among refugees, while building a sense of greater certainty about their new life and also contributing to building a sense of power, as opposed to insecurity, helplessness and uncertainty currently felt. For this purpose, additional workshops could be designed to enable these persons to acquire new skills and prepare for work, as well as get a perspective of their future, and improve their psychological condition. Thus, they will be helped to build a new identity, because theirs has been lost, helping them to integrate in the culture in which they wish to continue their lives. External associates recommend that in addition to some psycho-social activities, a particular place, i.e. corner should be adapted, which could be used by refugees for spontaneous social activities. In psychological terms, this would mean that they have their own personal space and common space for autonomous group interactions, and not just for organized group activities. According to external associates, it is necessary to allow refugees to occasionally get out of the Center s enclosure in a controlled and safe manner, which would help reduce the sense of helplessness and hopelessness, and would allow the partial return of their sense of personal control. Among other things, external associates got the impression that professionals involved in psycho-social activities with refugees also showed evident signs of burnout symptoms because of the undoubted stress associated with this type of work, so specific psycho-therapeutic support is required for them, as well as education on how to recognize the symptoms of stress and trauma among refugees, take adequate attitude to them, recognize their own symptoms of stress and burn-out and develop techniques to relieve such symptoms. Situation regarding educational activities intended for the youngest From the interviews with representatives of UNICEF and competent authorities and institutions responsible for the management and coordination of the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce, the NPM Team received information about the launch and implementation of the educational program for Center s children approved by the Ministry Labor and Social Policy. This educational program is of a formal nature and aims to enable children to attend classes every day, where they will have the opportunity to learn and upgrade their knowledge in an attempt to lag as little as possible behind their peers around the world in terms of education. The NPM believes that this is a positive step towards the educational development of children accommodated at the Temporary Transit Center, but considers that the Ministry of Education s participation is necessary.
In this sense, the Ministry of Education s representatives should give their opinion and assess the adequacy of the educational program and the way it is implemented, take concrete measures to verify the respective level of education completed, thus enabling the continuation of children s educational process. In addition to implementing this educational program for children, authorities and institutions also informed of the practice established to organize a stroll of refugees in the city of Kumanovo and surrounding areas once or twice a month. However, from the interviews with some of the refugees, the NPM found that the most serious problem was still the unregulated status of refugees, who had been in the same situation for several months, which only increases their anxiety and distress. Stranded in the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, they continuously hope that borders will soon open, so they could safely transit to their final destination. As they informed in their interviews, refugees are generally satisfied with the living conditions in the Center and the treatment they receive from authorities and organizations present on the ground daily, and have no serious objections with regard to this. INDIVIDUAL CASE On 27 October 2016, the National Preventive Mechanism Team was informed by UNICEF representatives that in the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce, an unaccompanied foreign minor had been staying for some days, and there was no procedure conducted in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures for Treatment of Unaccompanied Foreign Children. After receiving information about the case, officials from the Ombudsman Office of the Republic of Macedonia immediately went to the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce, where they talked with representatives of the Crisis Management Center, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, Ministry of Interior, and some non-governmental and international organizations present on the ground. Ombudsman representatives pointed to the competent institutions their duty to take all necessary measures for proper implementation of the procedures laid down in the Standard Operating Procedures for Treatment of Unaccompanied Foreign Children, adhering to the child s best interest principle and taking immediate measures of identification and appointment of a guardian to the unaccompanied foreign minor. Regarding this specific case, the Ombudsman created a special file for protection of the unaccompanied minor s rights.
In terms of activities undertaken, the NPM Team received information that the specific minor had been appointed a guardian, and placed in the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce. Unimplemented recommendations from the previous National Preventive Mechanism Report that are still current: 1. The Ministry of Health s members should be enabled continuous access to water for medical needs. CONCLUSIONS Positive findings: 1. Cooperation and coordination between competent authorities involved in the Temporary Transit Center s management and organization has improved. 2. Concrete actions to improve Tabanovce Temporary Transit Center s infrastructure have been taken and all IKEA cabins have been replaced with containers for accommodation of refugees, and a children s playground has been built. 3. Refugees/migrants are generally satisfied with the living conditions at the Center and the treatment they receive from competent authorities and organizations present on the ground. 4. Educational activities are conducted for children at the Center, including a program accepted and approved by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. 5. Practice has been established to organize a stroll in the city of Kumanovo and surrounding areas for refugees once or twice a month. Negative findings: 1. Migrants/refugees are showing clear dissatisfaction because of their multi-month detention within the Tabanovce TTC without having received any specific information about the status they enjoy in Macedonia.
2. Failure to comply with the procedures regarding unaccompanied children, according to Standard Operating Procedures for Treatment of Unaccompanied Foreign Children. 3. High levels of depression and anxiety among migrants/refugees accommodated at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce. 4. Generalized anxiety and depression observed in children held at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce, which is reflected in a pronounced deterioration of their attention and behavior. 5. The Ministry of Education is not sufficiently involved in the implementation of educational activities and has not taken any measures to verify the respective level of education completed. RECOMMENDATIONS (as of 28 September 2016) 1. Specific measures should be taken to regulate the status of persons accommodated at the Temporary Transit Center Tabanovce. 2. In each individual case, procedures for unaccompanied children should be promptly implemented according to Standard Operating Procedures for Treatment of Unaccompanied Foreign Children. 3. Refugees who show pronounced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression require combined psychiatric and psychological, medication and psycho-therapeutic treatment. 4. Different psychological workshops should be organized for children to deal with their psychological difficulties and understanding, and if necessary, psychiatric and medication treatment should be provided. 5. The Ministry of Education should give an opinion and assess the appropriateness of the educational program and the way it is implemented, take concrete measures to verify the respective level of education completed, thus enabling the continuation of children s educational process. OMBUDSMAN Ixhet Memeti