O CENTRU

Humanitarni centar za integraciju i toleranciju (HCIT) osnovan je u Novom Sadu 1997. godine kao humanitarna, nestranačka, nevladina i neprofitna organizacija (udruženje građana). Osnovale su ga osobe različitih nacionalnosti u nastojanju da mobiliziraju pozitivnu energiju domaćeg i izbegličkog stanovništva, pre svega, u Novom Sadu i Vojvodini, a radi boljeg međusobnog upoznavanja, razumijevanja, solidarnosti i zajedničkih aktivnosti na otvaranju perspektiva razvoja ove sredine i njenom približavanju savremenim evropskim demokratskim kretanjima. Na različitim projektima HCIT-a je dosad angažovan veći broj stručnjaka iz društvenih i humanističkih nauka, pored ostalih, i oko 60 univerzitetskih profesora različitih struka iz Srbije i inostranstva.

HCIT od 1999. godine ima status izvršnog partnera Visokog komesarijata Ujedinjenih nacija za izbjeglice (UNHCR-a) u pravnoj zaštiti i pomoći izbjeglim licima, a od 2012. godine i tražiocima azila u Republici Srbiji.

Humanitarian Center for Integration and Tolerance (HCIT) was founded in Novi Sad in 1997, as a non-governmental organization. It was founded by individuals of different nationalities with the intention to mobilize the positive energy of both domicile and refugee population, first of all in Novi Sad and AP Vojvodina, with the aim of better mutual perception, understanding, solidarity and joint activities. Along with others, about 60 university professors from Serbia and abroad were also engaged in various HCIT projects.

Since 1999, HCIT has been a partner of the UNHCR.  Primarily, HCIT has been providing free legal aid for refugees from former Yugoslavia, and since 2012 for asylum seekers in Republic of Serbia. Also, since 2015, HCIT is a partner of the UNICEF.

HCIT has also developed partnership cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Council for refugees, expelled and displaced persons within the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, and with the municipal trustees for refugees. HCIT was directly involved into the numerous activities of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration. Among others, HCIT prepared:  the first draft of the State Strategy for resolving the issues of refugees and IDPs for the 2001-2014 period; Platforms for discussions of working groups of governments of Serbia and Croatia regarding exercise of rights from the pension and invalid insurance for refugees and expelled from Republic of Croatia; participated in the preparation of the draft of the Law on Refugees of RS as a member of the CRM group; Non Paper of the problems regarding exercise of rights for refugees from Republic of Croatia, etc. HCIT has been involved in the expert-consultative activities related to coordination of particular ‘Road Maps’ for implementation of the Sarajevo declaration from 2005, and elaboration of the ‘joint model’ of activities in the year 2006. HCIT cooperated with the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia on the implementation of the project activities. The Commissariat periodically asked for the expert opinions from HCIT. Cooperation with the competent Croatian state bodies is a very important part of the project on the legal assistance to refugees. HCIT continued cooperation with the General Consular Mission of the Republic of Croatia in Subotica, which covers most part of Vojvodina where HCIT offers legal assistance for refugees. HCIT prepared two legal initiatives that were accepted by the Federal and Serbian parliament that enabled refugees to keep the dual citizenship, and displaced persons and refugees have got reduced administrative taxes for registrations and record books certificates for 70%.

During the 20 year of work, HCIT lawyers provided legal assistance to over 300.000 refugees and displaced persons, and other socially vulnerable persons. HCIT assisted several tens of thousands refugees to return to their homes or to get integrated in Serbia, obtained over 31.000 documents from Croatia for the refugees, over 9.500 documents from BiH, about 5.700 documents for displaced persons from Kosovo, helped thousands of refugees to exercise their right to pension and the renewed pension payment, to apply for the reconstruction and housing care in Croatia, to apply for the repossession and purchase of the apartments in BiH, etc.

HCIT seeks to facilitate access of refugees to Regional housing program in Republic of Serbia, and in countries of origin, by providing specific legal aid, above all, to more easily obtain documents for the purpose of completion of the tender documentation.  By adjusting the methods of informing, about the projects and competitions of the Regional housing program, to specific living conditions of the Roma population, giving advantages to direct communication in places where they live, and providing legal assistance to Roma refugee families in filling and completion of tender documentation, HCIT seeks to ensure the equal position of Roma refugees within the framework of the implementation of the Regional housing program.

In the field of asylum HCIT is active since January 2012 as a partner of the UNHCR. HCIT is actively involved into the protection border monitoring (mostly monitoring of the mixed migration/refugee flow in the parts of the so-called Balkan route- on the Hungarian, Croatian and Romanian border), provision of legal aid/ counseling about asylum system and procedure in RS but also about many other important migration issues including dissemination of different service and practical information to persons in need of international protection. HCIT Protection teams are documenting cases of human rights violations and different types of ill treatments which persons of concern suffered after fleeing their countries of origin including providing PoCs with information about risks of smuggling and human trafficking. HCIT teams are paying special attention to application of the Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection and 1951 UN Convention while very closely and in detail monitoring the state institutions that deal with refugees and asylum seekers such is Police, Misdemeanor courts, Centers for social work, etc, advocating for the appropriate referral and practice.

HCIT is strongly committed to fast and efficient identification of extremely vulnerable individuals with the special focus on unaccompanied minors and separated children. Within the area of the protection of UASC, HCIT is active both in the practical/ filed level, working directly with UASC, providing appropriate counseling, referral and further monitoring of state organized protection, and on the educational level as well. HCIT organized many seminars and round tables that brought together main actors involved in child protection and wrote many analysis and recommendations regarding UACS. HCIT teams working daily in the filed with refugees are enabling persons of concern to gain easier access to appropriate local institutions simultaneously raising awareness among local population on refugee population. Also, HCIT teams are working on family reunification especially in situation of mass influx of refugees. HCIT teams are consisted of mostly legal advisers and interpreters.

During the massive 2015-2016 refugee influx, HCIT established emergency 24/7 presence at all key exit spots in AP Vojvodina (Hungarian and Croatian border) actively assisting refugees trough implementation of different types of activities: provision of humanitarian aid including lifesaving items, information dissemination and legal counseling, referrals and general protection border monitoring, etc. During massive influx, especially in the second half of 2015, HCIT teams worked with several hundred/thousand refugees on a daily basis, under the extremely challenging weather conditions, without appropriate infrastructure, managing highly stressful situations including struggle to save lives.

HCIT staff attended many important seminars, round tables all across Europe and Serbia.