Belgrade, Serbia, December 3, 2025 — Children traveling along the Balkan Route report being beaten, threatened, robbed, and forcibly returned without the chance to request asylum, according to new data from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Serbia.
More than half of the two hundred children interviewed experienced at least one pushback during their journey, and one in three cited physical violence, either in countries along their route, at the EU’s external borders, or within Serbia.
- As winter sets in, 56% of children interviewed in Serbia are sleeping rough or in abandoned buildings, a deeply concerning trend as temperatures drop below freezing.
- 35% of children report physical violence, followed by psychological or emotional abuse, often at the hands of border authorities or people smugglers.
- Despite 42% of the children interviewed reporting they needed healthcare, only 6% had access to health services.
- Only 5% report receiving legal counselling or information in order to make sound decisions about their next steps.
- Unaccompanied and separated children encountered by IRC in Serbia predominantly came from Afghanistan and reached Europe from Iran or Turkey, traveling via Bulgaria (64%)
At any given moment, there are hundreds of unaccompanied children travelling through Balkan Route countries – many of whom are fleeing armed conflict, forced recruitment, extreme poverty and looking to reunite with their families.
While official reports suggest a decline in the number of people reaching Europe this year, over 150,000 people seeking protection are reported to have entered irregularly, many of whom have been forced to leave countries with skyrocketing humanitarian needs.
Martha Roussou, IRC’s Europe Regional Advocacy Advisor, said:
“The distressing findings from Serbia are sadly consistent with accounts we have heard from children we support in other countries where the IRC operates, such as Italy and Greece. At Europe’s borders, physical and psychological violence, pushbacks and neglect brutally deprive children of their childhood.
“A child does not stop being a child at Europe’s borders. Their right to safety, to be free from violence, to be cared for and protected must always be the priority. Anything less is a failure to uphold the obligations that every European country accepted under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and is a failure toward the children who need us most. As 17-year-old Osama, whom I spoke to last year, said: “policymakers must focus on treating people like human beings, not animals.”
Marta Welander, IRC’s EU Advocacy Director, added:
No child seeking protection should ever be met with violence or abuse - regardless of where they are from or how they arrived. Yet, this study makes it clear that children face a gauntlet of dangers at Europe’s borders, and beyond. And there’s a real risk that the EU’s new asylum rules, which are due to come into action next June, will make such human rights violations even more likely in future.
Unless states swiftly put watertight safeguards in place, the EU Pact looks set to result in even more aggressive responses to irregular crossings, more pushbacks, and more detention of children away from their families and support networks.
At this juncture, it is essential that EU states prioritise responsibility-sharing and solidarity to support countries along migratory routes, including Serbia. With proper investment in reception and asylum, the EU could create a truly sustainable, effective and humane system. If it fails to do so, many more children will suffer at Europe’s borders in years to come.
Notes to editors
Between March and September 2025, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Info Park conducted protection monitoring across Belgrade, Obrenovac, Horgoš, and Loznica to assess the situation of unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) transiting through Serbia. A total of 206 interviews were carried out to identify patterns of risk, access to services, and institutional responses within Serbia’s child-protection and asylum framework.
These children are typically teenage boys aged 16–17, predominantly from Afghanistan, but also from Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Pakistan, and Somalia. Girls remain relatively few. Children cite armed conflict, forced recruitment, extreme poverty, and family separation as drivers for their journey. By the time they reach Serbia, many have been exposed to danger, including long overland treks and exploitation by smugglers. Some of them have been on the road for years.