In April, the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) shared 15 testimonies of pushbacks impacting 398 people on the move (POM) across the Balkans and Greece. This report brings together first-hand testimonies from a range of countries in the region to look at the way European Union states and other actors are affecting systemic violence towards people crossing borders. It also includes general updates and insights from advocacy actions taken by members of the network.

BVMN is a network of watchdog organisations active in the Balkans and Greece including No Name Kitchen, Rigardu, Are You Syrious, Mobile Info Team, InfoKolpa, Collective Aid, Blindspots, Pushback Alarmphone Austria, I Have Rights and PIC. Combining insights from these different members, this month’s report covers, among other things:

– Update on evictions and Frontex presence in Northern Serbia

– Shooting of a 23-year-old woman at the North Macedonia border

– People on the move routinely detained for months in police stations in Greece

– Ruling deems reception conditions as inhumane and degrading treatment on Samos

– Input to the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Bulgaria