Klikaktiv report - Fences - to be continued - Border fence construction at the Serbian-North Macedonia border - June 2022

Aug 23, 2026

Border fence construction at the Serbia–North Macedonia border continues, with the report documenting progress between June 2021 and June 2022 and identifying a minimum of 10–15 km of additional fencing. The document describes the fence’s three-layer design, including barbed wire, and places the works in a legal and political context linked to emergency decrees from the COVID-19 period. It also explains how the fence and related practices undermine the human rights, safety, and asylum access of people on the move, while covering regional refugee activity and Frontex presence based on field visits and interviews.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Summary

Introduction

The Border Fence (Serbia-North Macedonia)

Legal framework

Political context

Location and Description of the Fence: the progress made 2021-2022

Fence on the border with Bulgaria?

Other relevant information in the border region

Going forward: Conclusion and Recommendations

Fences: to be continued Border fence construction atthe Serbian-North Macedonian border June, 2022 About Klikaktiv: Klikaktiv-Center for Development of Social Policies is a non-profit civil society organization which provides legal counseling and psychosocial services to people on the move, asylum seekers and refugees in Serbia . The team is present on the external EU borders, namely covering border areas between Serbia and Croatia, Hungary and Romania, but also Bosnia and Herzegovina. For more information and regular updates on our work, you can visit Klikaktiv’s webpage and Facebook page. For any additional information, comments or suggestions, feel free to contact us: [info@klikaktiv.org](info@klikaktiv.org). Table of Contents: Summary 4 Introduction 5 The Border Fence (Serbia-North Macedonia) 6 Legal framework 6 Political context 6 Location and Description of the Fence: the progress made 2021-2022 7 Fence on the border with Bulgaria? 10 Other relevant information in the border region 11 Refugee activity in the border area between Serbia and North Macedonia 11 Official accommodation centers in the region 12 Frontex and foreign police officers in the region 13 Going forward: Conclusion and Recommendations 14 Summary The construction of the fence on the border between Serbia and North Macedonia continues: between June 2021 and June 2022 a minimum of additional 10-15 km were built. The fence has three layers, one of which is made of barbed wire. The public in Serbia are generally not knowledgeable about the process of the fence construction. Some of the local communities oppose the fence as it disrupts their daily life and work in the area. The Decree that predicted the fence construction on the border between Serbia and North Macedonia, also includes referrals to land expropriation on the border between Serbia and Bulgaria, yet no construction work has been observed by the Klikaktiv team, and local community is uninformed about the potential fence in the area. Klikaktiv strongly condemns this kind of border policy as it is likely to exacerbate risks of trafficking in human beings and other forms of violence and exploitation that people on the move in Serbia face. Photo: The fence on the border between Serbia and North Macedonia, June 2022. Introduction The focus of this report is the ongoing construction of a fence on the border between Serbia and North Macedonia. The report also includes information on refugee activity in the area in general, as well as Frontex presence and activities at the Serbian-Macedonian border. We particularly highlight how the fence and related practices inhibit the human rights of people on the move in Serbia (especially as related to non-refoulement), their safety, and their access to asylum. The report is encompassed by the project titled “Monitoring of the Serbian-Macedonian border as the main point of entry for people on the move on the Balkan refugee route,” which Klikaktiv conducted in partnership with Stiftung Do. All information provided in the report was obtained by the Klikaktiv team that conducted a field visit to the Serbian-Macedonian border at the end of June 2022, when we visited the construction site at the border and the surrounding villages and towns (more details further in the The Border Fence part of the report). Besides the visits to the locations and in person observations, the field work also included interviews with people on the move, local community members and NGO workers. Klikaktiv also reached out to governmental officials in relevant institutions by sending invitations for meetings and applying for access to reception centers, yet received either no response or rejection of access. The Klikaktiv team first learned about the building of the fence in April 2020 and conducted its first visit to the site in June of the following year. The report produced based on the visit, which also includes more detailed informa

FAQs

What progress in border fence construction does the report document between June 2021 and June 2022?

It states that at least an additional 10–15 km were built during that period and that the fence has three layers, one made of barbed wire.

What legal basis did the government use to enable fence-related land expropriation?

The report links the works to an April 20, 2020 decree adopted during the COVID-19 state of emergency, which allowed expropriation of private land near the Serbia–North Macedonia border (and also near the Serbia–Bulgaria border).

How does the report assess the impact of the fence on people on the move?

It condemns the border policy as likely to increase risks of trafficking and other violence or exploitation, and it highlights that fence-related practices inhibit human rights, safety, and access to asylum.

Aug 23, 2026

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