Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2016 which should have entailed an individual approach as well as availability of translation services. However, according to data available, several hundreds of people were returned to Serbia without such procedure having been conducted. Many of them witnessed that although they wished to apply for international protection, they had been prevented from doing so; instead, they were immediately treated as irregular migrants; and, in addition, when being returned, procedure foreseen by the Foreigners Act had not been complied with. What is more, documented complaints contain allegations that they were beaten by Croatian police officers with batons, forced to take off their shoes and kneel or stand in the snow, and forced to pass through a police cordon, while being exposed to blows and insults. In such situations, they were not allowed to speak and there are testimonies that their valuables, including money and mobile phones, had been confiscated. Considering the number and content of those complaints, which also contain information on exact dates and places where state border had been crossed as well as medical documentation, such treatment by police officers may represent infringement of Article 3 of ECHR, according to which no one must be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is utterly unacceptable that those who should protect and preserve human rights be identified as those responsible for their violation – which is the case in a series of statements – and that an immediate and efficient investigation is not initiated in line with the requirements of Article 3 of ECHR. In addition, CPT standards from 2015 emphasize that it is necessary to clearly understand that responsibility for illegal treatment includes not only perpetrators, but also those who knew or should have known about such treatment and failed to prevent or report it. It is of particular importance to achieve balance between the right of a country to control its borders and its obligation to comply with international and European standards regarding human rights protection, especially Refugee Convention and its Protocol, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and ECHR. Contrary to the above-mentioned, having been warned about the need to apply an individual approach, Ministry of the Interior stated that procedures foreseen by the law are regularly implemented, that all human rights of refugees are respected in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that trainings of police officers on the protection of migrants are being organized, as well as that increased number of police officers at the border with Serbia is directed primarily at border protection and prevention of illegal entries. However, considering everything previously mentioned, only efficient investigation and prosecution of all persons responsible for illegal treatment, would enable protection of human rights of all refugees and migrants and prevent the possibility of such treatment occurring in the future. 47