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UN Refugee Agency Urges Hungary not to Shut Out Asylum Seekers

  • A Kosovar man carries his baby as he crosses the Hungarian-Serbian border without documents, near the village of Asotthalom, Feb. 6, 2015.

    A Kosovar man carries his baby as he crosses the Hungarian-Serbian border without documents, near the village of Asotthalom, Feb. 6, 2015. | Photo: Reuters

Published 2 July 2015
Opinion

"Adoption of these proposals would have devastating implications for thousands of people seeking safety in Hungary," said UNHCR.

As the Mediterranean migrant crisis hits record levels, the U.N. refugee agency has urged Hungary not to pass new legislation that would tighten its borders with stricter asylum rules.

Hungary's right-wing government is pushing for a new policy that would make refugees fleeing war-torn countries ineligible for asylum in Hungary. The proposed law would shorten the asylum-screening time and deny asylum claims of those who migrated through other so-called safe countries on their way to Hungary without applying for asylum.

"Adoption of these proposals would have devastating implications for thousands of people seeking safety in Hungary," said the U.N. refugee agency’s Central Europe representative Montserrat Feixas Vihe in a statement.

RELATED: Mediterranean Refugee Crisis Hits Unprecedented Level, Warns UN

According to the agency, known as UNHCR, the rules would exclude Syrian, Afghan, and Iraqi refugees from being granted asylum in Hungary. About 80 percent of asylum-seekers currently in Hungary are from these three conflict-ridden countries.

But with historically leading refugee-hosting countries, like Lebanon, becoming overburdened and no ebb to the growing tide of refugees in sight, landlocked Balkan countries including Hungary are increasingly on the transit route of tens of thousands of migrants en route to Europe.

RELATED: Welcome Refugees

In the first six months of 2015 alone, close to 70,000 undocumented migrants have crossed the border into Hungary, the majority likely en route to Western Europe.

Most undocumented migrants enter Hungary through the border with Serbia, where Budapest has already initiated a 110 mile, 13 foot-high border fence project in line with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s position that the country's borders should be heavily defended.

The UNHCR has slammed the border fence plan, saying it will only push more migrants into the care of people smugglers. Feixis Vihe called on Hungary to “not victimize the victims” in the name of national security.  

The Hungarian government is set to vote on moving forward with the new asylum rules on Friday.

RELATED: 60 Million People Displaced Around the World By End of 2014

Hungary's proposed new border clampdown comes as UNHCR revealed that the Mediterranean refugee crisis has hit unprecedented proportions, with some 137,000 migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea en route to Europe in the first half of 2015 alone.

Most of the tens of thousands of migrants braving the journey each week are fleeing war, conflict, and persecution, highlighting the refugee nature of the crisis.

Western Failure to Host Refugees

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