Security, protection of refugees not incompatible, says UNHCR chief in Budapest

The protection of refugees is not incompatible with guaranteeing security, the head of the United Nations’ Refugee Agency (UNHCR) told a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday.

It is not only a right but a duty of every country to protect its borders and guarantee the security of its citizens, Filippo Grandi said after visiting the Hungarian-Serbian border area and holding talks with Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó and Interior Minister Sándor Pintér. These obligations are not in conflict with the moral obligation to provide help for refugees, he added.

On the subject of his talks with Hungarian government officials, Grandi said he had urged them to ensure asylum seekers access to asylum procedures.

The high commissioner said he had expressed his concerns about a law prohibiting asylum seekers from leaving the transit zones set up on the border until their cases are ruled on and the fact that few asylum seekers are granted refugee status.