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GOVT: ASYLUM APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED IN REGULATED MANNER

 

Hungary believes asylum seekers should hand in their applications legally and in a regulated manner, the Government Information Centre said on Tuesday in response to a statement by the United Nations’ refugee agency urging Hungary to repeal a recent tightening of its asylum laws.
In its statement, the UNHCR said Hungary’s law ending the state of emergency declared in response to the novel coronavirus epidemic, under which migrants are required to submit asylum applications at Hungary’s foreign missions, further undermined access to asylum for those fleeing war or persecution.
In its response, the Government Information Centre noted that until recently asylum seekers had to submit their applications in the transit zones set up on the southern border. However, Hungary was recently asked by the Court of Justice of the European Union to close the transit zones, which the government complied with, it said. Since then, migrants arriving via the Balkan route can submit their asylum requests at Hungary’s foreign consulates, it added.
“The UNHCR’s statement implies that it wants to eliminate even this form of control over illegal migration and that they want us to let migrants into Hungary and the EU’s territory freely without any checks,” the centre said. “Hungary disagrees with this, as the Hungarian people have made it clear through the National Consultation surveys on multiple occasions that they want no part of illegal migration.”