The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published, on Wednesday 10 January, its recommendations to the Belgian and Hungarian Presidencies of the EU Council.
They consist of seven priorities linked to the implementation of the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’, which was the subject of a political agreement on 20 December (see EUROPE 13338/1).
In particular, the UNHCR is calling on Belgium and Hungary to implement reforms that protect “the right to seek asylum in the EU”.
The UNHCR “hopes that this Pact is a step in the right direction to achieve this and we therefore urge the EU Presidencies to mobilise the necessary political will as the Pact enters its final crucial phase and we urge all Member States to act boldly in the best interests of refugees”, the organisation said in a statement.
The seven recommendations are as follows: - provide protection for spontaneous arrivals to the EU, and address rights violations at the external borders; - reform EU asylum procedures; - ensure solidarity for displaced persons and member countries under pressure; - provide better responses to different types of migration; - ensure additional legal and complementary pathways; - take stateless persons into account; - ensure adequate funding.
Link to the recommendations: https://aeur.eu/f/ab7 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)