“However, there are exceptions among them. So whereas in the overwhelming majority of cases the Hungarian authorities decide not to accede to a request for asylum, Hungary has provided international protection to several Kosovar refugees.”

He said the UN High Commission for Refugees cooperated with the Hungarian authorities on a daily basis, and the problem is also being dealt with by civil organisations, he noted.

“We are monitoring the Hungarian situation and the actions of the authorities ... and we contribute to the preparation of legal regulations,” Simon said.

“When preparing a new law or decree, the Hungarian government asks the high commission for its opinion.”

Any solution to the rising number of migrants from Kosovo must be enforced in Kosovo itself, he said, adding that many leave the country with their children during the winter out of despair.

There are other reasons besides, he noted. For example, certain minorities such as the Roma suffer discrimination and they credibly claim that their lives are in danger, he added.

“The Kosovo question affects the whole of Europe, and a solution must be found at European level,” the spokesman said.

The Hungarian authorities are doing mostly everything they can in the current circumstances to launch and process the necessary procedures, he said, noting that the number of refugees from Kosovo had risen from around 4,000 last September to more than 18,000 so far this year.

Simon argued that the Hungarian government deserved recognition for keeping the borders open and fulfilling its international obligations in spite of the difficulties.

He said it was “fundamentally important” to keep the country’s borders open, and he referred to the Geneva refugee agreement that has been in place since 1951, noting that Hungary had joined the agreement in 1989.

Every signatory is under the obligation to allow asylum seekers in and to examine whether their claim is founded or not.

The official guidelines of the UNHCR state that asylum detention, that is the detention of asylum seekers, is only something which may be considered as a last resort and only in exceptional circumstances, Simon said.

Governments must take into account all possible alternatives such as release from detention in exchange for a deposit, he added.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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