UNHCR concerned over Hungary's migration policies

(Vatican Radio)  The U.N. refugee agency has expressed concern that changes to the refugee asylum system are being rushed through Hungary's parliament while also criticizing the government's plan to build a fence along the border with Serbia.

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:

In an open letter to Hungarian lawmakers, the regional representative in Central Europe of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says planned amendments "will make it impossible for people fleeing persecution to access international protection in Hungary."

Vatican Radio has learned that among those fleeing are also Christians from countries such as Syria and Iraq.

Over the past year, some 100,000 migrants and refugees have reached Hungary, most of them, some 70,000, this year alone.

The UNHCR has also condemned plans to build a four-meter (13 foot) high government fence along Hungary's roughly 175-kilometer (109 miles) long  border with Serbia, a concern shared by the European Union.

Prime Minister disagrees

However, in reaction, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán defended these policies.

"Every country has the right to protect their borders. Hungary was criticized for doing its job," he told Hungarian radio.

"It's not only our task towards the Hungarian people, but also towards the other countries of the EU's visa free Schengen zone of which we are a part."

He made clear that in his opinion international organizations such as the UNHCR "are afraid of the future."

Serbia angry

Orbán, who met Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić minister this week, also said he understood that it was "understandable" that his counterpart "wasn't happy about the fence", but added that it was part of a wider migration policy.

The right-wing  Hungarian leader is pleased that in his words Hungary and Bulgaria "are exempt" from an EU plan to rellocate 40,000 asymum seekers across the 28-nation block and resettle 20,000 other migrants.

While most refugees seeking asylum in Hungary over the past months are from war-torn nations like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, Orbán said the proportion of economic migrants was growing — attracted by Europe's welfare system — and they had to be stopped.

In his words "Bad policies can increase and induce this mass migration manyfold."