On September 5, the Border and Foreigners Police Bureau (UHCP) under Slovakia's Interior Ministry and the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) regional bureau in Bratislava signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation, it was reported on September 19.
The document allows the UNHCR to monitor refugees' access to Slovakia as well as their access to the country's asylum process, according to Lloyd Dakin, regional UNHCR representative for Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. The memorandum includes the UNHCR's obligation to carry out the monitoring in an organised, safe, and humane manner.
In an interview for SLOVAKIA, Dakin said that the ratio of those who qualify for asylum is relatively small, but deserve full rights protection. For example, he appreciated the introduction of the so-called complementary protection of persons who, even if not qualified for being granted asylum, will be provided a certain level of protection if they potentially face danger in their home country. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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