The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recently published a note on asylum seekers who entered Hungary through Serbia, subsequently left Hungary after having applied for asylum there and afterwards were sent back to Hungary from another EU Member State via the so-called “Dublin procedure”.

UNHCR questions the Hungarian asylum authority’s practice whereby the above-mentioned asylum seekers – once sent back to Hungary – are kept in detention and are issued a return decision to Serbia. This practice is based on the assumption that the Hungarian asylum authority considers Serbia as a safe third country, therefore the third-country national in question would have had the opportunity to lodge an application for asylum in Serbia.

As regards UNHCR’s critical statement concerning the Hungarian practice it has to be emphasized that – as it has already been previously stated by Hungary on a number of occasions – the application of the inter-linked scheme of asylum and alien policing related provisions ensures that the safeguards to be provided for asylum seekers according to Hungary’s international obligations are guaranteed. It also has to be taken into account that both the alien policing procedure and the asylum procedure are subject to judicial review, therefore the client may in both procedures exercise his/her right to appeal, which – in some cases – entails the suspension of the execution of the return decision.

Furthermore, the Note reflects upon matters in national practice, which had already been addressed several months ago as a result of the dialogue with the UNHCR. As of 15 July 2012 within the framework of existing national legislation Hungarian authorities examine each asylum application submitted by persons transferred under the Dublin procedure in merit. During the refugee status determination procedure as a general rule asylum seekers are accommodated in open reception facilities and provided with basic living conditions. Immigration detention is ordered only against those aliens who were transferred under the Dublin procedure and whose application for asylum lodged in Hungary was already rejected in a final decision and against whom expulsion was ordered by the immigration authorities. Consequently, the Note incorrectly concludes that Hungarian authorities systematically restrict personal freedom of asylum seekers transferred under the Dublin procedure or order their expulsion to Serbia.

Furthermore, the Note criticises national practice whereby foreigners transferred by other Member States are required to re-submit their asylum application in Hungary regardless of the fact that their application was already submitted in the Member State concerned. This practice cannot be regarded as a unique one given that it is followed by most Member States, moreover it is in line with relevant international and European standards.

We consider the opinion which finds the access to asylum procedure problematic for foreigners in detention unjustified as the access is guaranteed by various measures. In the detention centres inter alia information leaflets on the asylum procedure are available in several languages, moreover free legal assistance is provided. The foreigner may express his/her intention to apply for asylum at any time and all authorities – in particular the aliens policing authorities making the initial contact with the foreigner – are obliged to immediately forward these applications to the asylum authority. Access to the asylum procedure is facilitated furthermore by operating client administration offices of the asylum authority in each detention centre.

Regrettably, the Note does not mention that the Government has tabled a bill in the Parliament on the amendment of certain acts on migration. The bill on the one hand proposes amendments to the asylum legislation in order to ensure full transposition of the asylum acquis of the EU. On the other hand the bill also proposes modifications to clarify the migration legislation. The proposals altogether exclude the possibility for expelling or removing an asylum-seeker from Hungary before the in-merit examination of his/her application for asylum by the asylum authority. Besides the relevant acts, the implementing decrees will also be amended in order to provide more efficient guarantees to the foreigners to exercise their rights in the procedure.

The Hungarian Government reaffirms its readiness to cooperate and continue the dialogue with UNHCR and looks forward to the comments and proposals in the course of the on-going legislative process.

(Ministry of Interior)