The United Nations on Friday said Hungary was deliberately depriving rejected asylum-seekers awaiting deportation of food, in violation of international law.

"According to reports, since August 2018, at least 21 migrants awaiting deportation had been deprived of food by the Hungarian authorities — some for up to five days," said UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.

Last September, High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet accused Hungary of withholding food from migrants being held in transit zones along its border with Serbia.

Read more: Follow the money: What are the EU's migration policy priorities?

Warnings ignored

The UN rights office said Hungarian authorities had promised to end the practice following an interim ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.

"However, we regret that, in the absence of a clear change in the legal framework, reports suggest the practice is continuing," Shamdasani said.

She said once an asylum application had been denied, all adult migrants, with the exception of pregnant and nursing women, "are deliberately deprived of food."

Read more: Where do EU countries stand on migration?

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Hungary 'not responsible' for rejected asylum seekers

Earlier this week, the Hungarian government said in a blog post, "We take the position that Hungary is not responsible for those who have not requested asylum, nor for those whose requests have been denied."

"Asylum-seekers who have requested asylum and whose claim is under review continue to receive food and shelter as they always have," the post said.

Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been one of Europe's leading voices against migration into the EU. He has described migration as an "invasion" and "poison."

Read more: Is Viktor Orban the EU's hard-line hero or villain?

Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments 'Muslim invaders' "We don't see these people as Muslim refugees. We see them as Muslim invaders," Orban said in a recent interview with German daily Bild newspaper. The 54-year-old prime minister of Hungary added: "We believe that a large number of Muslims inevitably leads to parallel societies, because Christian and Muslim society will never unite." Multiculturalism, he said, "is only an illusion."

Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments 'You wanted the migrants, we didn't' When asked by Bild whether it was fair for Germany to accept hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants while Hungary accepted none, Orban responded: "The difference is, you wanted the migrants, and we didn't." Migration, he said, threatens the "sovereignty and cultural identity" of Hungary.

Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments 'Migration is poison' It was not the first time the Hungarian leader has framed migration as a problem for his country. In 2016, he said that Hungary "does not need a single migrant for the economy to work, or the population to sustain itself, or for the country to have a future." He added: "for us migration is not a solution but a problem ... not medicine but a poison, we don’t need it and won’t swallow it.”

Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments 'Importing homophobia' Orban has repeatedly criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her decision to allow over a million migrants into Germany in the summer of 2015. Orban told Bild in early 2016: "If you take masses of non-registered immigrants from the Middle East into your country, you are importing terrorism, crime, anti-Semitism, and homophobia."

Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments 'All terrorists are basically migrants' Orban has also repeatedly criticized the EU for trying to get member states to share refugees based on national quotas. In a 2015 interview with POLITICO, he suggested the bloc's leaders instead focus more on strengthening the EU's external border. In the same interview, he said: "Of course it’s not accepted, but the factual point is that all the terrorists are basically migrants."

Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments 'Parallel societies' Orban has found allies in other right-wing governments in eastern Europe such as Poland that also oppose the EU's refugee policies. In an interview with Spanish TV channel Intereconomia in 2015, Orban raised fears about integrating Muslim migrants in the EU when he said: "What sort of Europe do we want to have? Parallel societies? Muslim communities living together with the Christian community?" Author: Alexander Pearson



Hungary says migrants free to go to Serbia

The Hungarian government also said rejected asylum-seekers were not detained and were free to leave and cross into Serbia.

The UN rights office rejected the Hungarian claim that migrants can simply travel to Serbia to have their needs met.

"We note that such 'voluntary' departure could put migrants at further risk as it could breach Hungarian deportation orders, and force migrants to enter Serbia irregularly in contravention of Serbian law," it said.

The UN said that if migrants were "subject to detention in inadequate conditions, arbitrary detention or other forms of coercion," their return would be rendered involuntary.

Countries have "an obligation and heightened duty of care towards migrants who are deprived of their liberty, including through the provision of food," the UN office added. "We encourage Hungary to ensure it fulfills its human rights obligations towards those deprived of liberty, regardless of whether they are in transit zones or any other place where migrants are detained and cannot provide for themselves."

law/sms (AFP, Reuters)

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