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Thursday 2, October 2008
Ljubljana, October 2 (UNHCR) – Yesterday UNHCR’s Regional Representative for Central Europe, Mr. Lloyd Dakin, and the General Director of the Slovene Police, Mr. Jože Romšek, signed a Joint Agreement that will facilitate cooperation at Slovenia’s external EU border to make sure that asylum seekers have access to the country and to the asylum procedure.
The document is the fourth border monitoring agreement that has been signed in Central Europe since early 2007.
The Agreement foresees regular monitoring of police procedures, entry of asylum seekers at Slovenia’s borders, working meetings, training of police officers, and an exchange of information between UNHCR and the Slovene Police. The Agreement also foresees that a designated partner and UNHCR will carry out the monitoring of tasks included in it.
The Agreement was signed at the Police Headquarters in Ljubljana. “We are very pleased that we have concluded another agreement on border monitoring in the Central European region. It actually builds on and formalises cooperation we have previously had with the Slovene Police and is critically important to achieving UNHCR’s goal that the entry of asylum seekers and their access to procedures in Slovenia is assured. ” – said Lloyd Dakin. “This is one of the most important steps in providing international protection”, he added.
UNHCR has been pursuing the establishment of border monitoring agreements in the Central European region in the context of increased emphasis by governments on border control mechanisms to deal with mixed population movements.
While UNHCR understands that states have a responsibility to control their borders, they also have an equal responsibility to allow persons to apply for asylum and prevent them from being sent back to situations that would threaten their life and safety.
Melita H. Sunjic in Ljubljana/Budapest
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