UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday slammed Hungary’s treatment of migrants as unacceptable after police fired tear gas and water cannon at asylum-seekers at its border with Serbia.

“I was shocked to see how these refugees and migrants were treated. It’s not acceptable,” Ban told a news conference in response to a question about the border clashes.

The UN chief stressed that “these were people fleeing war and persecution” and that the response must be one of “compassionate leadership”. “We must show them caring hands,” he said. “They must be treated with human dignity.” On Wednesday, Hungarian police clashed for hours with hundreds of migrants after the government sealed its southern border with Serbia, one of the biggest entry points into the European Union.

Ban has called a meeting on Sept 30 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to ramp up the international response that the UN chief said should be “humane, effective and rights-based”.

The secretary-general praised Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey for taking in millions of refugees from the war in Syria, which is now in its fifth year.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2015

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