UNHCR urges countries to work together to help refugees

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday called for refugees to be treated humanely and for the authorities to work together as thousands of people continued to head into the Western Balkans from Greece.

UNHCR officials told a press briefing here on Tuesday that people had been continuing to cross in groups of up to 300-400 at the Greece-Macedonia border and then travelling onwards by train or bus to Serbia, Xinhua reported.

Melissa Fleming, an official for the Office of the UNHCR, anticipated arrivals over the next few days would be at a rate of up to 3,000 people per day.

The official said that in Serbia the UN refugee agency and the Serb authorities are now working to respond to the humanitarian needs of more than 10,000 refugees.

According to UNHCR, many of those migrants were from countries affected by violence and conflict such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and they were often physically exhausted and psychologically traumatized. They were in need of humanitarian and medical assistance, especially the sick, pregnant women and elderly persons.

Fleming appealed to the governments involved to implement border management measures with humanity and in accordance with their international obligations, adding that family unity and protection of persons with specific needs must be upheld.