GENEVA
UN officials on Friday called on the US to uphold international protection standards for refugees and asylum seekers after President Donald Trump said he would "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries."
Trump announced the plan Thursday on his Truth Social platform, writing: "Even as we have progressed technologically, Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many. I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover."
He also pledged to reverse a range of immigration measures introduced under the Biden administration.
Asked about the remarks at a UN briefing in Geneva, UN human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurance said: "All states, regardless, have human rights obligations, particularly when it comes to when there are protection concerns of people who have fled countries and sought refuge elsewhere."
He added: "They're entitled to protection under international law, and that should be given due process."
UN refugee agency UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun echoed the message, saying that states must ensure access to protection procedures.
"When the people who need protection arrive in their territory, they have to have a due process of asylum, and then they have to have access to the territory," she said.
Byun noted that UNHCR is aware of the current situation in the US and stressed that "the overwhelming majority of refugees and asylum seekers (who) stay in the various countries are law-abiding members of their host community, and they want to make a positive contribution to society."
She highlighted that many refugees have had to flee terror and war and wish nothing more than to live in peace with their families.