Hungary sealed off its southern border with Serbia on 15 September with a razor wire fence, blocking access to its territory for thousands of refugees. Amendments of the Criminal Code and Asylum Law came into force the same day. The new measures include criminalization of “illegal” entry, punishable by up to three years’ custodial sentence, and the creation of “transit zones” where an accelerated asylum procedure is applied to the few asylum-seekers they admit each day. A previous amendment came into force on 1 August designating Serbia as a “safe third country of transit”, which would allow Hungary to refuse applications for international protection from asylum-seekers arriving from Serbia. Hungary cannot shift its responsibility to provide a prompt and effective asylum procedure and to provide international protection to those who need it to third countries such as Serbia, where the asylum system is ineffective and does not guarantee access to international protection to those who need it. Moreover, reception conditions in Serbia expose refugees and asylum-seekers to human rights violations.
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