Geneva - The UN refugee agency called Tuesday on the European Union to respect the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was closely following the debate in the 27-nation bloc on a pact on immigration and asylum, a UNHCR spokeswoman said in Geneva.
The pact, proposed by France, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, was given broad approval when it was discussed by EU interior ministers in Cannes on Monday.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis said the UNHCR expected the document to live up to its goal of promoting a "Europe of asylum."
But she said this would not happen if Europe closed its doors to people seeking protection.
The pact asks EU member states to strengthen the fight against illegal immigration, to crack down on the employers of illegal migrants and to live up to their responsibility to expel illegal residents from their territory.
According to Pagonis, the draft concentrates on managing legal migration and controlling illegal entry.
EU leaders are expected to adopt the pact as a binding political pledge at a summit in October.
