Czechs say no to immigrants

– The Czech Republic yesterday joined the growing ranks of European Union (EU) countries that reject a United Nations (UN) pact to regulate the treatment of migrants worldwide.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was approved in July by all the 193 UN member nations except the US, which backed out last year. It followed the biggest influx of migrants into Europe since World War II, many fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

But the Czech Cabinet voted early yesterday not to sign the accord, a government source said, in line with earlier indications.

“The Czech Republic has long favoured the principle of separating legal and illegal migration,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Brabec told a news conference. “That is what the Czech Republic’s and other European countries’ suggestions aimed for.”

The Czech concerns have been shared by the right-wing governments of Hungary and Austria, which have also said they will not sign the agreement at a ceremony in Morocco next month.

The non-binding UN pact addresses issues such as how to protect people who migrate, how to integrate them into new countries and how to return them to their home countries. – Reuters