UNHCR representative visits Brasov to evaluate management of Ukrainian refugees

The representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bucharest, Cristina Bunea, has carried out a visit to central Brasov on Friday for evaluating the way the Ukrainian refugees are being managed, in order to make an analysis about the intentions of Ukrainian citizens that reached Brasov, in regards to the settling, for a period of time in this city, as well as the verification of the way in which the rights of the refugees, according to international documents, are being observed.

During the visit, the UNHCR representative visited the center for Ukrainian refugees from CATTIA, talked with the representatives of public authorities, such as the Brasov City Hall, Emergency Situatioins Inspectorate and the Social Assistance Directive and the Center for Migrant Integration Brasov.

Talks were focused on the way the authorities are managing to ensure accommodation, food and also the conditions that they apply for integrating refugees, seeing that at this moment the second stage of management has begun, that of integrating them in the community, according to a briefing sent by the Brasov City Hall.

"From the standpoint of protecting refugees, of which UNHCR is responsible at a global level, this is an extraordinary initiative. We are grateful to the local authorities, to the NGOs and to the people of Brasov for their solidarity, for the way they organized and, of course, this comes as a response to all that has happened at a central level. They are coming from the North side, from the border, and I am very proud to say that Romania has made extraordinary efforts by responding quickly, efficiently, to the standards the United Nations is promoting, in the context of what has happened in Ukraine. It is regrettable that in 2022 we have over 4 million Ukrainian citizens that were forced to leave their homes, because apart from refugees from outside Ukraine's border we also have people who are internally displaced, who are still in Ukraine and whom the UNHCR is assisting in Ukraine," said Cristina Bunea, protection officer within UNHCR.

"For me, in particular, to be in Brasov is very special because I am from Brasov and I am glad to see that my home city responded so well and in such a human way to the refugee crisis, (...) I hope that this will only be the beginning for Brasov to become a model for helping refugees," the UN official also said.AGERPRES