The statement was made by the UNHCR's Representative in Poland, Kevin J. Allen, on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Allen spoke to the media ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20.
He said: “Poland’s solidarity with refugees from Ukraine has been exceptional and cannot be taken for granted. It is critical that the international community continues to stand with the Polish people and the refugees they have generously received.”
Allen added: “By including refugees in Polish society — and indeed the economy — Poland has empowered hundreds of thousands of refugees to contribute to the country.”
He cautioned: “At the same time, we cannot forget that many refugees still require support — for instance, the elderly, disabled persons, children, and survivors of violence.”
A UNHCR statement stressed “Poland’s exemplary response in the Ukrainian refugee crisis” and called for “continued support to the most vulnerable refugees from Ukraine — in addition to persons fleeing persecution and war in other countries.”
The UN agency noted that most refugees from Ukraine arrived in Poland “in the first half of 2022,” but added that “new arrivals continue at a lower scale.”
Meanwhile, "the number of asylum-seekers and refugees from other countries remains far lower," according to officials.
The UNHCR said: “During the first quarter of 2023, some 2,300 people applied for international protection in Poland. Over 8,000 refugees from countries other than Ukraine are registered in Poland.”
Poland grants asylum to refugees from various countries: UNHCR
The agency’s top official in Poland stated: “The vast majority of refugees in Poland are from Ukraine. It must be recognised, however, that Poland has also granted asylum to refugees who fled war and persecution in other countries, protecting their lives.”
Allen further said: “Building upon Poland’s exemplary response to refugees from Ukraine, UNHCR looks forward to working with the government to further strengthen the asylum system in Poland for all refugees.”
The UNHCR has been in Poland since 1992. It coordinates the work of more than 83 organisations helping refugees in the country, according to officials.
Refugee children from Ukraine 'need more support’: UNICEF
Meanwhile, the United Nations’ Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that “new refugee children in Poland fleeing from Ukraine are more vulnerable and need more support.”
UNICEF noted that since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, “there have been more than 12 million border crossings from Ukraine into Poland.”
The UN agency added: “Of the 4 million refugees who have registered for temporary protection across Europe, more than 1.6 million are in Poland – but the true number of refugees could be even higher. Around 90 percent of refugees in Poland are women and children.”
UNICEF cautioned that many newly arriving children and families, including families displaced by the Kakhovka dam explosion on June 6, have more complex needs.
"They have not had the resources to leave before or are fleeing from areas where active military operations are taking place, or occupied territories, meaning they are especially vulnerable,” it said.
New refugees 'are often in poorer physical and mental health': UNICEF
Rashed Mustafa Sarwar, Country Coordinator for the UNICEF Refugee Response Office in Poland, told reporters: “Many children and their caregivers are now coming from Ukraine to Poland for the first time. This means that for almost a year and a half they have lived in constant fear.”
The UN official added: “Those newly arriving are often in poorer physical or mental health and many have exhausted their financial resources.”
Over the past three months, almost 200,000 refugees from Ukraine "have received support at UNICEF-led Blue Dot Support Hubs at busy transit points in Poland,” the UN agency said, adding that 50 percent of this group were arriving in Poland for the first time.
According to UNICEF, almost 530,000 services have been provided to children and families fleeing war in Ukraine through the Blue Dot Support Hubs around Poland, including “mental health and psychosocial support, the use of a child-friendly space, child protection referrals and information on healthcare, education, housing and transport.”
Sarwar said: “With no end in sight for the war, we must keep supporting these most vulnerable refugees.”
World Refugee Day was established in 2001 to mark half a century since the adoption of the UN’s 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the PAP news agency reported.
Since February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded its neighbour, more than 12.8 million people have crossed into Poland from Ukraine, Polish border guards said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, 10.97 million people have left Poland for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, the agency reported.
Tuesday is day 482 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, UNHCR Poland, UNICEF
