Poor states hosting refugees could start shutting borders, warns NGO

Developing countries which host most of the world's refugees could close their borders if Western states persist with aid cuts, the head of the Danish Refugee Council warned on Tuesday.



As countries like Britain and Germany tighten their asylum rules amid anti-immigration sentiment, many are also cutting their contributions to help support millions displaced by violence and climate change around the world.



Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, which works in dozens of countries, said she was concerned that poorer states who take in 75% of them will also implement new restrictions.



"They are now being a bit abandoned by the donors," she told Reuters in an interview in Geneva. "I'm a little bit afraid for what we're going to see in terms of the reaction among these host nations, when they realise that less money will come in."



She cited an example where Uganda, for years a generous host of refugees from Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia, has started restricting numbers.