Communist Hungary is likely to accede to the 1951 U.N. Convention on the Status of Refugees, a United Nations official said Friday. It is believed it would be the first Soviet bloc country to join the accord.
Ghassan Arnaout, from the Geneva-based U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, spoke at a news conference after a five-day tour of Hungary and its camps for refugees from Romania.He said his group asked Hungary to become a party to the 1951 accord and "I think there is a definite, good, genuine will of Hungary to accede to the convention." Asked when, he said only, "Soon, in the coming months."