Merkel reminds Trump of Geneva Convention’s refugee policy: reports

German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized President Donald Trump’s executive order on refugee vetting and reminded him in a phone call on Saturday of the policy of the Geneva Convention regarding refugees, according to reports.

“The Geneva refugee convention requires the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds. All signatory states are obligated to do. The German government explained this policy in their call yesterday,” the chancellor’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement.

The United States is party to the Geneva Convention, which consists of several treaties within international law that pertain to the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war during armed conflict.

{mosads}The spokesman said Merkel “regrets the U.S. government’s entry ban against refugees and the citizens of certain countries.”

“She is convinced that the necessary, decisive battle against terrorism does not justify a general suspicion against people of a certain origin or a certain religion,” Seibert said.

A summary of the phone call between Merkel and Trump, jointly issued on Saturday, had made no mention of the travel ban, the Guardian reported. Instead, it emphasized the “fundamental significance” of NATO and the intention to “further deepen the already excellent bilateral relations in the coming years.”

Trump on Friday signed an executive order that imposes a ban on admitting refugees for 120 days, in addition to an indefinite halt on admitting refugees from Syria. The order also includes a 90-day ban on nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries entering the United States.

–This report was updated on Jan. 30 at 7:45 a.m.