United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said that border policies based on religion, ethnicity or race were 'against the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based'.

According to the Guardian, Guterres, in a written statement, did not mention the United States or President Donald Trump but directly addressed the issue which was triggered by the President's executive order suspending entry for refugees and other visitors from a list of seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Guterres, who was formerly the UN high commissioner for refugees, also criticised other western countries for shunning increasing numbers of refugees seeking safe haven around the world.

He said the poorer countries, in comparison, have instead been hosting the burgeoning number of refugees.

'Countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organisations,' Guterres said.

'But this cannot be based on any form of discrimination related to religion, ethnicity or nationality because that is against the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based,' he added.

Guterres also said such a ban 'triggers widespread anxiety and anger that may facilitate the propaganda of the very terrorist organisations we all want to fight against' and that, 'blind measures, not based on solid intelligence, tend to be ineffective as they risk being bypassed by what are today sophisticated global terrorist movements'. -- ANI