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FM: Migration is not a human right and people do not have a fundamental right to cross borders illegally

The foreign minister said Hungary has made it clear that it is not taking part in the process of adopting the United Nations Global Compact for Migration, adding that other countries are likely to have joined Hungary’s stance by the end of the year

Hungary’s foreign minister has stressed that migration is not a human right and people do not have a fundamental right to cross borders illegally.

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, reaffirmed that people should not arbitrarily select countries in which to settle.

During an official visit to Luxembourg on Monday, the foreign minister said that whenever the European Union takes steps on the issue of migration, it must take international law as its starting point, and this does not state that migration is a human right.

Minister Szijjártó said Hungary has made it clear that it is not taking part in the process of adopting the United Nations Global Compact for Migration, adding that other countries are likely to have joined Hungary’s stance by the end of the year.

“The migration compact cannot be accepted since it poses a threat to the world and it goes against the interests of Europe,” he said.

“It is shameful, and that is why we are disappointed in terms of the way the European Union represented, or rather failed to represent, Europe’s interests in negotiations on the UN migration package,” he added.

The minister said that Federica Mogherini, the EU’s high representative, had no basis for saying that economic migration is the right response to the demographic and economic challenges.

“Hungary does not think in this way. It wants neither demographic nor labor market challenges to be resolved by migration, and this must be respected by everyone. Hungary can give the right responses to these issues in the areas of education and family policy, and it reserves the right to make these decisions on its own,” he said.