The Foreign Minister has said the most effective way to fight human smuggling is to handle the problem at its roots and eliminate the causes of migration.
Addressing a conference on human smuggling, a side event of the ongoing UN General Assembly session in New York, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that smugglers and terrorists are profiting from Europe encouraging migration. The former have made millions of dollars while the latter have hid among the migrants and sneaked into target countries.
According to MTI, the Minister said it is Hungary’s firm conviction that help must be taken to where it is needed instead of creating problems where they did not exist before. The Hungary Helps scheme helps Christians return home or stay at home in conflict areas.
Minister Szijjártó added that the task of the international community is to ensure that everybody should be able to live securely at home. It follows that the UN and other international organizations should focus on resolving the problems that trigger migration.
The Minister said border protection should be approached from the point of view of security rather than human rights. Strong and strict border protection leaves less manoeuvring space to criminals, including human smugglers.
Minister Szijjártó also stressed the need to punish human smugglers. He noted that Hungary had introduced new legal regulations this spring to improve the effectiveness of the fight against human smuggling.
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