Hungary voted against the United Nations’ Global Compact for Migration in New York on Wednesday.
The UN General Assembly approved the accord with 152 countries voting in favor, five against and 12 abstentions.
Addressing the General Assembly ahead of the vote, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary would not support the accord because most of its goals were in conflict with Hungary’s national interests.
Minister Szijjártó said that the UN “was making a serious mistake” because the plan was “unbalanced, biased, and extremely pro-migration”. Authors of the document overlooked the interests of European residents, while the passage of the plan would promote migration and involve serious risks, he said.
The minister also criticized the document for depicting migration as a fundamental human right. Furthermore, he said, it accepts migrants’ breach of national borders in their search for new homes, thereby encouraging migration and calling on UN member states to support it.
While the compact presents the effects of migration as positive, it is in fact a dangerous process, the minister said, arguing that migration destabilizes both origin and transit countries and leads to the emergence of parallel societies in destination countries.
Minister Szijjártó added that migration also comes with significant security risks. He criticized the compact for its failure to address the rights of those living in the destination countries, including the right to live in peace and security.