At the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra on Wednesday, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary is prepared to contribute to bolstering the United Nations’ peacekeeping capacities, adding that bringing more and more armed conflicts under control would reduce the risk of a third world war.
In his address, Minister Szijjártó said global security was in its worst shape since the end of the Cold War, arguing that more than 30 serious armed conflicts were going on in the world, and the threat of terrorism was at an all-time high. Europe was no exception, he said, noting the ongoing war on the continent and the conflict in the Middle East. Minister Szijjártó also warned of the threat of instability in the Sahel region and the danger of this triggering more mass migration waves towards Europe, which posed another security challenge. “So therefore … it is the core security interest of Hungary, of Europe, and, I do believe, that of the global community to end the most possible armed conflicts in the world,” the minister said. Hungary, he said, argued in favour of ceasefires and direct negotiations between opposing sides in the interest of ensuring the safety of the people living in conflict zones. Minister Szijjártó said the UN should step up its peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts. He noted that the organisation had not been established “as a group of like-minded countries”, but as a platform to offer the possibility of dialogue even among those hostile towards each other. Hungary, he said, supported the UN in fulfilling this original goal of the organisation. Szijjártó said that without greater UN peacekeeping capacities, several armed conflicts could spiral out of control, and the more that happened, the greater the risk of a third world war would become. The minister noted that Hungarian troops and police officers were also serving in UN peacekeeping missions, adding that the government was prepared to contribute to enhancing the efficiency of the organisation’s peacekeeping capacities. Hungary is supporting the development of technologies used in peacekeeping operations with 110,000 dollars, Minister Szijjártó said. It is also prepared to offer its airlift capabilities to improve the mobility of peacekeeping missions and is prepared to host peacekeepers in military training programmes, he said.