Hungary is nominating itself for membership of the UN Human Rights Council, Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, announced during a speech at the United Nations.
Minister Szijjártó said that "Hungary is a free country that is proud of its traditions, culture and Christianity, and which has struggled to achieve its freedom in the past”, and that he was speaking at the General Debate of the UN General Assembly on the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence.
Szijjártó said that in 1956 Hungary had not received help from outside, but that the heroic efforts of its freedom fighters had given the Hungarians the strength to survive the communist dictatorship and to finally achieve freedom in 1990.
“The world is facing huge challenges, challenges that have led to dramatic changes in the usual world order; with the globally experienced spread of terrorist organizations, the destabilization of some of the world’s most vital and vulnerable regions, and as a result of the fact that some 60-65 million people are migrating or have been forced to leave their homes”. “It is now not an exaggeration to state that we are in the twenty-fourth hour if we want to move these changes in a positive direction," he said.
According to Minister Szijjártó "the key factor in global terrorism, the Islamic State, must be destroyed, because until this happens there will not be peace and stability in Europe’s southern and south-eastern vicinity. We must also eliminate the global network of human smugglers, because they have caused the deaths of countless innocent people," he declared. “I think we all agree that crimes against humanity cannot remain unpunished," Szijjártó stated.
The foreign minister took the opportunity to inform the UN General Assembly that Hungary has set up a deputy state secretariat to monitor the status of Christian communities around the world and provide assistance to communities that are in danger or under threat.
He also told the General Assembly that Hungary had adopted strict laws against human trafficking.
On the subject of migration, Szijjártó stressed that Hungary regards the safety of the Hungarian people as its priority. “We have protected our borders so far and will continue to not allow mass illegal border crossing in future," he declared.
“Uncontrolled and unmonitored mass migration has afforded terrorist organizations the opportunity to send its terrorists to other continents and has resulted in an increasing threat of terrorism and a reduction of public safety in Europe. It is now obvious that the people of Europe expect their politicians to place security before everything else," he said.
The minister stressed that “the international community must assist Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraqi Kurdistan because these countries are caring for millions of refugees. If these countries and regions become unstable then people could start moving towards Europe, and Europe is incapable of coping with a challenge of this magnitude. Hungary has paid three million euros into the Madad Fund, has promised five million euros for the construction of a hospital in Syria and offered special scholarships to Syrian students," he told the General Assembly.
Szijjártó expressed his appreciation to the president of the General Assembly for the fact that the new UN Secretary-General will be chosen in a novel way by interviewing prospective candidates.