Instead of encouraging migration, the international community should bolster security and the economy of the migrants’ countries of origin the way Hungary is working to do, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary said in New York City, New York on Monday, 20 November.
Hungary is protecting not just its own border, but also the European Union’s external border against a ‘massive illegal wave of migration’ on the busiest migration route leading to Europe, Szijjártó told during a debate in the United Nations Security Council, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.
He lamented the fact that some in the European Union considered border protection a human rights issue rather than a security issue.
Minister Szijjártó added that the Hungarian government favours strict border protection and made it clear ‘that violating a border is a crime and it has to be addressed properly’. He went on to say that migration could only be stopped by tackling its root causes, such as security problems, the threat of terrorism, and poverty.
Terrorism and migration, he said, are forming ‘a vicious circle’,
arguing that the former was both a cause and a consequence of the latter. He said migration waves could be infiltrated by terrorists, making the threat of terrorism in Europe greater, while certain Western European countries were seeing the emergence of parallel societies, so-called ‘no-go zones.’ and rising antisemitism.
Hungarians, Szijjártó said, had a vested interest in the success of the fight against terrorism, and the country contributed greatly to that international effort. He also stated that Africa, and specifically the Sahel, was one of the top regions of origin for migration towards Europe.
He reiterated that Hungary is therefore sending 200 troops to Chad in cooperation with its government to support the local military and prevent further migration waves. The minister also underlined the importance of developing the region’s economy, emphasising the need for investments, job creation, and technology exports, in which, as he pointed out, Hungary was doing its part.
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Sources: MTI/Hungarian Conservative
