The Government has adopted a 12-point proposal on the United Nations migration package, which it will be submitting to the President of the UN General Assembly, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Thursday in Budapest.
In his opening speech at the “Hungarian Interests - The Challenges Posed by the UN Compact for Migration” conference organised by the Századvég Foundation, the Foreign Minister stressed: “If these 12 points, in which the Government summarises its position, are not included in the package, Hungary will not be in a position to support the adoption of the Compact”.
The goal of the proposal is to ensure that the security of the Hungarian people can continue to be guaranteed in future, he emphasised.
The Government and the governing parties are ready to fight this battle, he declared.
The title of the Proposal is “To Us, Security Comes First”, the Minister explained. The first point reflects on the basic assumption that is the starting point for the migration package, according to which migration is a good thing and is unstoppable. In contrast, according to the Government migration is a bad and dangerous process that has given rise to major security challenges, as also proven by the events of recent years, he pointed out.
According to the second point, international efforts should be aimed at stopping migration processes. The third point states that the right to migration is not included among the fundamental human rights, he added.
According to point four, migration “isn’t good for anyone”, not for people who need to set out from home, not for transit countries and not for the communities that are forced to accept large numbers of people from a totally different culture, the Minister continued.
Point five states that it is the duty of the international community to acknowledge that everyone has the right to live in peace and security in their own homelands, and if this is not possible then to remain as close as possible until they can return home.
Based on point six only people smugglers profit from migration processes, and accordingly the international community must eradicate smuggling networks, strictly punish people smugglers and avoid introducing policies that encourage people to use the services of people smugglers, Mr. Szijjártó explained.
Point seven emphasises the importance of sovereignty and the fact that every country’s right to handle the security of its citizens as a priority issue must be respected, and their right to decide who they wishes to allow into thier territory cannot be called into question.
Point eight concerns issues relating to identity; the international community must support every country’s efforts to preserve its traditions and social structure, he explained.
Point nine states that there are better instruments than migration for handling demographic and job market challenges, and that we respect the fact that other countries may choose migration as a solution, but migration “shouldn’t be forced on us”, the Minister continued.
In point ten, the Government stresses that it is the right and duty of every country to protect its borders, and the international community should support their efforts, Mr. Szijjártó explained.
According to point eleven, illegally crossing a border is a serious offence that must be sanctioned; borders can only be crossed while adhering to national and international regulations, he highlighted.
And finally, according to point twelve the Compact for Migration cannot pose any legal requirements on member states, the Foreign Minister stated.
The proposal will also be sent to all NATO and EU member states, he said.
The goal is “for Hungary to truly remain Hungarian”, because “we do not want to become an immigrant country”, he declared, adding that by submitting the proposal we are making it clear that we retain the right according to which “only we can decide” who we want to live with and who we allow into the country.
Europe has still not found a solution to the challenges posed by migration, and the mandatory quota is only good for encouraging even more people to believe that if they reach Europe then they will be able to stay here, the Foreign Minister pointed out. The situation in Europe’s immediate vicinity, in the Middle East and North Africa, is fragile and unstable, and tens of millions of people are in a situation that could easily cause them to set out for Europe, he added.
President of the Századvég Foundation Zsolt Barthel-Rúzsa declared: Neither the EU nor international organisations such as the UN understand the world that we live in; they don’t care about people’s opinions and they are incapable of providing suitable answers to the challenges we are facing. He said that in his opinion Hungary and Central Europe are increasingly confident and are professing their Christian, conservative values with increasing strength, while the western half of Europe is characterised by having lost its values.