“Hungary will under no circumstances recognise the migration-related parts of the UN declaration on universal healthcare services, according to which UN member states would have to provide the same level of services to illegal migrants as to their taxpaying citizens”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared at the plenary session on universal health coverage at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday.

“There are currently several attempts ongoing within the United Nations to make the Global Compact for Migration part of international law in segments, and they are trying to hide the individual chapters of the Compact in UN decisions which can then be cited later. The UN declaration on universal health coverage, with which they want to force UN member states to provide the same level of healthcare services to everyone, regardless of status, is one such attempt”, he explained. “This means that illegal immigrants would have the right to the same services as people who have worked hard for decades and are paying their taxes in the given country”, he underlined. “This is unacceptable to Hungary”, Mr. Szijjártó declared. “On the one hand, the Government does not accept that the UN has the right to formulate any stipulations or legal commitments with relation to the Hungarian healthcare system: this falls within a national sphere of competence about which only Hungary can decide. Secondly, the Government is also unable to accept the fact that illegal migrants should in any way receive the same level of services as Hungarian tax paying citizens, and refuses to negatively discriminate against its own citizens”, the Minister stated.

(MTI)