Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has written an official letter to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, in view of the fact that the organisation’s Commissioner for Human Rights criticised Hungary’s refugee policy.

Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, published an article criticising Hungary’s refugee policy in the online edition of The New York Times. In the article, he wrote with relation to the EU Summit in Bratislava: “It is no surprise that Hungary was among the countries most hostile to the European Union proposals on migration. Hungary’s disengagement from human rights protections and the rule of law is not new”, adding that “It is on migration that Hungary’s departure from human rights norms is most glaring”.

In response, Mr. Szijjártó issued a statement on Thursday according to which the Council of Europe Commissioner’s “Ignorance and hatred of Hungary is incredible”. According to the Foreign Minister, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights is “attacking with his preposterous lies” a country that is conforming to all international regulations. “It is obvious that Nils Muiznieks and his friends in principle are encouraging the breaking of international law and the illegal crossing of state borders, which leads to chaos and anarchy”, he said, adding that “On Sunday, the people of Hungary could give a resounding reply to Nils Muiznieks’ lies”.

In view of these events, Mr. Szijjártó has written an official letter to the Council of Europe’s Secretary General. In the letter, a copy of which was provided to Hungarian news agency MTI by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Foreign Minister pointed out that the Commissioner for Human Rights had expressed strong criticism of Hungary’s Government for its firm standpoint on migration policy. “Our opinion is well-known and we absolutely reject such unfounded criticism”, he wrote.

“The Commissioner has denounced a country that is fully and strictly respecting and conforming to all refugee and immigration regulations. The Government’s goal is to protect Hungary’s borders and the Member States of the European Union in accordance with international general principles to prevent an uncontrollable situation”, he explained.

“It is particularly regrettable that the Commissioner compared the current wave of migration with the refugees of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence”, the Foreign Minister highlighted. “In the latter case, people were fleeing violence and waited patiently in camps set up in neighbouring countries for the decision on their fate, while fully abiding by the laws of those countries”, he pointed out.

“I am confident that this opinion is only that of a single member of the Council of Europe community. The Hungarian Government remains committed to a politics that is based on cooperation and dialogue according to professional guidelines as part of inter-governmental discourse”, the Minister wrote in closing.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)