“The most effective instrument for taking action against people smuggling is if we treat the root of the problem, meaning that instead of managing the migration process we must eliminate the causes that are forcing people to emigrate”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared on Friday in New York at a conference on human trafficking held within the framework of the ongoing high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly.

In his speech, the Minister declared: “The smugglers and terrorists are profiting from the fact that Europe is encouraging migration. The former are making millions of dollars, while it is easier for the latter to get into target countries while hidden amongst the immigrants”.

Mr. Szijjártó explained that for this reason Hungary’s fundamental principle is that assistance must be taken to where it is needed, instead of creating a problem where it does not yet exist. “This is the purpose of the Hungary Helps Program, which is helping Christians living in conflict zones to remain at home or to return home at the earliest opportunity”, he added.

“It is the task of the international community to assure that everyone can live in safety in their own home”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade emphasised. “Accordingly, the United Nations and other international organisations should also be concentrating on solving the fundamental problems that are leading to migration”, he declared.

“In the debate on whether border protection should be approached from a human rights perspective or a security perspective, Hungary is clearly on the side of security in view of the fact that strong and strict border security provides criminals, including people smugglers, with much less room for manoeuvre”, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted.

The Minister also drew attention to the importance of punishing people smugglers. “In the spring of this year, Hungary introduced new legislation to make action against them even more effective”, he pointed out.

(MTI)