UNICEF – the United Nations’ Children’s Fund – opened its global service in Budapest on Friday. At the opening ceremony László Szabó, Minister of State for Parliament at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that the centre will support the fund’s children’s programmes worldwide by providing financial and human resources, as well as IT background.

Mr. Szabó said that Hungary won the right to host the centre in the face of stiff international competition, and its success was the result of coordinated efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Human Capacities.

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He added that Hungary is already host to over 100 international service centres, providing a total of 35,000 jobs. These jobs are instrumental in keeping multilingual, well-educated young people in Hungary, he said, adding that since 2010 the ministry has spent $3.3 million (EUR 2.9 million) worldwide on various programmes protecting children’s rights.

Katalin Novák, Minister of State for Family and Youth at the Ministry of Human Capacities, said that the protection of children’s interests and rights – an area in which UNICEF has a leading role – is very important for the Hungarian government. She said that the opening of the service centre could give fresh impetus to Hungary’s cooperation with the organisation.

Mark Beatty, director of the centre, said that they had chosen Budapest after careful consideration. He added that the centre’s primary task will be to increase the efficiency of programmes geared towards children in difficult situations. As many other service centres testify, Hungary will be an ideal location, Mr. Beatty said.

Answering a question regarding the current migration crisis, Mr. Beatty said that the centre will do everything possible to help children in need.

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Emese Danks, head of UNICEF’s Hungarian National Committee, said that in the long term, migration should not be a solution for these children. She added that in the next few days a group of UNICEF experts will visit Hungary to assess the situation. Ms. Novák said that Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog will also receive the UNICEF experts’ group.

The centre will have 300 employees – 250 of them Hungarians – and will reach full operational capacity in 2016. The Hungarian government is providing the centre with a rent-free office building for a 15-year period.

(Ministry of Human Capacities)