Our Mission
The following two objectives are stipulated in Government Decision 1829/2016. (XII. 23) that set out the responsibilities of the Deputy State Secretariat for the Aid of Persecuted Christians:
- Providing direct support for persecuted Christian communities.
- Raising domestic and international political and public awareness of the phenomenon and increasing scale of Christian persecution in the 21st century.
In 2016, the Deputy State Secretariat began its work in several key areas in order to achieve the abovementioned objectives. Contact was established with the leaders of persecuted Churches in the Middle East and Africa for the purpose of gaining insight into their situation and launching the humanitarian, developmental and aid projects that are most urgently needed by their communities.
In acknowledgement of its work, and of the commitment of the Hungarian Government towards persecuted Christians, in October 2018the Deputy State Secretariat became the State Secretariat for the Aid of Persecuted Christians and the Hungary Helps Program.
The Hungary Helps Program
The Government of Hungary established the Hungary Helps Program through Government Decision 244/2017 (VIII. 28) in order to deliver Hungary’s assistance within a unified framework. Act CXX of 2018 of Hungarian Parliament established the Hungary Helps Agency as of 14th April 2019, a fully state-owned, non-profit private limited company whose task is to ensure the rapid and effective provision of assistance to persecuted Christians and victims of humanitarian catastrophes, and which shall contribute to Hungary’s international efforts to eradicate the root causes of migration through direct local assistance.
Based on the programs proposed by leaders of ecclesiastical communities, the provision of direct humanitarian aid to communities in need was begun, using the Government’s budgetary allocations. The State Secretariat’s geographical focus is primarily on the Middle East and the Sub-Saharan region (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Nigeria).
