Hungarian Foreign Minister: “These NGOs Were Never Elected by Anybody”

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In the video below, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártő speaks on the topic of migration to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. This clip was recorded at the UN on March 19, 2018.

In his talk Mr. Szijjártő specifically calls out non-governmental organizations (NGOs) bankrolled by George Soros for their hostility to the migration policies of the democratically elected, sovereign government of Hungary — the same policies that reflect the will of the Hungarian people. He also points out the complicity of United Nations with these hostile NGOs.

Many thanks to CrossWare for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

00:04   Thank you for inviting me for this session, organized by this respected committee.
00:08   We appreciate the opportunity to react to
00:12   those questions and suggestions raised by the members
00:16   of this committee. We are especially grateful
00:20   that this opportunity came up now, because we must take into account
00:24   that not only the European Union, but the whole global
00:28   community is faced with
00:32   historically significant challenges.
00:36   We witnessed some very serious global discussions
00:40   about some very serious questions, which were
00:44   concerned with human rights. We understand well that this is the first
00:48   revision that has
00:52   happened in the last six years
00:56   about the human rights situation in Hungary.
01:00   And we think it’s just a coincidence
01:04   that it was only a couple of days (20 days) before a general election
01:08   when these re-examinations were scheduled.
01:12   We do not think there was any ulterior motive behind this, and we think the fact that
01:16   the committee’s views will be published
01:20   just three days before the election — I am sure that’s not a deliberate act, either.
01:24   We are very happy about all this, because we think that one of the
01:28   greatest values the UN represents, or more precisely those values
01:32   the UN undertakes, is exactly about
01:36   diversity and variety. And this diversity is especially true for this committee.
01:40   Please let me continue my speech in my mother tongue,
01:44   which may be called one of the most complicated, and let me,
01:48   to be biased about it, the most beautiful language in the whole wide world.
01:52   Now you can listen to it, too, and understand why it is so complicated for
01:56   foreigners to learn the Hungarian language. So, Madame President and dear colleagues,
02:00   from this point on I will continue my speech in the Hungarian language,
02:04   and I am sure you will have questions,
02:08   more than one, I hope; at the end of my speech I will attempt to
02:12   respond to that using the English
02:16   language again. If you will accept this work method —
02:20   because I know the Hungarian language is not yet
02:24   an official language of the UN, but such a time might come,
02:28   because as we say the Hungarians are a global nation; we are everywhere.
02:32   So if you do not mind, Hungarian from now on.
02:36   Madame President, respected members of the committee,
02:40   I am very proud that I can represent my homeland here.
02:44   before this prestigious committee.
02:48   I am also very proud to be representing such a nation,
02:52   which, in its 1,100-year-long history,
02:56   has had to fight for its freedom
03:00   numerous times
03:04   against large and oppressive powers.
03:08   The last example was the Communists,
03:12   who took away the freedom of Hungary and the Hungarian people.
03:16   So we Hungarians are a nation that can
03:20   really appreciate human rights. Basic
03:24   human rights, because in our history
03:28   we have fought many times for these rights.
03:32   And I am also glad — Madame President and respected members of the committee —
03:36   that today we can discuss who thinks what about human rights.
03:40   I think for this purpose it’s worth
03:44   asking the following question: what are the most important
03:48   and most significant human rights that
03:52   must be guaranteed by a government,
03:56   for its own citizens?
04:00   And I think that for a government
04:04   it is an elementary responsibility to guarantee
04:08   its own citizens the right to safety,
04:12   to work, and through this, their right
04:16   to a safe, predictable livelihood.
04:20   And it’s indispensable for a government to guarantee
04:24   the possibility of having a home and living in a family.
04:28   To provide opportunities so the establishment of a family does not
04:32   become a question of financial necessity.
04:36   Please allow me my verbal addition
04:40   to be built around these three major topics, and afterwards,
04:44   of course, we are ready for debate,
04:48   and to answer all of the questions. First of all,
04:52   the Hungarian government has a definite position that the Hungarian people
04:56   have the right to live in safety. They have the right
05:00   to live in such a way that they do not have to be afraid of terror attacks.
05:04   They also have the right to live,
05:08   to protect themselves from the safety risks inherent in
05:12   the creation of parallel societies.
05:16   Hungary had a sad experience with this
05:20   in 2015, when 400,000 illegal
05:24   migrants moved through the country,
05:28   flouting all national and international laws,
05:32   our cultural norms,
05:36   and our moral standards.
05:40   Because of that, the Hungarian government unfalteringly
05:44   and clearly says NO to all international initiatives
05:48   that help or stimulate
05:52   illegal migration. And
05:56   you must know, Madame President and dear committee members,
06:00   that Hungary and the Hungarian government are the subjects
06:04   of many attacks because Hungary said NO
06:08   to the mandatory quotas in the European Union’s system.
06:12   And in its present form it does not at all support the UN
06:16   global migration compact, either.
06:20   In the interest of guaranteeing the right
06:24   of its citizens to safety, the Hungarian government
06:28   has not yet let in any illegal migrants,
06:32   and it will not let any in
06:36   in the future, either. We think
06:40   the question of illegal migration must be handled differently,
06:44   and we must bring help to where the trouble is,
06:48   instead of bringing it [the trouble] to where there was none before.
06:52   Because of this, respected Madame President and respected
06:56   committee, we think of the migration as a continuous
07:00   process that must be stopped.
07:04   A process that brings dangers for the Hungarian people. We
07:08   want to guarantee the people’s right to safety
07:12   …and if you look at
07:16   the last two or three years of the history of Europe, you will see
07:20   that the terror threat that can be experienced
07:24   in the European Union shows
07:28   that illegal migration and terrorism show a direct correlation.
07:32   Surely all of you who spent a lot of time on human rights issues
07:36   can hear all those Western European statements
07:40   that say: such events are part of life in a big city,
07:44   that the terror threat is part of everyday life.
07:48   But we refuse [to accept] this.
07:52   We think that all Hungarian citizens, no matter
07:56   whether they live in cities or villages, have an elementary
08:00   right to live in peace, tranquility and safety.
08:04   … and also, respected Madame President and
08:08   respected committee, I think the Hungarian people have the right
08:12   to state what their opinion is about all of that.
08:16   And in Hungary the Hungarian government,
08:20   partly through National Consultations and partly through a referendum,
08:24   gave the opportunity to everyone,
08:28   to every Hungarian citizen,
08:32   to express their opinion, what they think about this issue,
08:36   and this very tightly correlated problem.
08:40   At all of these opportunities they very clearly said NO
08:44   to illegal migration.
08:48   At the same time, Madame President, I would also like to say that our position
08:52   is that the Hungarian people not only have a right,
08:56   to express their opinion on this question, but
09:00   they also have the right to have this opinion respected by everybody.
09:04   …So the Hungarian government does everything
09:08   in its power so that in the future only Hungarians
09:12   will be able to decide
09:16   who they want to live with in Hungary,
09:20   and who we are not willing to allow in,
09:24   and we reserve the right to say who can
09:28   enter Hungary and who cannot.
09:32   Respected ladies and gentlemen, there is another debate here,
09:36   which you can also fight in the forums of the UN.
09:40   This debate is about Multiculturalism
09:44   and a multicultural society:
09:48   Is it on a higher level than a homogeneous
09:52   united, orderly society?
09:56   And we see those international aspirations
10:00   that try to strengthen this image.
10:04   But we have a different position:
10:08   We believe that a unified, organized,
10:12   homogeneous society is not at all worth less than
10:16   a multicultural one.
10:20   Moreover, we insist that
10:24   it is exclusively the members of that specific nation who should decide
10:28   what they see as value.
10:32   We Hungarians have been living on the same land for 1,100 years now
10:36   as a Christian society, a united,
10:40   homogeneous and orderly society: this is what we see as value,
10:44   and we adhere to it…
10:48   At the same time, I would not like to hide — respected Madame President,
10:52   respected committee — that on this question, we have serious debates about
10:56   this issue, with those so-called NGOs,
11:00   those organizations that operate
11:04   in the international arena,
11:08   non-governmental organizations.
11:12   And here I would like dispel a false notion:
11:16   I know, that in your work,
11:20   many international NGOs, as you phrase it: “help with it”.
11:24   Let me not use the words “influence it”.
11:28   We have a lot of arguments with these NGOs.
11:32   They represent international interests.
11:36   We, the Hungarian government,
11:40   represent the interests of the Hungarian people. For us
11:44   the safety of the Hungarian people is the most important thing,
11:48   and the goals of the international NGOs are different.
11:52   This is clearly visible. At the same time,
11:56   I must tell you, that presentation, that statement,
12:00   is untruthful, that asserts the NGOs represent
12:04   the position of Hungarian society or any other societies.
12:08   These NGOs were never
12:12   elected by anybody.
12:16   The people’s legitimate will is exercised by the parliaments
12:20   and governments… because
12:24   they are the ones who participated in elections. I have never seen an election
12:28   where people were able to vote for NGOs.
12:32   …In Hungary it’s fairly easy to measure
12:36   how much support an NGO has from society,
12:40   because in Hungary
12:44   there is an opportunity for people
12:48   to donate the 1% of the taxes they pay
12:52   to support one of those civilian organizations.
12:56   Your work is helped by
13:00   Amnesty International — I would like to adduce
13:04   that last year in Hungary, only 193
13:08   Hungarian citizens gave the 1% of their taxes
13:12   to this organization. One hundred and ninety-three!
13:16   Out of 4.5 million taxpayers!
13:20   NOT 193 thousand, but 193 Hungarian citizens.
13:24   You are also helped by the Helsinki Committee (NGO), and it frequently
13:28   attacks the Hungarian government, and
13:32   acts as if it were the representative of the Hungarian people.
13:36   To the Helsinki Committee in the last year, 516 Hungarian citizens gave 1% of their taxes.
13:40   Five hundred and sixteen!
13:44   Out of 4.5 million [taxpayers]!
13:48   So I would like to address that argument about who represents
13:52   Hungarian society. And whether it could be possible to make it look like NGOs
13:56   represent Hungarian society’s opinion against
14:00   the Hungarian government. At the same time it is also clear,
14:04   respected ladies and gentlemen, that these
14:08   NGOs are attacking the government of Hungary because
14:12   we have a definite anti-migration stance.
14:16   …and this, respected Madame President,
14:20   and respected members of the committee, we have never kept hidden and never will,
14:24   and I would like to make it clear also
14:28   that the Hungarian government’s primary mission, goal
14:32   and duty is to guarantee the safety of all Hungarian citizens,
14:36   and the migrant-supporting NGOs are constantly attacking us,
14:40   and they will continue to attack, they will continually come to you,
14:44   and you will continually
14:48   tell us how bad it is, what the Hungarian government does,
14:52   but I would like emphasize to you that this will not dissuade us.
14:56   We will continue to represent an anti-immigration
15:00   position. And it is also clearly visible
15:04   that a large portion of the NGOs that are attacking us
15:08   belong to George Soros’
15:12   worldwide network.
15:16   I would like to proceed with the second point
15:20   about human rights, Madame President, which is
15:24   that for every Hungarian citizen we create
15:28   the opportunity to work,
15:32   because it is work that
15:36   brings self-respect, and
15:40   through this, the worker can guarantee his own and his family’s livelihood.
15:44   And, respected Madame President, in Hungary eight years ago
15:48   the unemployment rate was over 12%;
15:52   now it is 3.8%.
15:56   This — based on the textbooks of economics — is a state of full employment.
16:00   At least very close to it. And of course this success was not free,
16:04   because to reach that, we introduced
16:08   Europe’s lowest tax rate [15% — single bracket],
16:12   and we had to dissolve the dilemma that we must maintain
16:16   the country’s competitiveness and in the meantime ensure that incomes would still increase,
16:20   …and we think that every person
16:24   has the right, to have a calculable, reliable livelihood.
16:28   …And today in Hungary
16:32   We have record low unemployment.
16:36   Compared to 2010, the average
16:40   real earnings grew by 36%.
16:44   The minimum income grew by 88%!
16:48   … in Hungary,
16:52   the Hungarian government deems that its goal and duty
16:56   is to provide the opportunity and the right to work.
17:00   Finally, the
17:04   the third point, respected Madame President and respected committee,
17:08   is that the duty of the Hungarian government is
17:12   to provide the basic human right to everyone
17:16   to have a family, to have children,
17:20   to raise them, and that none of it becomes an economic issue.
17:24   We want to answer the demographic challenges
17:28   not by the settlement of migrants, but
17:32   with [proper] family policy tools. We want to have more children
17:36   in Hungary. And we do not see the migration as
17:40   a solution to this problem, in fact, just the opposite.
17:44   And we also have some serious debates, battles, conflicts
17:48   with large international NGOs, but
17:52   we will fight those battles, too, and I am also ready
17:56   to have a debate here, because for the labor market, and for demographic issues,
18:01   we do not find migration to be the correct tool, but rather proper family [-friendly] policies.
18:04   But we strengthened family policies, and we will continue to strengthen them in the
18:08   future as well. In Hungary, after they have children,
18:12   citizens are entitled to significant tax breaks.
18:16   We introduced the tax breaks for children in 2011
18:20   in Hungary, and since 2011 a total of
18:24   1900 billion HUF [Hungarian forint] was left with the families
18:28   with these tax breaks. Where families have three
18:32   or more kids, there is practically no
18:36   personal income tax to pay.
18:40   The tax breaks after two children
18:44   from 2016 to 2019 will be doubled.
18:48   At present
18:52   one million Hungarian families can claim
18:56   the family tax breaks, and this
19:00   leaves with the families thousands more HUF every month.
19:04   Beside this, we think its very important to help
19:08   every family to have a home.
19:12   Today in Hungary, 67,000 families have been able to use
19:16   the family home-creation concession,
19:20   and the last time we simplified the rules, so even more
19:24   gained access to the program.
19:28   On the question of schooling, respected Madame President, we think it’s
19:32   fundamental to provide an opportunity for every single child to acquire competitive knowledge.
19:36   Never before have so many children,
19:40   received free meals in the Hungarian education system as now.
19:44   This means about half a million children.
19:48   Never before have so many children received free books.
19:52   This means around a million Hungarian kids.
19:56   And while we’re on family policies, respected Madame President,
20:00   in Hungary we think it is especially important to
20:04   hold our women and wives in high esteem. That is why women
20:08   in Hungary, after 40 years of employment, independent of age,
20:12   may retire. Up to now 220,000 woman have taken
20:16   this opportunity. And our experience is
20:20   that these “young” retirees are fulfilling important roles in their families.
20:24   …Numerous
20:28   retired grandmas are undertaking to help
20:32   with grandchildren, so that moms can
20:36   return to the job market.
20:40   Respected Madame President, respected audience,
20:44   in the interest of preserving all these results
20:48   from the last eight years in Hungary,
20:52   what we have done to ensure the people’s human rights —
20:56   to preserve all of these
21:00   we primarily require safety. Safety is first,
21:04   and safety is the basis for everything else.
21:08   I can assure you all that the government of Hungary will do everything in its power
21:12   to ensure the Hungarians’ right to safety.
21:16   I can also assure you that we will put our foot down!
21:20   …Respected ladies and gentlemen,
21:24   the review of the state of our human rights —
21:28   I hope you all received it.
21:32   I wanted to complement it with my verbal comments,
21:36   to help you to understand very precisely and clearly
21:40   what the Hungarian government upholds as its duty,
21:44   which is the question of safety in Hungary,
21:48   and I can assure you, that in every possible major issue or
21:52   in minute detail,
21:56   I am at your disposal, and I will answer to my best of knowledge
22:00   questions about the processes underway in Hungary. Madame President,
22:04   thank you very much for your attention…
 

17 thoughts on “Hungarian Foreign Minister: “These NGOs Were Never Elected by Anybody””

  1. You just have to love his sarcasm and irony.
    Well earned by the UN and their underlings. ^^

    • No wonder they are so [annoyed], but Peter plays with the words masterfully and they can’t really do anything with his sass…

      • @CrossWare
        Appreciate your reports as usual. But off topic a bit…I am concerned about the growing homelessness problem in Hungary’s larger cities, like Budapest, that is never reported. Do you know anything about this?

        • It’s a weird problem. We have all kinds of programs to help the homeless. Plenty of place to stay at night, however the basic rule is: no alcohol consumption in the homeless shelter. So the ones, who want to get hammered are staying outside. The government was considered to have mandatory treatment against addiction (alcohol and drug) but liberals are sank the plan as it is their human rights to destroy themselves…

      • This is masterful. He skewers them so politely that I wonder if they even realize how they have been cut.

        @CrossWare
        Also off topic but interesting.
        May I draw your attention to this charming headline from our megye newspaper today: Vidékieket sértegető budapesti értelmiségiek (Rural areas abused by budapest intellectuals) as best as I can understand it
        https://www.vaol.hu/orszag-vilag/videkieket-sertegeto-budapesti-ertelmisegiek-2300333/
        With the aid of Google translate the general gist of the article as I understand it is that intellectual opinion makers say rural Hungarians are illiterate, primitive serfs of the Middle Ages who are unable to think independently and so they voted for Fidesz. It goes downhill from there…
        Looks like defeated liberals in different countries all read from the same sheet of music.

        • Yes you are right, this is the sure sign of liberal-bolshevik supremacism. The snowflakes are the same everywhere…

  2. What refreshingly sensible policies: low income tax, encouragement to have children, retirement for working women to enable them to be useful grandmothers and to support the family, resistance to illegal migration, resistance to muslim migration.
    Frankly, Hungary leads the way.

    Many thanks to CrossWare for the translation.

    • Thank you very much! 🙂
      If you think about the useful grandmas, what a genius idea? What would be better to instill the good “old-fashioned” values into the young child, than a wise grandma? Pure genius!

  3. A great speech!

    For it, for standing for what he stands for, bad words will be used against him.

    May Hungary stand tall for a thousand years, then another thousand, then for ever! But they have a fight on their hands.

  4. The title says it all.

    NGOs should be banned as agents of a hostile foreign power.

    • I really wonder how long it will be until national governments start taking the threat from NGO and corporate influence seriously, and more importantly, what consequences the solutions will result in.

      • Well, Duerte is crazy, but his threat to arrest the ICC prosecutor nosing around the Philippines wouldn’t be a bad start.

  5. Thanks for the work in reporting and translating such an excellent speech.
    Without arguing, he posits the Hungarian value of life, and “redefines” terms to their original meaning for most in the western world, and with a clear, calm, but sure manner.

    Just “wow!”

  6. Common sense in action, something the governments and elites in the western world have abandoned to the detriment of their own citizens.

  7. I think he is what you call a mensch…not a macho, blustering, aggressive bully, but a man who stands up for himself, looks you in the eye, and meets his responsibility. The Hungarian government is not looking for the approval of others. It does not shrink in horror at the thought of criticism. I liked the way he looked at them in the eye as he firmly and unmistakably rejected the idea of multiculturalism.

    It’s clear than not resolutions, nor condemnations, or threats of withholding grants, nor of fines, will move the Hungarians to change. Orban has put Hungary on a found fiscal basis, thus assuring its true independence.

    I continue to think that the greatest threat to the East European countries is NATO and the EU military force which thankfully has not fully coalesced. The EU dictators wish to bring all Europe under their control, and the resistance of countries like Hungary give the other countries the idea that the EU tyranny can be resisted.

    There is no doubt they planned on Hillary being elected, and assenting to the use of NATO forces for internal EU “policing”. Trump is not so predictable, although he seems more and more drawn to military adventures in place of actually limiting US actions to advancing direct US interests.

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