Szijjarto to UN Security Council: Everything must be done to restore peace

The war that broke out 146 days ago has brought suffering not just to Ukraine but also to its neighbours and the whole of Europe, Szijjarto said in the high-level open debate on Children and Armed Conflict.

Though the armed conflict is causing high inflation, an uncertainty around energy supplies and even threatens a global food crisis, “those who lose the most because of this war are definitely the children”, Szijjarto said. Children “definitely lose the enthusiasm of their childhood, and their entire future, or at least a big part of their future, is at risk”, he said, adding that the war causes “enormous physical and mental suffering for the children”.

The minister noted that Hungary has taken in 840,000 refugees since the outbreak of the war, most of whom are mothers and children who have had to leave their fathers behind because of the conscription rules in force in Ukraine.

Hungary is using every means available to help the refugees, having launched its biggest ever humanitarian operation, Szijjarto said, adding that Hungary takes in and looks after all refugees.

In recent months, more than 2,000 Ukrainian children have attended Hungarian kindergartens and schools, and this option will be available to them in the next school year as well, Szijjarto said. The government has also ensured special medical treatment for 130 children, and has offered scholarships to 1,000 Ukrainian students to study at Hungarian higher education institutions, he said.

“What is the solution to end the suffering of these children?” Definitely it’s one word: it is peace,” Szijjarto said.

“So as a representative of a neighbouring country to Ukraine, I’d like to urge the international community to do everything . to create peace again in our region,” he said. “We must do our best in order to establish an immediate ceasefire and to launch peace talks.”