Hungarian minister: UN should ensure protection to ethnic minorities’ identity

The United Nations should ensure protection to the identity of national minorities, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in New York on Wednesday.

Speaking at a conference on the Declaration of Minority Rights at the United Nations General Assembly session now under way, Szijjártó said protecting one’s national identity should be recognised as a fundamental human right at the international level.

A statement from the foreign ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying that protection for ethnic minority rights was a central component of Hungary’s foreign policy, for which the government was ready to fight at international forums.

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Noting that one third of the Hungarian nation lived in communities outside Hungary, Szijjártó said “the principle of reciprocity should apply in this field”, and called for fully respecting the rights of ethnic Hungarians “just as Hungary treats ethnic minorities living in the country”.

Ensuring the rights of ethnic minorities is an international rather than a national responsibility, Szijjártó said, calling for international guarantees to ensure that minorities could preserve their identity. He noted that national identity did not always coincide with citizenship, adding that those belonging to ethnic minorities should “always be considered constituents of the society they live in”.

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Source: MTI