The Diplomat
The Hungarian Embassy held last week a working breakfast followed by a discussion programme on Hungarian migration policy, which took place at the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid.
The event was attended by Ferenc Dancs (pictured), Hungarian Under-Secretary of State for Migration-related Challenges, who was in Madrid to participate in the Rabat Process meeting held in the Spanish capital.
Subsequently, the Hungarian Undersecretary held a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation with the Director of the Human Rights Office, José Fernando Fernández Aguayo, in which they discussed mainly multilateral and human rights issues,
At the CEU San Pablo University, the Hungarian model was presented to a Spanish and Hungarian audience. Undersecretary Dancs presented the recent measures taken by the Hungarian government in the field of asylum and Hungary’s response to the migratory aspects of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, Ferenc Dancs pointed out, there are few forums to learn about the content of Hungarian migration policy, despite the fact that we are currently carrying out the largest humanitarian operation in our history. Hungary has less than 10 million inhabitants, but the number of refugees who have so far arrived from Ukraine has already reached 700,000. We are a neighbouring country of Ukraine, it is our duty to welcome those people fleeing the war. At the same time, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between the migration wave of 2015 and the current refugee crisis, both in terms of the causes, as well as the people affected.”
“According to international law,” the Hungarian undersecretary concluded, “refugees fleeing war have the right to enter and stay in the first safe country. However, between Syria and Hungary there are at least seven safe countries. So in the case of the people who arrived with the 2015 migration wave, who passed through at least six or seven safe countries, we are talking about a completely different situation.”
