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SZIJJÁRTÓ URGES EFFORT AGAINST RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN SYRIA

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, at an event in New York, called for a greater global effort to combat the persecution of Christians in Syria and to help communities that have been driven away from the region to return to their homeland. Addressing an accompanying event of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, Szijjártó said the issue of religious persecution was not being addressed often enough. The minister slammed as “unacceptable” the approach that “hatred against Christians is the last acceptable form of discrimination”. He said four out of five people persecuted for their religion today are Christians. He said it was a realistic threat in the Middle East and Syria in particular that Christians would be driven away from the region entirely, despite the fact that they have lived there for a millennium.

As a Christian country, Hungary feels a responsibility to protect persecuted Christians, Szijjártó said. He noted that Hungary’s government has created a separate state secretariat dedicated to monitoring the situation of Christians in need throughout the world.

The government has set aside 15 million euros for helping to rebuild the destroyed homes and schools of persecuted Christians and strengthening their communities, he said. The minister noted as an example that Hungary has made significant donations to the Greek Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church in Aleppo. Szijjártó said the UN and other international organisations had a duty to play a role in helping displaced Christian communities return to their homeland.