Hungary demands resignation of UN human rights chief | News | DW | 27.02.2018

We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration.

More info OK
  1. Inhalt
  2. Navigation
  3. Weitere Inhalte
  4. Metanavigation
  5. Suche
  6. Choose from 30 Languages
Advertisement

News

Hungary demands resignation of UN human rights chief

Hungary's foreign minister has called for the resignation of the UN human rights chief for singling out Prime Minister Viktor Orban as one of the "xenophobes and racists" seeking "ethnic, national or racial purity."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein (Reuters/D. Balibouse)

Hungary has demanded that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein (photo), step down from his post following a speech on rising xenophobia in Europe in which he singled out Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The Hungarian government deemed Zeid's comments about Orban's anti-immigration rhetoric to be "unacceptable" and "inappropriate."

"Xenophobes and racists in Europe are casting off any sense of embarrassment — like Hungary's Viktor Orban who earlier this month said 'we do not want our color ... to be mixed in with others'," the Jordanian UN diplomat said at the opening of the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He was referencing a speech that Orban gave on February 8 when he said Hungary does not "want to be a multicolored country."

"Do they not know what happens to minorities in societies where leaders seek ethnic, national or racial purity?" Zeid asked.

Read more: Is Europe doing enough to protect human rights?

  • Viktor Orban in Brussels (Reuters/F. Lenoir)

    Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments

    'Muslim invaders'

    "We don't see these people as Muslim refugees. We see them as Muslim invaders," Orban said in a recent interview with German daily Bild newspaper. The 54-year-old prime minister of Hungary added: "We believe that a large number of Muslims inevitably leads to parallel societies, because Christian and Muslim society will never unite." Multiculturalism, he said, "is only an illusion."

  • Viktor Orban speaks during his state-of-the-nation address in Budapest

    Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments

    'You wanted the migrants, we didn't'

    When asked by Bild whether it was fair for Germany to accept hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants while Hungary accepted none, Orban responded: "The difference is, you wanted the migrants, and we didn't." Migration, he said, threatens the "sovereignty and cultural identity" of Hungary.

  • Hungary - Jobbik election poster with Viktor Orban and Lorinc Meszaros (picture alliance/dpa/AP Photo/P. Gorondi)

    Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments

    'Migration is poison'

    It was not the first time the Hungarian leader has framed migration as a problem for his country. In 2016, he said that Hungary "does not need a single migrant for the economy to work, or the population to sustain itself, or for the country to have a future." He added: "for us migration is not a solution but a problem ... not medicine but a poison, we don’t need it and won’t swallow it.”

  • Angela Merkel and Viktor Orban in Budapest (Reuters/L. Balogh)

    Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments

    'Importing homophobia'

    Orban has repeatedly criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her decision to allow over a million migrants into Germany in the summer of 2015. Orban told Bild in early 2016: "If you take masses of non-registered immigrants from the Middle East into your country, you are importing terrorism, crime, anti-Semitism, and homophobia."

  • Donald Tusk and Viktor Orban (Getty Images/AFP/S. Bozon)

    Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments

    'All terrorists are basically migrants'

    Orban has also repeatedly criticized the EU for trying to get member states to share refugees based on national quotas. In a 2015 interview with POLITICO, he suggested the bloc's leaders instead focus more on strengthening the EU's external border. In the same interview, he said: "Of course it’s not accepted, but the factual point is that all the terrorists are basically migrants."

  • Viktor Orban and Ewa Kopacz (Reuters/K. Pempel)

    Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments

    'Parallel societies'

    Orban has found allies in other right-wing governments in eastern Europe such as Poland that also oppose the EU's refugee policies. In an interview with Spanish TV channel Intereconomia in 2015, Orban raised fears about integrating Muslim migrants in the EU when he said: "What sort of Europe do we want to have? Parallel societies? Muslim communities living together with the Christian community?"

    Author: Alexander Pearson


Hungary: 'This is simply unacceptable'

The comments drew the indignation of the Hungarian government. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that it was "obvious that Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein must step down. He is unworthy of his position."

Szijjarto said the UN rights chief had "accused Hungary [of being] comparable to the worst dictatorships of the last century."

"It is very inappropriate that UN officials accuse member states and democratically elected leaders," he said, insisting that "this is simply unacceptable."

Hungary's top diplomat defended his government's position on the issue, saying that migration was a dangerous trend that needed to be stopped because it fostered terrorism and threatened Hungary's cultural identity.

Read more: Eastern Europe — Democratic principles on the edge

Szijjarto insisted that the UN and other international organizations had no business telling Hungary who it should allow into the country, or that it should not criminalize illegal migration. "Violating borders must be considered as crime and must be sanctioned," he said.

The UN human rights chief's current tenure expires in August, and he has already indicated that he will not be seeking a second term.

Watch video 00:52

Hungary's foreign minister: 'Migration is dangerous'

 

jcg/cmk (dpa, AP)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

DW recommends

Is Europe doing enough to protect human rights?

A lack of EU solidarity over the refugee crisis has placed an "intolerable burden" on Italy and Greece, says Michael O'Flaherty, director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. He meets Michel Friedman on Conflict Zone. (15.02.2018)  

Eastern Europe: Democratic principles on the edge

Almost three decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain, constitutional democracy is increasingly coming under pressure in the former socialist states of Eastern and Southern Europe. What are the reasons for this? (29.12.2017)  

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein will not seek second term rather than 'bend knee'

Rather than bend "the knee in supplication," UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has told staff he will not seek another term. He has spoken out against both US President Trump and the European Union. (21.12.2017)  

Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments

Hungary's right-wing prime minister has been one of Europe's leading voices against migration into the EU. Unafraid of controversy, he has described migration as an "invasion" and migrants as a "poison." (09.01.2018)  

WWW links

DW newsletter  

Audios and videos on the topic

Hungary's foreign minister: 'Migration is dangerous'  

Poland, Hungary condemn EU migration policy  

Related content

Bildkombo Viktor Orban und Aung San Suu Kyi

Opinion: In cozying up to Orban, Suu Kyi falls even further from grace 07.06.2019

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi and Hungary's Viktor Orban have discussed their mutual fear of Muslims. In doing so, the Burmese leader has again shown she has lost the moral standing she once enjoyed, says Verena Hölzl.

Migranten auf der Balkanroute

UN: Hungary depriving rejected asylum-seekers of food 03.05.2019

The UN has accused Hungary of illegally denying food for up to five days to failed asylum-seekers. Budapest replied it "is not responsible" for people whose asylum requests have been denied.

Palästina Demonstration an der Grenze zu Israel

UN to step up human rights monitoring at Gaza protests 22.03.2019

A United Nations report found Israel's shooting of demonstrators could amount to crimes against humanity. The Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Israeli accountability, but the European vote was divided.

Advertisement

News Bulletin

Top stories in 90 seconds

DW News presents the most important news — in brief, quickly and up-to-date.