Although the creation of peace in the war in Ukraine is the task and opportunity of the great powers, solidarity belongs to all of us, and Hungary will continue to take part in this solidarity, emphasized the State Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office for Church and Ethnic Relations on Tuesday in Budapest.
Miklós Soltész, who is also the president of the National Humanitarian Coordination Council, announced at the presentation of the Hungarian chapter of the Regional Refugee Coordination Framework 2023: Hungary has been participating in organized assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the war, and then cited the UN resolution urging a just and lasting peace.
The presentation of the framework plan in Hungary was organized by the Central European Representation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Miklós Soltész reminded that last year the six Hungarian charitable organizations were able to implement aid programs for Ukrainian refugees in Ukraine and Hungary with HUF 3 billion support from the Hungarian government, and Hungarian donors collected another HUF one billion in donations. He also touched on the fact that the UNHCR signed a HUF 2.5 billion support contract with the six charitable organizations.
He talked about how the Hungarian government and Hungarian aid organizations provided help to those fleeing the war. Until the last week, more than 1,70,000 refugees from Ukraine arrived in Hungary, of which they were able to help more than 500,000 people in some way, he said.
The Secretary of State praised the Transcarpathian Hungarians who volunteered to break down the language barriers between the refugees and their helpers from the beginning of the war, and then emphasized the importance of spiritual assistance in addition to financial assistance. At the same time, Miklós Soltész emphasized that Hungary will continue to do its part in solidarity.
Roland Schilling, the chief representative of the Central European Representation of the UNHCR, spoke about the fact that Europe is experiencing the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War: about a third of the Ukrainian population had to leave their homes, six million of them sought refuge within the country, and eight million crossed the Ukrainian border. Roland Schilling also reported that the UN allocated 3.9 billion dollars to help the Ukrainians locally, in addition to targeted support for seven so-called host countries, including Hungary.
Adriány Kincső, the executive director of the United Way, the partner organization of the Regional Refugee Coordination Framework, highlighted the importance of the cooperation and said that their organization helped the refugees in Ukraine with 4.3 million dollars. They remain committed, he added, to supporting refugees and will continue to be an active part of providing assistance.
In a statement delivered to MTI, the UNCHR wrote that the humanitarian partner organizations in Hungary need 63 million dollars to support the refugees in Ukraine
. intends to help refugees in ten countries between December 1.7 billion. The action strategy is based on the cooperation of several organizations from several sectors, and the financial need covers the work of more than 240 organizations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia, they wrote.
You can read the full article in Magyar Hírlap
Picture: Dániel Kiss