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H.E. Ambassador Katalin Annamária Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the united Nations addressed the member states at the Security Council open debate held on 23 February 2015 on the “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Reflect on History, Reaffirm the Strong Commitment to the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations”.

In her first-ever statement made in the Security Council during its open debate held on 23 February 2015 on the “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Reflect on History, Reaffirm the Strong Commitment to the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations”, H. E. Ambassador Katalin Annamária Bogyay stressed the need for true dialogue within the UN, the importance of learning from our past, as well as the need to look for new methods in order to succeed in peacemaking. 

Ambassador Bogyay recalled that the founding mothers and fathers of the UN created the UN not only to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” but also to achieve more: human rights, rule of law, development.

She pointed out that while the Organization had its “success stories”, e.g. it had stabilized the security situation during a “bipolar world”; the world was now in turmoil and in need of “new enlightenment”.  Yet the Security Council and the international community seemed paralyzed. 

Ambassador Bogyay stressed that failure to act only prolonged human suffering and a high price, in the form of lost lives, lost generations, lost hopes and lost futures, would be paid for such inaction. 

Our incapacity to live up to the challenges we face would undermine the trust and belief that people around the world have in the UN. Ambassador Bogyay concluded that the UN must be open to new ideas in order to effectively implement the principles of the Charter.

To read the full statement delivered by Ambassador Bogyay, please click here.

H.E. Ambassador Katalin Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations delivered a statement at the inter-governmental negotiations on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters, held on 11 February 2015.

In her statement Ambassador Bogyay emphasized the need of open dialogue and underlined the importance of the new phase of negotiations and the role of the Chair in the reform process. Hungary is fully committed to the Security Council reform which should be reached through text based negotiations and should remain a Member State driven process.

To read the full statement delivered by Ambassador Bogyay, please click here.

H.E. Katalin Annamária Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations delivered a statement at the first of five high-level debates related to means of implementation of the Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda.

In line with the theme of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly: “Delivering on and implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda”, the President of the General Assembly, Sam Kutesa convened five high-level thematic debates for Member States and stakeholders. The aim was to provide a platform for in-depth exchange of views in order to contribute towards the formulation of the Post-2015 development Agenda.

The first of the high-level thematic debates was held 9-10 February 2015 and focused on key issues related to means of implementation of the Agenda, with a view to identifying key elements of a renewed and strengthened global partnership for sustainable development.

In her statement delivered in the panel discussion Ambassador Bogyay focused on the role of parliaments, cities and local authorities in the implementation of the Agenda. Ambassador Bogyay then highlighted that without the contribution of the leaders of these institutions the effectuation of the Post-2015 Agenda will remain an abstract vision. She encouraged the participants to translate this abstract vision into a digestive, inspiring way for the politicians and the voters at the same time.

To read the full statement delivered by Ambassador Bogyay, please click here.

In his statement Ambassador Dr. Zsolt Hetesy, Deputy Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations, announced a financial contribution of approximately 93.000 US dollars.

At a Pledging Event held on 5 February 2015 Hungary commended the central role of UNICEF in providing assistance to children all over the world, and announced a financial contribution of 25 million Hungarian forints, approximately 93.000 US dollars, to the core resources of UNICEF for the year 2015.

Thereby, Hungary maintains its level of contribution to the core resources from previous years. Hungary also supported UNICEF’s activities in various humanitarian crises in 2014, including the ones in Syria, the Central African Republic and the Philippines.

With a stocktaking exercise, the international community has started its quest to design a politically binding document containing the Post-2015 development agenda.

The January meeting of intergovernmental negotiations made good progress in mapping out the various views on four elements that the document would contain: political declaration, goals targets and indicators; means of implementation; monitoring and evaluation.

Member States have confirmed that the proposal of the Open Working Group contains an ambitious package of goals and targets that is transformative, universal, with a sensitive balance among the three pillars of development. States have strongly preferred not to reopen the package.

Hungary has participated actively in the negotiations calling for an efficient, well-functioning international system in a harmonious, dignified and sustainable world. The general statement highlighted priorities such as water, sanitation, education, human rights, the empowerment of women and children as drivers of development. 

On goals and targets, Hungary supported certain important proposals made in the Secretary General’s Synthesis Report. Hungary also hopes for short, pointed and understandable political declaration that has a common and motivating message for all. Since the development agenda is about all people, who will have to be captivated by it, take ownership, and carry it out, its effective and global communication is of utmost importance.

Hungarian statement delivered by H.E. Ambassador Zsolt Hetesy Deputy Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations on “Inclusive Development in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security” during the Security Council open debate, held on 19 January 2015.

In a statement delivered during the Security Council open debate held on 19 January 2015 on “Inclusive Development in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security”, Hungary noted that as Co-Chair of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, it worked with Member States to ensure that the outcome document explicitly recognized the linkage among peace, inclusion, sustainable development, justice and accountability.

Hungary emphasized that empowering women was in each society’s best interest and, as a result, gender equality was reflected in national policy decisions. Regarding the Roma population, the statement noted that the Hungarian National Social Inclusion Strategy had set forth a comprehensive approach with projects addressing child welfare, education, health care and housing, to name a few.

The Hungarian Government had a zero-tolerance policy against anti-Semitism, and was an active promoter of interreligious and intercultural dialogue and cooperation. Hungary also reminded that education was one of the most powerful weapons against discrimination and inequality.

Ambassador Katalin Bogyay participated at the Barbershop Conference organized by the Permanent Missions of Iceland and Suriname on 14-15 January 2015.

The Conference formed part of the ongoing efforts at the United Nations to engage men in the discourse about gender equality. Launched at the United Nations in September 2014, the HeForShe campaign highlights that gender equality is not only a women’s issue and aims to engage men and boys as agents of change for the achievement of gender equality by encouraging them to take action against inequalities faced by women and girls. Since its launch, over 200,000 men joined the movement from around the world.

To demonstrate their support, male representatives of the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the UN signed up for the campaign on the margins of the Barbershop Conference.

Intervention by H.E. Ambassador Katalin Bogyay Permanent Representative on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council on 3 April 2017

Excellencies, Dear Co-Chairs,

Dear Colleagues,

Hungary reiterates its support for all efforts aiming at finding practical solutions achieve progress at the IGN process. With each meeting let us see how we can narrow down differences and identify areas of consensus on the issues at stake. In this regard we welcome the document circulated by the Co-Chairs yesterday, however we still insist on the importance of starting text-based negotiations.

We also welcome the proposal of the distinguished Co-Facilitators that aims to continue in depth discussions on the linkages between the two issues that are especially important from the perspective of my country as well as the Eastern European Regional Group, namely the categories of membership and the question of regional representation.

Even though these two clusters were not mentioned in the elements paper prepared during the last session by the PR of Luxembourg, in our view convergences can be found in these two very issues, some of which are underlined among the issues for further consideration circulated by the Co-chairs.

All interventions we heard so far throughout the process agree on the fact that enlargement is timely and warranted in a way, that reflects the political, and socio- economic changes of the last 70 years.

The same general agreement is there concerning regional representation: to our knowledge a fairer and more equitable representation is in the interest of all member states, as failure to achieve that would deal a (further) blow to the credibility of the Security Council

Concerning the first issue Hungary continues to support enlargement in both categories. However, should it find consensus, Hungary does not exclude an interim solution, which could also be temporary in nature, until discussions on further enlargement in permanent membership come to a satisfactory conclusion. It is important to remember that decisions on the enlargement in the permanent or

other new proposed categories shall not jeopardize enlargement in the non- permanent category, which is uniformly supported by the international community.

Enlargement will necessarily mandate a complete overhaul of the Security Council’s working methods. We believe there is more convergence than divergence of ideas in this field. Hungary supports all proposals that ensure that the new Council is fit for purpose, discharging its functions in a more effective, efficient, accountable, coherent and transparent manner.

On regional representation Hungary supports a simple and understandable enlargement model that must be based on Paragraph 1 of Article 23 of the UN Charter, that is, “equitable regional distribution” of seats. Our guiding principle should remain that enlargement must continue to be based on the regional groups and must observe their equitable representation. This does not mean however that other supplementary models cannot be entertained, such as seats for sub-regional and cross-regional groups, notably the Arab Group, small and medium sized countries, for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). We agree with the urgent need to address the issue of the under-representation of the developing countries, especially Africa and SIDS. We note that all proposals received so far contain acceptable elements and, therefore, can be utilized as basis for further discussions.

The final solution does not necessarily have to be one of the proposals, but rather, a combination of their elements.

To conclude, Hungary reiterates its call for a second non-permanent seat for the Eastern European Group. The membership of the EEG has grown from 10 counties in 1965 to the current 23 Member States.

I thank you for your attention. 

Intervention by H.E. Ambassador Katalin Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN at the Side-event on intergenerational relations in an aging world, on 4 April 2017.

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to our side event, entitled “Intergenerational Relations in an Ageing World”, co-organised with the International Federation for Family Development. I would like to thank Mr Ignacio Socias, Director of IFFD for partnering with us on this very timely and relevant topic on the occasion of the 50th session of the Commission on Population and Development.
Today, we are going to talk about generations: the older generation, who have the wisdom and knowledge to share, but whom are often left behind; the young generation, who aim for achieving their full potential, but often do not have the background to do so; and finally parents, the middle-aged generation, who have double responsibilities in making sure that both the old and young generation are cared for.
These generations are held together by the family. The family is the smallest, most basic and strongest social community and, as such, it is the founding unit of the society. It is the most important source of solidarity for its members. The importance of family, and more generally, intergenerational support and solidarity lies in its ability to assist, care for and empower its members, as well as provide them protection against social exclusion and marginalisation.
Previously, generations living together provided for this support and solidarity for each other. Generations were sharing sharing knowledge and experience, and rely on each other for care responsibilities and other forms of support, thus creating reciprocal, circular relations between generations. Nowadays, as the double-income, nuclear family model becomes more and more widespread, parents, and especially women face an increased double responsibility to provide care for their children and older members of the family, often living separately, even in considerable distances from each other. In order to fill this gap, the State and private actors have an increased responsibility in providing for these forms of assistance, and also in facilitating inter-generational transfers on a macro level.
I will talk about two main actors, with different needs within this system: mothers and the elderly.
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In order to enable parents, and especially women, to balance their multiple responsibilities of work and unpaid care for their children and the elderly at the same time, the Hungarian government introduced different fiscal or other family-friendly measures.
Different childcare allowances are designed to financially support parents throughout the early childhood of their children. Until the child reaches 6 months of age, the child care fee provides 70% of last year’s daily average gross earnings of the mother. In addition, if the mother decides to go back to the labour market when her child reaches 6 months old, she will continue to receive an allowance, called Child Care Fee Extra, besides her salary. There is another child care allowance designed for the caretaker parent between the child’s 6 months to 2 years of age, and another, up to the child’s third birthday. For parents raising three or more underage children, a child raising support is available until the youngest child becomes 8 years old.
Also, a new, demand-driven daycare nursery system is being developed, giving families an opportunity to choose among the different new forms of daycare services which are nursery, mini-nursery, workplace nursery and family nursery.
It is equally important to facilitate access to the labor market for the most vulnerable groups throughout generations. The Job Protection Action Plan offers allowances to employers recruiting and employing the most vulnerable worker groups, including workers below 25 and above 55 years old, as well as parents with young children.
Now, let me turn to another constituency of intergenerational relationships: the elderly.
Today, most developed countries face the phenomenon of demographic ageing. In Hungary, during the last 25 years, the proportion of the population of and above the age of 60 increased from one fifth to one fourth, and will reach one third of the population by 2060.
There are multiple challenges that the elderly have to face: financial insecurity, health problems, marginalisation and isolation. Elderly women are especially endangered in this regard. Women’s life expectancy is 4-7 years higher than that of men; above the age of 70, the majority of women live alone, and the gender pay gap is also reflected in pensions. In consequence, older women are more exposed to the risk of poverty and isolation than men. On a macro level, an ageing population puts increased pressure on pension and health care systems, as well as employment.
The Hungarian Government considers older persons as valuable members of the society and important sources of knowledge and experience. Our programmes and initiatives aim to ensure a meaningful and healthy ageing in dignity, and to enable families as well as the society as a whole to benefit from the active presence of the elderly. With a view to the above, the Government, in line with the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, determined the following objectives concerning older persons.
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The first task is to enhance the financial security of older persons. In this regard, a reform of the pension system was undertaken in order to ensure the stability of the system, and preservation of the purchasing power of pensions. The Hungarian pension system has a compensatory effect on incomes: the 15% gender pension gap is lower than the 18% wage gap, and way lower than the average 40% difference recorded in the EU. In addition, the so-called widow's pension amounts to 30% of the deceased spouse's pension, thus slightly compensating for the financial disadvantages deriving from the departure of the spouse.
The second task is to support the preservation of senior citizens' physical-mental health and well-being. In this regard, special home nursing care and home hospice have been introduced two years ago, defined as population-focused basic healthcare activities. Appropriate screening, awareness-raising and the promotion of older persons’ active participation in prevention are also key.
Besides financial security and health, another key area is promoting active ageing and inter-generational connectedness. Due to changes in demographic patterns, the elderly, on the other hand, has less exposure to intergenerational interactions, although it is still an important aspect of the life of retired persons: around 40% of men and 55% of women of retirement age play a significant role in looking after their grandchildren. Recognising these tendencies, the Government introduced the Women 40 Program, the so-called “grandmothers’ pension”, allowing women with at least 40 years of eligibility period, including gainful activity or childraising, to retire. This enables them to assist in caring for their grandchildren, thus providing parents the opportunity to re-integrate into the world of work and continue the professional career. Hitherto, a total of 186,000 women have used this option.
In Hungary, intergenerational relationships and active ageing is also supported on the societal level, by local authorities and civil organisations. These programs aim to provide information, reduce discrimination, preserve independence, and help maintain the sense of usefulness in the society. Let me share some best practices with you in this regard.
Providing for opportunities for voluntary work for older persons enables them to remain socially and mentally active as well as becoming involved in community life. In 2014, 35% of people of the age group between 55-74 was involved in voluntary work.
The Senior-Friendly Municipality Award is given by the Government, on the International Day of Older Persons, to local authorities actively engaging with elderly citizens to improve their quality of life or community life, or promote collaboration between generations. Between 2004 and 2015, the prize was awarded to 75 local authorities. The Prize for the Elderly is awarded to professional experts doing outstanding work for older persons.
In the scope of the memoir writing projects (2011-2013), 315 memoir writers were awarded a prize, and the winning works were collected in 3 anthologies, and the authors had the opportunity to meet the public at events organised all over the country. Between 2013 and 2015, cultural meetings were organised on two occasions for people above the age of 60
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(Cross-border cultural and art contest for older persons), activating about 10 thousand people, and enabling the national finalists to perform all around the country.
Moreover, the “Family-friendly Country” project supported 94 value-creating activities jointly carried out by older and younger generations, side by side, such as cultural, leisure and educational activities and workshops. Concerning life-long learning, an increasing number of senior training centres are being established, offering training courses for older persons. Senior training forums, linked to major institutes of higher education, are becoming increasingly more wide-spread and more popular: it takes place at 26 further locations outside the institute, with the participation of 3 600 retired students, free of charge.
Recognising the role of the media in changing attitudes of the society, the Media for the Generations Award in 2016 is focused on the theme of “the irreplaceable role of the older generation in small communities”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All these policies contribute to the establishment of a family-oriented society, in which different generations live together in respect and consideration for each other, raising social awareness with a view to ensuring a better quality of life for older persons.
I really hope that this short presentation gave a useful insight into what states can do to promote intergenerational relations and support, and I look forward to hearing from all my fellow panellists about their ideas and points of view.
Thank you for your attention.

Please find attached the latest issue of the Bulletin of the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the United Nations, which recaptures the finest moments of our work of 2015 and presents the highlights of 2016.

We hereby wish you a happy new year!

Intervention by H.E. Ambassador Katalin Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN at the Third Thematic Meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly: The selection and appointment of the Secretary-General and other executive heads, on 10 April 2017.

Distinguished Co-Chairs,

I would like thank you for organizing this thematic debate on the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General and other executive heads of the Organization. Hungary aligns itself with the statements made by the ACT Group and the European Union and I wish to add the following comments in our national capacity.

Dear Co-Chairs,

Unfortunately, there are too few moments during our work here at the UN when we are able to look back with great satisfaction to what we have achieved.

The selection-process of the new Secretary-General is however truly one of these moments, a good starting point for all the Member States as well as the

Organization. We should not forget ourselves that together we were able to create a more transparent and inclusive selection-process that resulted in finding the best man for the job. This should serve as an inspiration for all of us, especially during difficult times when hard decisions are necessary. The consensual decision on both resolutions 69/231 and 70/305 clearly show us: If there is a will, there is a way.

Now it is our duty to make sure both resolutions` full implementation and if possible their further improvement so that they became the unquestionable norm during future selection-processes.

With regards to further improvements we strongly echo the ACT Group`s call for enhanced communication between the Security Council and the General Assembly. Hungary underlines the need for greater transparency concerning the results of the straw polls and welcomes in this regard the recent summary and recommendations of the PR of Japan on the selection-process. We think that putting a deadline for the applications is very important

Luckily we have some time to conduct thorough discussions and to find the best possible solutions for the remaining issues of future Secretary-General selections.

Perhaps it is more timely to talk about our expectations regarding the selection processes of the future executive heads of the Organization and I say this not only for Hungary but for all other Eastern European countries.

In this regard we reiterate our belief that geographical rotation, gender balance, and best qualifications, are equally important and should be the guiding principles when selecting executive heads of the Organization. This is about the image that this organization will project to the world with regard to equality, diversity, equity and adequate representation.

As the home country of the first UN Women Planet 50-50 gender Champion of Europe, (Chess Grand Master Judit Polgár) and as a member of the Group of

Friends of Gender Parity, as well as personally, Hungary commends the SG’s efforts towards achieving gender parity in the UN. We welcome the SG’s appointments of several highly qualified female senior officials, and the continuous encouragement towards States to nominate female candidates to certain posts in order to widen the pool of applicants. We encourage the SG to continue this approach and to explore what additional measures could be taken to ensure the transparency and professionalism of such processes. For Hungary the main message is that, we should fight against stereotypes.

Hungary also shares the view that no State should have an exclusive right to fill specific posts. Senior UN officials should be selected by the SG independently, in a competitive process, and on the basis of the expertise of the candidates, while due regard being given to fair geographical distribution and to gender balance. We emphasize again the importance of geographical representation in the high- level positions.

In order to make sure that the recently opened senior positions reach the best qualified candidates we actively promote them through our channels and we encourage other Member States to do so.

Distinguished Co-Chairs, I thank You. 

Statement by H.E. Ambassador Katalin Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN, at the Circle of Women Ambassadors Luncheon, on 10 April 2017.

Your Excellency Executive Director,
Ms Senior Adviser,
Mr Deputy Secretary General,
Dear Fellow Ambassadors, Dear Friends,

It is a great honor and pleasure to organise today’s Circle of Women Ambassadors gathering together with UN Women, and I am honoured and proud to be able to welcome Her Excellency Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and the distinguished delegation from UN Women here, at the Hungarian mission, to discuss the role of women in prevention.

Hungary, and personally I have also been supporting the work of UN Women since its foundation. I had started working with its first Director, Former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, in my former capacity as President of the General Conference of UNESCO. During that presidency, gender equality was one of my priorities for the two-year period – at that time, there was no mention of the SDG Target 5, of course.

The Salon itself that I launched in 2015, in the name of Bridge building and cultural exchange, is also part of this effort. I organised the first Circle of Women Ambassadors in March 2015, because I think it is important for all the women Permanents Representatives and Ambassadors to meet and get to know each other. Last fall, President of the General Assembly Peter Thomson was the special guest of the event, and we talked about SDG 5 and the Global push for gender equality.

Today, we are going to discuss the role of women in preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention and sustaining peace.

This is a multi-faceted issue, because there is a wide array of field where women has a key role to play, through their knowledge and experience, and also their – our – capacity of bridge building, understanding, listening, and creating a real dialogue among the parties, be it in a conflict situation or within the UN.

It is also crucial to go beyond the protection of women and girls in conflict situations, and putting women’s meaningful participation and leadership in decision-making processes at all levels to the heart of peacebuilding efforts, throughout the conflict cycle, because sustainable peace can only be achieved with women.

Besides armed conflicts, women have to face multiple other threats, including human trafficking or modern day slavery. Hungary plays an active role in promoting global action to tackle these challenges.

And prevention goes beyond the issue of peace and security.

Women play a pivotal role in water diplomacy. Hungary is co-moderating, with Tajikistan, a working-level dialogue on improving the integration and coordination of the work of the UN on the water-related goals and targets under the sustainable development pillar, with particular emphasis on the 2030 Agenda, and my priority is to focus on women within the water agenda.

The fight against stereotypes plays a key role in this respect. Where women are respected, valued parts of a society, where they have a meaningful role to play and their achievements are appreciated, the whole society benefits from it. For example, the promotion of women in science is a key issue. I am proud to be the patron of the “women in science” movement at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, aimed at strengthening the participation and promotion of women in research and the academic field. Every year, we attribute the award “Women in Science Excellence Award” to the most outstanding female members of the scientific community.

I always invite outstanding women, role models to our gatherings. I am happy to have Chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár, who has been nominated UN Women Global Champion Planet 50- 50 last year, for being an example for women and girls whose dreams are to excel in a male- dominated field.

Prevention is also possible through the power of art. The Hungarian Mission held an exhibition entitled “Painted Dreams” during the high-level week of CSW, presenting the artwork of six Hungarian Roma Female artists. These extraordinary women used their talent to fight the multiple discrimination they are facing, and promote inclusion and peace in their community.

Dear Colleagues,

What we promote globally, we have to promote among ourselves, here, at the UN as well, and we are all proud to have great women Ambassadors taking the initiative in this regard. Gender parity has to be at the heart of our agendas, and we are grateful for H.E. María Emma Mejía Vélez, the PR of Colombia, for taking leadership on this issue. Another important initiative is the Gender Champion Initiative led by Switzerland - I am proud to say that at the Hungarian Mission, the majority of the diplomats are women, and we make sure to have women on all panels organized by our Mission. Moreover, we stand up for balancing work responsibilities, life and family roles, and the Hungarian Government has many valuable policies in this regard.

We have great women as presidents of the Third and Fifth Committee, María Emma Mejía Vélez from Colombia, and H.E. Inga Rhonda King, PR of St. Vincent and the Grenadines – both of whom are among the first women elected as presidents of these committees.

H.E. Ms. Gillian Bird from Australia is co-chairing the General Assembly and ECOSOC alignment on 2030 Agenda consultations. H.E. Mrs. Lana Zaki Nusseibeh from the United Arab Emirates, who unfortunately cannot be here today, is the President of UN-Women Executive Board for 2017.

Moreover, the co-moderators of the review of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons are Mrs. Catherine Boura from Greece and Ms. Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani from Qatar. The main voice at Friday’s commemoration event of the tutsi genocide was Ms. Valentine Rugwabiza of Rwanda.

Finally, I would like to seize this opportunity to thank, in my capacity as chair of the Committee on Conferences, for Ms. Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary General for General Assembly and Conference Management for her work. Also, dear Cristina Gallach, we have organized together the 2016 Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the 2016 UN Gala evening - thank you for your outstanding work.

In conclusion, the world has to pay more and more attention to what women ambassadors do. Because they act with focus, intellect, professional expertise and care, and they are not afraid of the human voice. If we all unite our knowledge, force and talent, we can make the world listen to us and remember us.

Thank you. 

Hungary has been reelected by ECOSOC to the Executive Board of World Food Programme (WFP) on 19 April 2017 until the end of 2020.

The UN Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC) reelected Hungary with unanimity to the E-list of the Executive Board of World Food Programme (WFP) on 19 April 2017.

Hungary has been an active member of the WFP Executive Board since 2015. The current vote extends Hungary’s assignment in the Board until 31 December 2020.

Besides Hungary, the membership of China, Guatemala, Japan and the United Kingdom has equally been endorsed by ECOSOC. 

The Group of Friends meeting of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations was held on 19 April in New York to discuss the role of Interreligious and Intercultural dialogue processes as a tool for preventing conflict and post-conflict peacebuilding.

The session dedicated to preventive diplomacy and was opened by the remarks of UNAOC High Representative to the UN, H.E. Al-Nasser. He quoted Secretary-General Guterres’ statement as he stressed that “the best prevention of conflict and for the other negative impacts on societies is sustainable and inclusive development where people are able to see their identities valued and feel that diversity is seen as richness rather than a threat”.

Group of Friends members discussed how the UNAOC and member states could work towards integrating prevention to the three pillars of the United Nations and shared their initiatives.

In the national statement, Hungary emphasized the role of women in preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention and sustaining peace. It is crucial to put women’s meaningful participation and leadership in decision-making processes at all levels to the heart of peacebuilding efforts, throughout the conflict cycle, because sustainable peace can only be achieved with women.

The representative of Hungary expressed strong support the intention of the Alliance to contribute to the strengthening the activities of the UN on preventive diplomacy.

Please find the full statement here.

On 25 April, the President of the General Assembly convened a High-Level meeting to mark the 10th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

The three UN mechanisms on the rights of indigenous peoples, representatives of indigenous peoples and member states gathered to take stock of the achievements of the 10 years since the adoption of the Declaration. During the opening segment, participants were addressed by the representative of the President of the General Assembly; President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia Evo Morales Amya, Senior Advisor to the Secretary General H.E. Ms Kyung-Wha Kang; Assistant Secretary General H.E. Mr Andrew Gilmour, Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Ms Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, and Chairperson of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) Albert K. Barume.

The opening segment was followed by a plenary discussion, where UN Member States as well as regional representatives of indigenuous organizations shared their insights on achievements and challenges in the implementation of the Declaration.

In her statement, H.E. Katalin Bogyay recognized the important contributions of the UN mechanisms working on indigenous issues, and commended the efforts of the Permanent Forum, the Expert Mechanism and the Special Rapporteur on indigenous Peoples.

She further elaborated on the special importance Hungary attaches to the promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples and reiterated our commitment to integrate the support to indigenous peoples in the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

To read the full statement of the Ambassador, please click here.

Your Excellency, M. Président,

Excellencies, dear Colleagues,

The 10 years anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a great opportunity to reflect on the improvement of the rights of indigenous peoples in the past decade,

Let me start by emphasizing Hungary’s recognition of the important contributions of the UN mechanisms working on indigenous issues, and commend the efforts of the Permanent Forum, the Expert Mechanism and the Special Rapporteur on indigenous Peoples.

The special importance Hungary attaches to the promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples stems from two sources.

While there are no indigenous peoples living on our soil, numerous Hungarian communities exist as national minorities in surrounding countries for long centuries. These communities in their legitimate aspirations to preserve national identity – the language, the traditions, the culture, the religion - are facing very similar challenges to those of indigenous peoples. We just understand very well what it means, how hard it can be to protect cultural identity.

The worldwide promotion of the respect for and the protection of the rights of minorities - especially in Csángó land, where the Hungarian “Magyar” language is considered by UNESCO a severely endangered language - remains one of the major priorities of the Hungarian foreign policy. Hungary ensures the rights of minorities living under its jurisdiction by providing constitutional, institutional and other legal guarantees, including autonomous self-governance and parliamentary representation. We firmly believe that our commitment to the rights of minorities serves also the cause of indigenous peoples.

In this regard, and noting that this year is also the 25th anniversary of the “UN Declaration of the Rights of Persons belonging to Minorities”, the 10th annual Human Rights Forum which is to be held in 28-29 November in Budapest, will host a panel on comparative study of the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.

Based on linguistic kinship Hungary is an active and devoted member of the Finno-Ugric movement, which held its 6th World Conference in Hungary. Last year, Iszkaszentgyörgy and Veszprém were chosen as the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture. This program aims to raise the identity of Finno-Ugric, and Samoyedic people, and to improve their cooperation.

In this context we are glad to note that the Finno-Ugric World has confirmed itself since its more than 20 year existence as a “reality with its own identity and self-reliance, institutions and diverse organizations consistently introducing and implementing in its activities the international standards”, especially in the areas of social, economic and cultural rights, both in their individual and collective dimensions, in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Let me reiterate our strong support for the outcome document of the 2014 World Conference. Hungary fully shares its objectives, with special regard to provisions aiming at securing the rights of indigenous peoples in the fields of education, health, culture, housing, capacity-building based on principles of non-discrimination, equal participation and empowerment.

Hungary welcomes the consultation process concerning the ways to enable the participation of indigenous peoples’ representatives and institutions in meetings of relevant United Nations bodies on issues affecting them and commends the work of the advisers.

Mr. President,

Hungary has the privilege to be a member of Human Rights Council until 2019 and as a former co-chair of the Open Working Group on SDGs, Hungary has a firm and longstanding dedication to contribute at all levels to the realization of this universal and ambitious roadmap, in which the Human Rights Council’s role is substantial. We are committed in integrating the support to indigenous peoples in the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

In conclusion, I would like to confirm that Hungary remains committed to taking fully into account the interests and aspirations of indigenous peoples in the international human rights mechanisms.

I thank you very much for your attention.

Your Royal Highness,
Your Excellences, Honorary Deputy Secretary General, Chef de Cabinet, Distinguished Keynote speakers, Permanent Representatives, Ambassadors, Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

As Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN, member of the Steering Committee of the World Science Forum, and as a firm believer in the power of science and multilateralism, I am honoured to address You and open today’s high- level event.

I had the pleasure to be part of the preparation of the World Science Forum starting with the very first World Science Conference in 1999 initiated by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and UNESCO with the support of the Government of Hungary. Based on the success of this first event, the Forum evolved by now into one of the most important gatherings of the scientific sphere. Since 2013, it is being hosted every four year outside Budapest. For the first time it was hosted by a foreign partner, it was taken to Rio de Janeiro in 2013 with a great success.

Throughout the years, the organization of the Forum grew into a joint venture and common thinking by UNESCO, the International Council for Science (ICSU), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan.

At the end of this year, the Forum shall take place in Amman, Jordan focusing on the theme of Science for Peace. This topic encompasses the interlinkages of all policy areas that enable sustainable social development and inclusive economic growth that should contribute to peace and security around the globe. There is no peace without development, and there cannot be any development without peace. Yet science is often less tangible in the current diplomatic scene, even though it has a huge potential in conflict prevention and resolution through building bridges among different stakeholders.

Capitalizing the meaningful contribution of science to tackling the root causes of poverty and instability, as the most important underlying sources of conflict, crisis could be further reduced, or even eliminated. Prevention is therefore a priority for my country’s work in the United Nations. As Permanent Representative, I am co- moderating the dialogue under the auspices of the President of the General Assembly with Tajikistan on improving the integration and coordination of the UN’s work on implementing the water-related Sustainable Development Goals and targets. I am actively engaged in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in science, technology and innovation; as well as fighting human trafficking and modern day slavery. Here at the UN, we are at the forefront of mutually intertwined discussions, where we can indeed insure the link between decision-making and the operative levels. However, we can only make a difference, if we start getting out of the box.

Science is an integral part of Agenda 2030 and should be our ultimate avenue in this endeavour as an essential element in better understanding global challenges facing us, and identifying global responses we can jointly aim at.

The most important difference of the SDGs compared to the MDGs and at the same time the largest challenge and opportunity lies in bringing together the implementation of science-related goals with gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Today a significant gender gap persists in science all over the world, including in technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This untapped potential of brilliant girls and women is a great loss of opportunity, both for women themselves and for the society as a whole. Gender equality should therefore be considered as a crucial mean to promote scientific and technological excellence.

Let me share some best practices from Hungary is this regard. The National Research-development and Innovation Strategy for the period 2013-2020, entitled “Investment in the Future”, establishes the priority of creating equal opportunities for women in the Research, Development and Innovation sector.

The Government of Hungary is committed to raising the profile of science and the Ministry of Human Capacities has recently announced a budgetary increase of 15 billion HUF in support of the scientific research activities for universities.

Another outstanding example is the Association of Hungarian Women in Science, a national network of researchers, professors and engineers supporting the advancement of women, increasing their participation in the scientific field and shaping public opinion in a positive way. The Association organizes programmes, assists individuals and organizations in writing tenders, and distributes awards to women showing excellent performance in their field of research. The Excellence Award is accorded each year by the Association to three female scientists in materials technology, biotechnology and space technology, with a special section for a female Roma researcher. The Association of Hungarian Women in Science aims to attract female high school students towards natural science and technology with the aim of redoubling the ratio of female students graduating from the technology, engineering and natural sciences faculties by 2020.

The Association has just recently organized a competition under my patronage for university students entitled SCI-ndicator in the field of communicating about their research area. The first prize of the contest was awarded to a second year computer science and engineering student from Vajdaság (Vojvodina), Serb-Hungarian

citizen Kristóf Muhi. His prize included a one-week stay in New York, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the UN, during which he can become acquainted with the work of UN system and learn about the science-policy interface, including through participation at today’s Science for Peace event.

Kristóf has developed an application for smart phones that allows playing with the colored three-dimension logic game, Rubik’s Cube for blind and partially sighted persons.

In my view both the presence of Kristóf at our event today and the story of the Rubik Cube carry symbolic messages. The first is the role youth and especially young talents can play in our joint endeavor for a sustainable and peaceful future.

As for the story of the Cube, the young Professor of architecture Mr Erno Rubik created an object, the first prototype in Budapest back in 1974 that was not supposed to be possible. His solid cube twisted and turned and still it did not break or fall apart. With colourful stickers on its sides, the Cube got scrambled and that’s how the first Rubik’s Cube emerged. It took well over a month for Mr Rubik to work out the solution to his puzzle. Little did he expect that Rubik’s Cube would become the world’s best-selling toy ever and what a huge success it made!

With that, I would like to inspire you to think and act out of the box, motivated by the abstract of science and the talent of youth. That combined with our collective wisdom and experience should pave the way for closer cooperation among our countries and nations to do more on prevention, and thereby more in achieving peace and stability.

Let us take the great opportunity of the World Science Forum to realize that science-policy link and bring together people from the political, researcher and implementation level. Let us make the Forum’s topic a success story!

Your Royal Highness, Your Excellences, Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for your kind attention! 

​

EU Day celebration with H.E. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Your Excellency, Mr. Vice Foreign Minister, Mr. President, Honorable Members of the Security Council, Dear Colleagues,  

Hungary aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union.  

Let me first commend Uruguay for organizing today’s open debate on this issue. We also thank Ms. Zainab Bangura for her outstanding work as Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, and welcome Ms. Pramila Patten in this important role.  

Hungary is deeply concerned by the widespread and growing threat and use of sexual violence in armed conflict as a tactic of war and terrorism. The international community must not tolerate sexual violence in any form or context. Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy or any other forms of sexual violence constitute war crimes, may amount to crimes against humanity and may constitute elements of genocide.  

We are appalled to see that sexual violence is not only an integral part of the ideology of violent extremist and terrorist groups, but also a cold-blooded strategy for financing and recruitment through sex trafficking, sexual slavery, the extortion of ransoms, as well as forced displacement. These interrelated phenomena should be addressed together, including combatting trafficking in persons more effectively.

The impact of sexual violence in armed conflict is dramatic for survivors and detrimental for communities. Individuals do not only suffer serious and long-term physical and psychological harm, but they also face stigma, double victimization and traumatization, the risk of discrimination and social exclusion. For communities, sexual violence means a form of collective persecution of ethnic and religious minorities; the loss of their identity through forced conversion and indoctrination, and a destruction of their social fabric through forced marriage and stigmatization.

This complex and most serious issue must be tackled in a comprehensive way. There must be justice and accountability for these horrendous crimes, underpinned with efficient investigation, documentation and reporting mechanism to prevent impunity, deter future violence, and thus break the conflict cycle. We highly appreciate the work of the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict in this regard. Moreover, Hungary is proud to contribute with 70.000 USD to the invaluable work of gender advisers deployed by UN Women and Justice Rapid Response, and to UN Women’s work on preventing violent extremism. We encourage fellow Member States to join in supporting these initiatives. We furthermore encourage the Security Council to use its mandate fully through including perpetrators in sanctions regimes and referring cases to the International Criminal Court, as adequate.

Survivors need immediate comprehensive victim and witness protection and support, including through a tailored approach in counter-terrorism measures; a prioritized humanitarian response identifying survivors, providing medical and psycho-social assistance, and legal aid. The human rights of the most vulnerable ones, children conceived as a result of rape, should be guaranteed through vital protection and legal status to avoid statelessness.

Survivors, women and men, girls and boys alike, should be given context-specific support for their socio-economic reintegration into their communities. For that, we need not only top-down policies but also bottom-up, community-driven responses and sensitization against stigma, in cooperation with traditional and community leaders, faith-based organisations and families alike. Ensuring women’s economic empowerment is key in ending the cycle of vulnerability. To achieve structural change, women’s meaningful participation and the inclusion of the gender perspective in peacebuilding efforts, peace negotiations is also vital.

To tackle conflict-related sexual violence on the long run, we should build a robust preventive architecture, including early-warning, strengthening national legal and policy frameworks and justice systems, gender-sensitivity training of the security sector and peacekeeping personnel, and assuring the presence of Women’s Protection Advisors in all peacekeeping operations.

Hungary is an active contributor to initiatives combatting sexual violence in conflict. The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is organizing an awareness-raising workshop this summer on women, peace and security for experts of the relevant ministries, the army, the police, peacekeeping personnel and interested civil society organisations and academics. Sexual violence in armed conflicts will be one of the topics discussed.

With our concerted action, we can tackle the scourge of sexual violence in conflict.

Thank you for your attention.

Your Royal Highness,

 Your Excellences, 

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

As Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN and member of the Steering Committee of the World Science Forum that deals also with the important topic of innovation, I am honoured to address today’s high-level panel.

I had the pleasure to be part of the preparation of the World Science Forum starting with the very first World Science Conference in 1999 initiated by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and UNESCO with the support of the Government of Hungary. Based on the success of this first event, the Forum evolved by now into one of the most important gatherings of the scientific sphere. Since 2013, it is being hosted every four year outside Budapest. For the first time it was hosted by a foreign partner, it was taken to Rio de Janeiro in 2013 with a great success. At the end of this year, the Forum is taking place in Amman, Jordan focusing on the theme of Science for Peace. 

On 28 April with the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations, I co-hosted the high-level event entitled “Science for Peace” at the Trusteeship Council Chamber presenting the theme of this year’s Forum. We had the pleasure to have Her Royal Highness Princess Sumaya bint Hassan, President of the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan and Professor László Lovász, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences travel to New York for this occasion. The Princess will be the Chairperson and Professor Lovász the President of this year’s Forum. 

Our well-attended event showed how science and innovation can help to understand the underlying factors of pressing global challenges and advance sustainable solutions by transforming decision making to an evidence-based approach.

At the Forum in Amman, on 7-11th November dedicated sessions will deal with the challenges and opportunities of the digital transformation, as well as building resilience in an interconnected world. I will have the rewarding task of leading the panel on Women in Science. 

Let me stress the importance of fighting stereotypes. Today a significant gender gap persists in science all over the world, including in innovation and technology. This untapped potential of brilliant girls and women is a great loss of opportunity, both for women themselves and for the society and the economy as a whole. Gender equality should therefore be considered as a crucial mean to promote scientific and technological excellence. 

We need role models, who made it! I suggest everyone to read the book of Hungarian scientist Magdolna Hargittai about Women scientists: Reflections, Challenges and Breaking Boundaries (published by Oxford University press) offering insight through in-depth conversations with female Nobel Laureates, physicists, chemists, researchers.

Science and innovation encompass the interlinkages of all policy areas that enable sustainable development and inclusive economic growth that should contribute to peace and security around the globe. Yet science and innovation is less tangible in the current diplomatic scene, even though it has a huge potential in conflict prevention and resolution through building bridges among different stakeholders. 

Prevention is a priority for my country’s work in the United Nations. I am convinced that capitalizing the meaningful contribution of innovation to tackling the root causes of poverty and instability, as the most important underlying sources of conflict can significantly reduce crisis from occurring or aggravating.

Hungary sees connectivity as a window of opportunity to raise the profile of innovation and I welcome today’s Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation, as well as the SDG high-level Action Event on Innovation and Connectivity convened by the President of the General Assembly for 17 May. Hungary will be represented at the Action Event by H.E. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Science, innovation and technology are integral part of Agenda 2030 and should be our avenue in better understanding global challenges facing us, and identifying global responses we can jointly aim at. The most important difference of the SDGs compared to the MDGs and at the same time the largest challenge and opportunity lies in bringing together the implementation of the goals with gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Hungary’s National Research-development and Innovation Strategy for the period 2013-2020, entitled “Investment in the Future”, establishes the priority of creating equal opportunities for women in the Research, Development and Innovation sector.

Digitalisation is the engine of the economy; it leverages the development dividend through efficiency gains, while boosting productivity and competitiveness. Our reality today reflects that the digitalized world is becoming ever more interconnected, much faster than expected. The expanding networks of the interconnected digital devices require proper information communication infrastructure that follows global changes. It is therefore a strategic question for all of our countries here in the United Nations to be able to join the global trends and prepare for the accelerating digital transformation of the globe.

The digital economy currently represents more than 20% of Hungary’s GDP and provides almost 15% of our employees with jobs. The Government considers digital economy as a top priority for growth and employment. The country’s Digital Development Program for 2014-2020 lays down four strategic areas for information communication development; these are infrastructure, competencies, economics and governance. We are proud that our 4G mobile network is the fourth fastest and most reliable on global scale.   

After 2020 the 5G mobile service will be able to provide almost unlimited bandwidths, creating the infrastructural background in all the sectors requiring high-speed data transfer along with more complex and heterogeneous digital networks. 

I am proud to share that Hungary aims to attract 5G developments, to introduce them among the first actors, and to play a leading role in the implementation regionally. 

My country is ready to contribute to the global efforts by bringing forward the regional initiatives in Central Europe on the digital transformation. Budapest has hosted several outstanding regional forums for strategic thinking in the recent past. After a successful inaugural event in March 2016, the think.BDPST conference just this March focused on the challenges and perspectives of new technologies and innovation in employment, education, healthcare and medicine. The Regional Digital Summit in November 2016 gave visibility to the challenges raised by digitalization, provided a meeting point for decision makers with leading representatives of the industry and contributed to both the implementation of the European Digital Agenda and the competitiveness of the European economy by calling for synergy of actions at regional levels and beyond. As a key outcome, the Summit highlighted that digitalization offers a development opportunity for excellence based research and development entrepreneurship as well as digital innovative infrastructure capacities in every Member State. 

The Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Group (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Check Republic) recently joined their commitments in a common declaration of intent on reinforcing their cooperation in innovation and digital affairs. This Warsaw Declaration embraces the role research and innovation play in advancing the digital economy and the single European market, and actually calls for a single digital market for Europe. 

Among the Visegrad countries, Hungary is firmly committed to one of the most important demonstrations of digital economy that is the future of the automotive industry, in particular with regard to the development of automated driving and connecting vehicles. We are eager to keep the topic on the agenda at all relevant international fora. 

Let’s be cautious however, knowing that the connected, more and more complex systems carry more risks as well Hungary introduced an updated security system for cyber protection among the first ones in the world. Besides compliance with EU regulations, we strive to further support research and development for cyber security, and to strengthen information security related to national security.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, 

As the Association of Hungarian Women in Science organized a competition under my patronage for university students entitled SCI-ndicator in the field of communicating about their research area just a couple of weeks ago, I would like to share a personal experience. The first prize of the contest had been awarded to a second year computer science and engineering student, Serb-Hungarian citizen Kristóf Muhi, who developed an application for smart phones that allows playing with the colored three-dimension logic game, Rubik’s Cube for blind and partially sighted persons. His prize included a stay in New York, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the UN, during which he became acquainted with the work of the UN and learned about the science-policy interface, including through participation at the conference on Science for Peace. 

His presence in the UN carried the symbolic message about the role youth and especially young, innovative talents can play in our joint quest for a sustainable and peaceful future that should indeed be linked to the abstract areas of science, innovation and technology. 

As a closing remark, I would like to send a strong signal to the younger generation that our planet’s future and its pathway to development is in their hands. I would encourage them to act responsibly and while enjoying the benefits of the digital world, think about next generations to come and stay ethical in their use of modern technological devices. 

I thank you for your kind attention!