At the forum organised by the European Commission, Tristan Azbej emphasised that Hungarian humanitarian efforts bring support to areas affected by wars, conflict or terror, and assist groups in difficult situations who need to retain stable communities in their homeland.

“Christian solidarity compels us to turn towards people suffering around the world,” he stated.

Humanitarian and development assistance reflects what Hungary represents in world politics: that instead of initiating and escalating wars and conflicts, efforts should be made towards peace and stability, and that addressing the world’s major crises, including humanitarian crises, should not be through migration but by providing help on the ground.

He mentioned that the forum prominently discussed the humanitarian impacts of the Gaza conflict, regarding which Tristan Azbej declared: Hungary condemns the terrorist acts committed by the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas against Israel, recognizes Israel’s right to self-defense, and demands the immediate release of hostages. However, as he highlighted, Hungary does not leave the civilian population living in Palestinian territories alone, who suffer the humanitarian consequences of Hamas’s terror attacks and the ensuing war. Hungary provides aid to the innocently suffering civilians in Gaza.

Among other things, he detailed that Hungary is assisting Egypt, which hosts Gazan refugees, with a financial donation for the purchase of medical equipment and medicines, and through the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (i.e. the Jerusalem-based archdiocese of the Latin Catholic Church) has delivered $400,000 in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories, not only for Christians but also for Muslims.

Furthermore, he shared that Hungary does not forget about humanitarian crises that do not receive enough global attention, alongside the highly visible conflicts. Hungary has launched humanitarian and development initiatives, among others, in the Sahel region, where political instability, desertification, food crises, water scarcity, and civil wars take their toll or trigger refugee flows. Within the framework of the Hungary Helps programme, Hungary assists internally displaced persons in Chad, as well as Sudanese and other refugees fleeing to Chad, through medical missions and in the field of education. Hungary also provides assistance to Nigerian Christians persecuted by Boko Haram and other terrorist organizations facing daily attacks.

“Besides immediate solutions, we believe in helping local people and communities in the long term, creating opportunities for them to handle humanitarian crises. That’s why it’s important that within the Hungary Helps programme, we assist the Chadian refugee authorities with vocational training and capacity-building support,” he highlighted.

Tristan Azbej announced that supporting children and families is of paramount importance for Hungary. Therefore, Hungarian foreign aid focuses on helping vulnerable women and children in developing countries, who are exposed to attacks and atrocities in conflict zones. “We believe that Hungarian aid reduces their vulnerability and enables children and women to live less exposed lives and create a new future through access to basic education and vocational training,” the State Secretary added.

Source: MTI