Children are the biggest losers of the war in Ukraine, and although Hungary is doing everything to alleviate their pain, the solution must be brokered peace, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday in New York.
Attending the U.N. Security Council’s open debate on Children and Armed Conflicts, the head of the ministry reported that in the 146 days since the start of the fighting, around 840,000 refugees have arrived in Hungary; he also lamented the fact that families, mothers, and their children have been torn apart due to the sorting rules.
“Our country is doing everything to ease the pain of children suffering because of the war,” Szijjártó told the chamber. “The authorities provide jobs for parents who want to stay, along with education and healthcare for their children,” he added.
In recent months, 500 Ukrainian children attended kindergarten and 1,700 attended school in Hungary, and this opportunity will also be provided to them in the school year starting in September. In addition, the government undertook the special medical care of 130 children and offered 1,000 scholarships to refugee students in Hungarian higher education institutions, he said.
Szijjártó added that the only real solution to the ongoing humanitarian crisis and population displacement would be a brokered peace agreement.
“Peace is the only solution, peace is the solution to everything. Peace is the solution to stop the war inflation that is tying the European economies in a knot. Peace is the solution to the insecurity of our energy supply in Europe. Peace is also the solution to preventing a food crisis,” he said.
And in the same way, peace is the solution to end the suffering of children, reunite families, and prevent more children from fleeing, he added.
