Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto accused United Nations officials on September 19 of 鈥渟preading lies鈥 with their criticism of Budapest鈥檚 anti-migration policies.
The comments came just days after new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and UN rights experts harshly criticised Hungary鈥檚 immigration policies.
Szijjarto told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that 鈥渋t was obvious鈥 the UN officials were 鈥渂iased pro-migration officials鈥.
He insisted Hungary would 鈥渘ever be a country of migrants 鈥 We will never allow one single illegal migrant to enter the territory of our country.
鈥淗ungary will remain a country of the Hungarians, which is happy and which is proud of its more than 1000-year-long history and Christian culture and traditions.鈥
In her maiden speech to the council on September 10, Bachelet pointed to 鈥渟hocking reports鈥 that 鈥渇ood has been withheld from migrants held in transit zones on the Hungarian-Serbian border鈥.
She also took issue with measures adopted by the Hungarian government in June. These enable 鈥渁uthorities to arrest, criminally charge and immediately remove from Hungary鈥檚 border area any lawyer, adviser, volunteer or legally resident family member suspected of helping a person to make an asylum claim, obtain a residence permit, or take other perfectly legal actions鈥.
In a separate statement, seven independent UN special rapporteurs, including for migrants鈥 rights, freedom of expression and the rights of activists, also slammed Hungary鈥檚 anti-immigrant policies in recent days. The statement voiced alarm at 鈥渟mear campaigns鈥 against civil society.
It called on 鈥淓uropean institutions to continue addressing the deteriorating human rights situation in Hungary and keep on taking decisions reflecting the core values of the European Union: democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights鈥.
[Abridged from .]