Budapest to host UN regional programme support office

The regional programme support office of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism will be based in Budapest, Hungary’s foreign minister announced on Thursday at an international conference.

Péter Szijjártó made the announcement at the opening of a two-day conference entitled “Prevention of radicalization to terrorism through holistic policy responses and risk mitigation”.

Szijjártó told reporters on the conference’s sidelines that the new office will be tasked with coordinating the fight against terrorism in the region. Hungary already hosts the regional headquarters of several specialised UN organisations, he said.

The minister said

Hungary was “an active and successful” participant in the international community’s fight against terrorism.

The United Nations has recognised this by co-organising the regional conference in Budapest in advance of a global anti-terrorism conference in New York next year.

Hungary not only talks about the importance of fighting terrorism but acts accordingly, Szijjártó said in his opening address. The country has 200 troops serving as part of the global coalition fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq. Hungarian units also serve in missions in Mali, the Western Balkans, Afghanistan, and will soon be deployed to Lebanon to help restore and maintain security, he said.

Szijjártó said

the international community should concern itself with “inspiring” new waves of migration but should instead create safe living conditions for those who have been forced to leave their homes.

He said mass waves of illegal immigration had plainly created an opportunity for terrorist organisations to “send in and out” their fighters around the world, and stopping such migration waves was an important tool in fighting terrorism.