"The Hungarian government regards it as its moral and political obligation to face past violations of rights connected to the dictatorships of the twentieth century”, Parliamentary State Secretary Zsolt Németh declared in his opening remarks at the Fifth Budapest Human Rights Forum on November 8.
State Secretary Zsolt Németh pointed out that for the middle-aged and elderly generations in Hungary the disrespect of human rights and suppression of people fighting for freedom and liberty was not something that they read about in history books or learned from newspapers. It was their everyday experience of the bitter reality they grew up in.
The State Secretary claimed that the adoption of the new Constitution by Parliament last April represented a milestone in the history of the development of the rule of law in Hungary during the past 20 years, especially from a human rights perspective. It marked the very end of the transitional period from dictatorship to democracy.
He also spoke about Raoul Wallenberg, the courageous Swedish diplomat who during the Second World War saved thousands of lives of Hungarians of Jewish origin. The Hungarian Government dedicated this year to Raoul Wallenberg on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. The intention of the Hungarian government with this memorial year was to make our young generation aware of what happened in Hungary, and have them realise the weight of anti-Semitic slogans and behaviour which is unacceptable and deeply hurts many, especially the rights of those, whose relatives suffered from a dictatorial regime.
State Secretary Németh finished his opening remarks by stating the the objective of the two-day forum was to provide opportunity for human rights activists to meet each other and exchange their ideas.
The Fifth Budapest Human Rights Forum takes place on 8-9th November 2012 in Budapest. The discussion will be carried out within the framework of four panel debates each of them dealing with topical human rights issues.
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(Prime Minister’s Office)