BUDAPEST, February 15. /TASS/. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto discussed in the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) the problem of oppression of national minorities in Ukraine, including ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. The Hungarian top diplomat held meetings with the heads of these organizations in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
"In order to protect the rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia, today we had to sit down at the table with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric, because if news comes in about increasing arbitrariness and the legal situation deteriorates, we must act at all forums," Szijjarto wrote on his Facebook page (a social media site banned in Russia since it is owned by Meta corporation deemed extremist by the Russian authorities). He recalled that the Council of Europe was the very organization that was supposed to ensure respect for the rights of national minorities in European countries.
The top diplomat also noted that when it comes to violations of these rights, "the European Court of Human Rights becomes the last instance in many cases." "We hope that we can count on fair treatment on the part of this body to protect the rights of national minorities, because the new legislation coming into force in Ukraine means that schools for national minorities will almost disappear from September and the right to study in one's native language will be violated once more," Szijjarto said. He added that he had informed the president of the European Court of Human Rights, Siofra O'Leary, about this.
In recent weeks, the Hungarian government has repeatedly stated the need to get the Ukrainian authorities to stop the arbitrary treatment of ethnic Hungarians in the Zakarpattia region. In this regard, Szijjarto appealed for assistance to his EU colleagues and warned that Hungary would not support Ukraine's plans to join the EU if the rights of national minorities continue to be violated there.