Ensuring protection for families supporting children is “especially important these days” in view of recent crises in the world, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in New York on Wednesday.
According to a statement from the foreign ministry, Szijjártó will address a conference on violence against children held within the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations later in the day.
Szijjártó noted the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the “double burden” on parents, who needed to look after their children and do their jobs simultaneously, adding that the government was planning to reimburse the personal income tax paid by families with children in 2021 if Hungary’s full-year GDP growth rate reached 5.5 percent.
The minister also said that the pandemic restricted most life to the internet, and “a great number of inexperienced users could be an easy target for cyber criminals”. Minors must be protected not only against fraudsters but extreme ideologies and sexual propaganda, he said, and called for globally applied regulations.
Concerning Hungary’s recent, controversial child protection law, Szijjártó said that during his talks “many” congratulated him on the legislation “even if they don’t dare do that publicly for fear of political attacks”. Arguing for the law, he said that “parents know their children most and it is quite certain that they can explain what is necessary and they will know what is the best time to do so”. “The sex education of children must be an exclusive right for parents,” he added.
featured photo via Péter Szijjártó’s Facebook page