‘A Defender of Christendom’? The Inner Logic of Hungary’s Humanitarian Aid Policy

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to introduce the Hungary Helps Programme, a stated purpose of which is to support Christian communities in the Global South. Data and findings indicate that Hungary has provided direct assistance to local Christian churches, communities and faith-based organisations by financing more than 160 projects with a total value of almost €53 million since 2016. The programme, which may be considered an element of the ‘Hungarian model’, mainly benefits local churches. The HHP serves to strengthen Hungary’s autonomous role within the EU, amongst other things, by providing direct financial support to Christian churches.

I owe thanks to active and retired government officials for sharing their thoughts and experiences with me and responding to my many questions. My colleagues at Corvinus University of Budapest provided valuable feedback on earlier versions of this article. Responsibility for any errors is solely mine. This research was partly funded by the EFOP-3.6.3.-VEKOP-16-2017-00007 project (spring 2020), hosted by Corvinus University of Budapest.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Hettyey (2021, p. 263) uses Holsti’s (1970, pp. 245–46) definition of national role concepts as ‘policymakers’ own definitions of the general kinds of decisions, commitments, rules and actions suitable to their state, and of the functions, if any, their state should perform on a continuing basis in the international system’.

2 Hungary became a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention in March 1989. When ratifying the convention, it made a geographical reservation as provided by Article 1 B (1) (a). This reservation means that non-European refugees cannot avail themselves of any protection under the terms of the convention (UNHCR 1995). EU legislation (the asylum acquis), also applicable in Hungary, ensures that persons facing persecution for religious reasons in their country of origin receive an appropriate and individual assessment of their claim for international protection. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion is also protected under Article 10 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

3 There is no space to assess these attitudes in a comparative perspective, but Bansak et al. found that Muslim asylum seekers are ‘about 11 percentage points less likely to be accepted than otherwise similar Christian asylum seekers’ and that European public opinion ‘reflects a strong anti-Muslim bias, rather than a pro-Christian bias’ (Bansak et al. 2016).

4 2018. évi CXX. törvény a Hungary Helps Programról (adopted: 2018.XII.20); see the official translation, ‘Act CXX of 2018 on the Hungary Helps Program’, available at: http://hungaryhelps.gov.hu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Act-CXX-of-2018.pdf, accessed 23 June 2020.

5 Limited capacities (manpower) are at least as much part of the explanation as the fact that whereas projects (under the label Hungary Helps) had been financed as early as 2016 and 2017, the law itself was only adopted in 2018 and the Hungary Helps Agency (HHA) started to operate only during the course of 2019 (see later). Therefore, the HHA did not even have any procedural or legal reporting (or transparency) obligation vis-à-vis the public.

6 The EU is collectively committed to providing 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) as ODA within the time frame of the 2030 Agenda (0.33% in the case of new EU members). Hungary became a member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee in 2016 when its ODA/GNI ratio first reached the minimum level of 0.2%.

7 Hungary has a population of about 9.7 million. There are 13 minorities recognised by law in Hungary, none originating in the Global South in contemporary terms. Being minorities not recognised as such by law, communities of Chinese and Arab origin are categorised as ‘foreigners [from Asia] living in Hungary’ (Magyarországon tartózkodó külföldi állampolgárok az állampolgárság országa … szerint) by the Central Bureau of Statistics (Központi Statisztikai Hivatal—KSH). Their total number is 55,000 (as of 2022), of which 17,685 persons have Chinese citizenship; see: https://www.ksh.hu/stadat_files/nep/hu/nep0023.html, accessed 12 December 2022.

8 It has been argued that contemporary references to Christianity are to be interpreted in a historical-cultural context, acknowledging its role in preserving the nation, and not so much in strict religious-dogmatic terms (Schweitzer 2019).

9 ‘The Fundamental Law of Hungary (as in force on 13 December 2019)’, available at: https://hunconcourt.hu/uploads/sites/3/2020/11/thefundamentallawofhungary_20191213_fin.pdf, accessed 23 June 2020.

10 Government Decree of National Security Strategy, 1163/2020. (IV.21.) Korm. Határozat Magyarország Nemzeti Biztonsági Stratégiájáról, available at: http://njt.hu/cgi_bin/njt_doc.cgi?docid=219153.382110, accessed 23 June 2020.

11 Envoys or Ambassadors for Freedom of Religion or Belief have also been appointed in Norway, Denmark, Germany and Finland (for a European comparison, see Mountstephen 2019, p. 119), and the EU appointed a ‘Special Envoy for Promotion of Freedom of Religion Outside Europe’ in 2016 (see the website of Ján Figeľ, available at: https://www.janfigel.eu/aboutjf, accessed 2 February 2023). The subject of freedom of religion or belief violations has been raised in more than 20 human rights dialogues between the EU and countries of the Middle East, North Africa and Asia since then (‘Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Human Right’, EEAS, 2022, available at: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/freedom-religion-or-belief-human-right_en, accessed 12 December 2022). Nevertheless ‘religious persecution’ is usually framed as a minority issue within the EU.

12 It is not the ambition of this article to assess the scope of Christian persecution; however, it must be stressed that there may be differences between its framing and portrayal by certain governmental and non-governmental actors, on the one hand, and reality on the other. While pro-Christian religious non-governmental organisations (NGOs) tend to interpret and portray ‘Christian persecution’ as if it is a widely acknowledged fact, conflict databases or periodic reports (SIPRI: Trends in Armed Conflict; PRIO: Conflict Trends in the Middle East) presenting contemporary conflict trends do not use this category.

13 For the purposes of The Refugee Convention (1951) and contemporary refugee law, the term ‘refugee’ applies to any person who ‘owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it’ (Article 1A(2); emphasis added).

14 2018. évi CXX. törvény a Hungary Helps Programról (adopted: 2018.XII.20); see the official translation, ‘Act CXX of 2018 on the Hungary Helps Program’, available at: http://hungaryhelps.gov.hu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Act-CXX-of-2018.pdf, accessed 23 June 2020.

15 The question of whether the legislation (CXX/2018) regulating Hungary’s state obligations in the context of the EU’s migration policy and that of international development means that domestic courts could be used to assess Hungary’s liability vis-à-vis the vulnerable communities and individuals mentioned in the law would require further research.

16 ‘Hungary must contribute to the reduction of the growing migratory pressure on Europe by providing aid in the local area in order to help mitigate migration flows. All of the goodwill principles in this area of humanitarian aid are encompassed in Hungary’s most significant humanitarian aid programme, the Hungary Helps Programme.’ See, 2018. évi CXX. törvény a Hungary Helps Programról (adopted: 2018.XII.20); see the official translation, ‘Act CXX of 2018 on the Hungary Helps Program’, available at: http://hungaryhelps.gov.hu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Act-CXX-of-2018.pdf, accessed 23 June 2020.

17 Informal telephone discussion with a former Hungarian diplomat, 30 November 2020.

18 Emergency assistance (humanitarian aid) is part of ODA in statistical terms. Heist and Cnaan (2016) also used the term ‘international development’ to include the humanitarian and welfare activities of faith-based organisations when they reviewed the role of religion and faith-based organisations in (international) social and economic development. States, whether on the recipient or donor side, may prefer humanitarian aid over development assistance, or the other way around, for various reasons. Putting aside the conceptual debates (as discussed in Weishaupt 2020) access and logistics are among the explanatory factors.

19 This type of scholarship (reported as Official Development Assistance—ODA) is independent of the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship managed by the Ministry of Human Resources (Ministry of Human Capacities (Emberi Erőforrások Minisztériuma—EMMI)) in cooperation with MFAT. There is also cooperation between the Faculty of Military Science and Officer Training of the National University of Public Service (NUPS) and the State Secretariat for the Aid of Persecuted Christians and the Hungary Helps Programme. Currently three PhD students are involved in research on the culture, history and security situation of persecuted Christians at NUPS; further research topics have been added to the PhD programme of the Doctoral School of Military Sciences; see, https://hhk.uni-nke.hu/document/hhk-uni-nke-hu/v%C3%A1laszthat%C3%B3%20t%C3%A1rgyak%20megoszl%C3%A1sa%202019-2020.pdf.

20 The State Secretariat serves as a co-authority in asylum procedures. If a person arriving in Hungary claims to be subject to religious persecution, the State Secretariat has the legal competence to issue an expert opinion on whether the asylum seeker can invoke such persecution as a basis for their request for asylum (Azbej 2021a).

21 In terms of ‘brand’, any assistance provided by Hungary is now meant to be delivered under the Hungary Helps logo (and other visual elements). Interview with a government official working at MFAT (NEFE, Department for International Development), 11 November 2020.

22 Interview with two governmental officials working at the State Secretariat, Budapest, 12 March 2020.

23 2018. évi CXX. törvény a Hungary Helps Programról (adopted: 2018.XII.20); see the official translation, ‘Act CXX of 2018 on the Hungary Helps Program’, p. 1, available at: http://hungaryhelps.gov.hu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Act-CXX-of-2018.pdf, accessed 23 June 2020.

24 Interview with a governmental official working at State Secretariat, Budapest, 12 March 2020 and a follow-up conversation, 26 November 2020. See also the programme and the participants’ list of the international conferences for persecuted Christians arranged in 2018 and 2019 by the Hungarian government, available at: https://www.iccphungary.com/, accessed 12 October 2021.

25 The same compliance rule applies to organisations, NGOs, churches and church-related civil society organisations (egyhazi civil szervezetek) registered in Hungary; however, their compliance is not checked by the State Secretariat. Follow-up discussion with a governmental official working at State Secretariat, by phone, 9 November 2020.

26 Interview with governmental officials working at the State Secretariat, Budapest, 12 March 2020.

27 ‘Hungary Helps Program—Projects 2017–2020’, SSAPCHHP, 2020, spreadsheet uploaded as ‘data of public interest’, available at: http://hungaryhelps.gov.hu/en/, accessed 22 October 2020; ‘3.1.1. Summary of Donations’, SSAPCHHP, in Hungarian, sent as email attachment to the author, 17 May 2021. See also Table 2.

28 The LRRD policy framework (linking relief, rehabilitation and development) was put in place by the 2001 communication ‘Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development—An Assessment’ (see, ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament—Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development—An Assessment’, European Commission, COM(2001)153, 23 April, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52001DC0153, accessed 17 January 2023). Being reinvigorated by ECHO in 2007, it nevertheless highlighted implementation weaknesses. The concept reflects the understanding that ‘recovery and reconstruction in the aftermath of a disaster is a major challenge, which requires structural and development action beyond immediate emergency aid’; see, The European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission, 2008/C 25/01, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/media/publications/consensus_en.pdf, accessed 12 December 2022.

29 The European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission, 2008/C 25/01, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/media/publications/consensus_en.pdf, accessed 12 December 2022.

30 Such as projects implemented in the US (supporting a conference), Greece (rebuilding a church in Lesbos), Israel (Custody of the Holy Land, Jerusalem), the Republic of South Africa (Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard, an association of the Roman Catholic Church) and cases where Hungarian beneficiaries received the resources and spent it in Hungary; for example, preserving the intellectual heritage of the Armenian Church in Hungary; training for HHP-volunteers that participate in HHP-funded projects in the field.

31 ‘Hungary Helps Program—Projects 2017–2020’, SSAPCHHP, 2020, spreadsheet uploaded as ‘data of public interest’, available at: http://hungaryhelps.gov.hu/en/, accessed 22 October 2020; ‘3.1.1. Summary of Donations’, SSAPCHHP, in Hungarian, sent as email attachment to the author, 17 May 2021.

32 Interview with governmental officials working at the State Secretariat, Budapest, 12 March 2020.

33 ‘Poland and Hungary to Help Religious Persecution Victims Together’, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Poland, 18 August 2020, available at: https://www.gov.pl/web/diplomacy/poland-and-hungary-to-help-religious-persecution-victims-together, accessed 12 December 2022.

34 ‘Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between USAID and the Government of Hungary’, Press Release, USAID, 2018, available at: https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/dec-18-2018-signing-memorandum-understanding-between-usaid-and-hungary, accessed 23 June 2020.

35 ‘Declaration of Principles for the International Religious Freedom Alliance’, US Department of State, 5 February 2020, available at: https://www.state.gov/declaration-of-principles-for-the-international-religious-freedom-alliance/, accessed 2 November 2020.

36 The New Partnership Initiative (NPI) is USAID’s focused effort to diversify the Agency’s partner base by removing barriers to working with USAID directly; the first NPI awards were $4 million in grants to six local groups in Northern Iraq to help persecuted minorities targeted by violence. In Iraq, USAID is supporting the return of displaced populations from ethnic and religious minorities in Ninewa Plain and western Ninewa by tailoring services to the needs of the historically Christian, Yazidi, and other minority communities that call this region home (Roberts & Primorac 2021, fn 57).

37 The evangelical discourse on human rights in the US and advocacy for more aid to be channelled to Christian communities in the Middle East are beyond the scope of this article; see for example, Nichols (2008).

38 Government Decree of National Security Strategy, 1163/2020. (IV.21.) Korm. Határozat Magyarország Nemzeti Biztonsági Stratégiájáról, available at: http://njt.hu/cgi_bin/njt_doc.cgi?docid=219153.382110, accessed 23 June 2020; See also Bar-Maoz (2018).

39 The European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission, 2008/C 25/01, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/media/publications/consensus_en.pdf, accessed 12 December 2022.

40 The purpose of the European Consensus on Development is to provide the framework for a common approach to development policy within the EU institutions and across the member states; actions by the EU and its member states should be mutually reinforcing and coordinated to ensure complementarity and impact (see, ‘The New European Consensus on Development: “Our World, Our Dignity, Our Future”’, Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States Meeting Within the Council, The European Parliament and The European Commission, 2017, p. 4, available at: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/24004/european-consensus-on-development-2-june-2017-clean_final.pdf, accessed 17 January 2023).

41 The key humanitarian principles ‘were characterized as leading to politically blind acts of charity where the act of giving was more important than delivering positive impact’ by advocates of new humanitarianism; neutrality in particular became a ‘dirty word’ (Gordon & Donini 2015, p. 87). The authors provide a summary and critique of this scholarship.

42 Informal telephone discussion with a former Hungarian diplomat, 30 November 2020.

43 The merits of Fekete’s argument that Orbán ‘uses religion as an excuse to punish outsider Hungarians, particularly the Roma and the “idle poor”’ (Fekete 2016, p. 5) can, however, be challenged by considering how the established Christian churches in Hungary have been mandated by law or supported by governmental funds to improve the lives of the Roma; see, for example, ‘Churches Reach Out to Hungary’s Struggling Roma’, BBC News, 1 February 2011, available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12322338, accessed 27 October 2022; Havasi (2019).

44 The State Secretariat serves as a co-authority in asylum procedures. If a person arriving in Hungary claims to be subject to religious persecution, the State Secretariat has the legal competence to issue an expert opinion on whether the asylum seeker can invoke such persecution as a basis for their request for asylum (Azbej 2021a).

45 Although Hungary Helps does not support migration overtly, the government allegedly issued citizenship to hundreds of Coptic Christian families from Egypt and Iraq (in the context of the Arab Spring, see Panyi 2015) and offered protection and citizenship to Christian refugees with Hungarian roots from Venezuela (Lehoczki 2022).

46 2018. évi CXX. törvény a Hungary Helps Programról (adopted: 2018.XII.20); see the official translation, ‘Act CXX of 2018 on the Hungary Helps Program’, p. 1, available at: http://hungaryhelps.gov.hu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Act-CXX-of-2018.pdf, accessed 23 June 2020.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beata Paragi

Beata Paragi, Associate Professor, Institute of Global Studies, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary. Email: [email protected]