NGOS FOR GLOBAL SECURITY (THE HUMAN SECURITY AND HEALTH SECURITY ROLE OF THE HUNGARIAN CHARITY SERVICE OF THE ORDER OF MALTA IN THE INTERNATIONAL FIELD)

. Humanitarian NGOs work on social security and health security at local, regional and global levels. Natural and artificial disasters have increased worldwide in the past, and our future will not be immune. The role of civil society organizations (CSOs) is seen in mixed light, as local, regional and global CSOs exist and operate worldwide. The local group includes those active and valuable only in a single city or town; the regional group consists of those with a national or continental presence; and the global group includes those active locally, regionally and visibly on several continents. One such international organization is the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta. Understanding the NGOs activity management philosophy and the existence of humanitarian NGOs in the global security arena


Introduction
One of the essential pillars of the basic needs of humans is security, the security of life, the protection of life and its safety.Of course, the concept, essence and content of security has and will continue to change throughout history.There is every reason to believe that, at the dawn of humanity, even primitive human societies sought security and sought to place their communities in safety not only in fear of natural forces but also in response to threats from neighbouring communities.For as long as man has lived on Earth, they always sought protection, shelter, and a way of life in which one does not have to fear unpleasant surprises or disturbances that threaten their life, whether natural or human-made (Besenyő, 2017).Security is the basis of human development.If a group of people live in fear, they cannot create, prosper, build and develop.The individual's abilities are also held hostage by fear.The lack of security, and the constant struggle for the security of existence, make the individual's creative abilities impossible.Of course, we know that struggles have marked human history for security and that the constant discomfort caused by natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, fires, droughts, volcanic eruptions and many other natural phenomena have also hampered human development.Once human communities became a source of danger to each other and wars began, the lives of people on Earth changed completely.
People had to learn to defend themselves, their communities, and the land they owned, not only against natural disasters but also against people on neighbouring continents.They began to learn to produce weapons and constantly improve them to protect themselves and their communities from threats and interventions.But the human struggle for security is also the engine of human development.In wildlife, the individual was defenceless and had to transform, change, and secure the natural environment.No longer content with protecting natural caves, humans built their defensive infrastructures.They began to build settlements, cities, castles, and technical devices to protect them from nature and other humans.These processes are still taking place today.
The idea of security today is, of course, different from 5000 years ago or even 1000 years ago.Today, the issue of security is no longer confined to a narrow context.Still, it is defined by questions of national (country-level), regional and global cross-sections, by intercontinental and global processes of cooperation, by the history of efforts that have been made, whether successful or not, in the existence of complex alliances that have determined people's belief in security.Countries are constantly improving their capabilities, knowledge, technical tools, and resilience against all unpleasant factors threatening people's security (Sáfár, 2018).But the knowledge, preparedness and resilience we have achieved so far do not seem to be sufficient to keep everyone safe at all times and in all circumstances (e.g., Sikimić, 2022;Kovács, 2022;Radchenko, Tulush, & Leontovych, 2023;Szabó, 2023).
Humans have made severe environmental changes to ensure their security, and sometimes the balance is upset, so we sense that climate change is underway and that there are and will be unforeseen consequences.Humanity's sense of security is in a state of uncertainty, the results of which cannot be assessed today.Regional geopolitical aspirations are exacerbating this, the race for energy resources predicts a catastrophic outcome for many continents, and we have not even mentioned the predictions of industrial disasters (Ed. Péter & Deák, 2007).When the Cold War ended between the USA (United States of America) and the Soviet Union, due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there was a moment in history when some geopolitical thinkers believed that global political, economic, and social processes were moving in a direction that would lead to the happy fulfilment of humanity (Fukuyama, 1992).But it was soon argued, and perhaps this seems to be coming true, that global political, economic, and social processes are not reconciling but are in conflict, creating a multitude of natural and humanitarian disasters, with cultures on different continents struggling to find their security in the global space (Huntington, 1996).The leading powers of all the countries of the world are organizing the safety of their societies, joining regional or global security organizations where they can, building up their security bodies, and preparing their civil communities to participate in security tasks so that they can fight as effectively as possible against natural and human-made disasters.
The definition of Europe's interconnections within the global security framework, and the contexts of influence that define Europe's security, takes work to sketch (Babos, 2019).But we can be sure that European societies will not be spared from the multitude of global challenges, and we must conclude that it is perhaps on this continent that security risks are most likely to have their most damaging effects, even though Europe and the European Union, in particular, were thought to be an island of peace and prosperity only a few years ago (see the opening phrase of ESS(European Security Strategy)-2003) even if "the security risks had already been there" (Tocci, 2017).It is also not easy to define the situation of the countries of Asia, which are not very united, even though they are becoming members of several types of groups with different interests (SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States -1991), SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization -1992) -"Eastern NATO") (Leszczenko, 2021).The position of the African continent is not clear either, whose countries are also members of several alliances (AU (African Union), BRICS), but its historical past and unique climatic situation have presented and continue to present African leaders with different opportunities on the global security trajectory.In addition, the slow pace of its development, which has a major impact on its security posture, is determined mainly by its undemocratic state structures.Its lack of social, health and societal security is a heavy burden at the global level, as the African continent is a significant determinant of global migration flows in the 20th century (Rácz & Tampu, 2020).The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East provides no reason for calm (Besenyő, 2019).
The economic migration towards the EU, which is putting a huge strain on the critical infrastructures of Member States, is not conducive to a reassuring security settlement on the continent, as Member States have different attitudes and mindsets towards the phenomenon.Some Member States, mainly in Central Europe, do not want to accept the influx of immigrants, mostly economic, because they see a security risk in the process, while the Western EU (European Union) countries welcome the influx because they expect to benefit economically from the arrival of immigrants without taking security risks into account (Rácz, 2018).The situation of the USA, despite their position as a world power, is not easy: the USA are not immune to the burden of immigration, with its southern borders under constant pressure, but it also has to deal with the complex risks of terrorism, as witnessed in the events of September 2001.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the USA inherited a monopoly of world power.This privileged position lasts to this day, although we may question it in the light of current geopolitical events, even though no one has dared to question American economic and military dominance.After a bipolar world system, a unipolar world system dominated the world for almost 30 years.However, this needs to be clarified today.The rise of China, the rise of India and the strengthening of the Russian Federation call into question the USA's sole leadership (Michael, 2022).
Modern societies, which have emerged due to the global industrial revolution since the 18th century, carry highsecurity risks.At national, regional and global levels, there is a need to organize security cooperation across borders and continents, both at governmental and civil society levels.Hungarian civil society organizations are also involved in these cooperation systems as active players and, through their activities, are prominent activists for global security in the 21st century worldwide, especially in the security frameworks of developing countries.

Interpreting Hungary's security in the European security system
In light of the events of the 21st century, it is very difficult to formulate a precise definition of how today's Hungary fits into the functioning of the European security system, how it arrived and joined a community of nations in Europe that is very different in its traditions and cultural means and has therefore been difficult to accept over the centuries.The historical background to all these reasons cannot be explained in detail here.Still, it should be noted that the position of the Hungarian state on the geopolitical chessboard of the Central European region is difficult to place among the other European nations in many respects.Because of its Asian origins and particular linguistic characteristics, and despite the Hungarian statehood being part of Christian Europe for a thousand years, it has not been without difficulties establishing and maintaining its security on the European continent.Hungary is located in an area of Europe that has always been known throughout history as a buffer zone or staging ground for the movement of people (Rácz, 2018a).It has been at the crossroads of the great empires of history, where we can mention the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire and later the Soviet interests.Still, even the imperial interests of the USA are intertwined in the geopolitical issues of the region.Although Hungary was part of the Soviet Empire during the Cold War, everyone knew the country was linked and attracted to the Western current through its thousand-year-old Christian culture and political traditions (Fodor & Pók, 2020).
In the last decades of the 20th century, Hungary's security interests shifted in a very definite direction, as the break-up of the Soviet Union allowed it to take geopolitical steps that were unidirectional but which made it a member of the most critical and secure alliances in terms of security policy.With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact  became meaningless and was dissolved in 1991, so several states in this military alliance began joining the North Atlantic Alliance, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) founded in 1949.In the last year of the 20th century, three former Warsaw member states, the three countries of the present V4, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary, were admitted to NATO (Szayna, 2001;Kupchan, 2000).The military-security sector of the security sectors was then completed, bringing Hungary under the NATO military defence umbrella from 1999 so that it was no longer just part of the UN's protective net (Schimmelfennig, 2003;Kirchner & Dominguez, 2011).The position of the Hungarian Defence Forces changes from this point onwards, transforming and becoming an additional part of the NATO system of military peace missions.Global challenges are already affecting Hungary's security in the second half of the 20th century; even though the chances of war in the region no longer seem as likely as before, the problems are there.In addition to serious economic and political challenges, it had to deal with a great many economic, social and societal issues.It has also been very important to put prevention and preparedness for natural disasters at the forefront.Let's look at the risks that Hungary faced in the second half of the 20th century.We can see that its accession to the European Union was very sensible in terms of political security, economic security and social security.The most important pillar of human security will also be a central issue in Hungary, a basic principle long advocated by the UN, namely that 'human security' must be given greater emphasis.
Global famines, poverty, groups of people at risk from natural disasters, water shortages, human rights violations, and the establishment of anti-democratic states are certainly impacting European security systems and, through them, on Hungary's security.As a member of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), Hungary is also involved in the efforts to guarantee the security of European citizens, which are also enshrined in the UN (United Nations) Charter, and the OSCE, as a regional organization, seeks to carry out its tasks in a cooperative manner following the most fundamental interests of European security.By joining the Western security organizations, Hungary has realized the security requirements set out in the Basic Principles, which in theory, meet the European challenges of our time, both the migration challenges of the 21st century and all other security requirements.Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning Hungary's aspiration, called "opening to the East", that in today's emerging multipolar world, the country's economic security and energy security can only be based on moves towards emerging economies, which is possible through multi-directional openness.When defining Hungary's security very precisely, we cannot ignore the government decree 1163/2020 (IV.21),Hungary's National Security Strategy "Secure Hungary in a Volatile World", because the document very precisely defines the country's relationship with international organizations, NATO, the EU, the OSCE, the V4 (Visegrad Group/Visegrad Four (Hungarian-Czech -Slovak-Polish)).The document formulates the issues of contemporary security and the answers to them, which are addressed by the country's state law enforcement agencies and the country's non-governmental agencies, i.e. the NGOs, which are contractually bound to the state agencies to prevent, avert and remedy security problems in Hungary, Europe and the global world (Government Decision 1163/2020 (IV.21)).The role of non-state bodies in international security policy has increased significantly, so that NGOs established in Hungary and having a powerful influence have gained ground in Europe and beyond, and have been active in Europe and beyond, making a major contribution to the creation and promotion of global human security.

The European Security
All current geostrategic indications are that European security and its security system cannot be understood without a global dimension.Today, Europe's security in the global space is fragile and unpredictable because the centre of gravity of all its axioms has shifted, leaving its Member States vulnerable to global threat processes, mostly emanating from the Middle East and Africa (Babos, 2019).A significant antecedent is that the realignments in Eastern Europe have completely changed Europe's geopolitical strategies, political systems, economic structure and security position in the global space.Although the Eastern European states were liberated from an imperial regime, their Western integration efforts were not fully aligned with expectations.The European market expanded, but with it, the problems too, until the 21st century brought the first exit from the EU, Brexit, and therefore many argue that the EU should take much more responsibility for protecting its citizens.Globalization has also brought security risks to Europe that European citizens had previously been less exposed to.Already at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union, we were immediately faced with a major wave of refugees in the eastern region of Europe, namely refugees from the GDR (German Democratic Republic) via Hungary to the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany EDA -European Defence Agency), refugees from Romania to Hungary, the horrors of the war in the southern part of the country, and then the difficulties of European integration.The security problems created by global climate change have not been forgotten either.Floods, industrial disasters, famines, population movements, and the spread of the information revolution all confronted the countries of the European continent with the fact that something was not working well and that something had to be done.The armies of the European Union's states have been degraded over the last 80 years, and confidence in NATO has not even encouraged improvement, so Europe's military security exposure has increased greatly.The EU's security position, role and global weight have been completely devalued, and it is now clear that it cannot escape US influence.After September 2001, the USA independently formulated its national security strategy and published it in 2002 (Barton, 2002).As a result, the EU had to take a stand and formulate its strategy and behaviour in the context of world events.The EU Security Policy Representative Javier Solana drafted a document (European Security Strategy-2003), which the EU Council adopted.This document summarises very briefly the following main security factors: terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, organized crime, and the issue of failed states.It was intended to bridge the contradictions of the then flourishing European era because USA geopolitical 'private actions' had frightened European leaders, and there was no consensus, for example, on the 2003 invasion of Iraq (Tocci, 2017).The adoption of this document did not solve Europe's problems because geopolitical events changed rapidly, and Europe had to face new security problems over time, such as migration, epidemics and natural disasters.The migration events of 2015, with which we are now familiar, prompted the European Union to try a breakthrough, presented to the European Council in 2016 by its then High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini; Shared Vision, Common Action: a Stronger Europe.A Global Strategy for the European Union's Foreign And Security Policy (Tocci, 2017) (European External Action Service, 2016).The Council of Europe very quickly adopted this basic document and has been in force ever since.In the meantime, the Brexit process is underway, and this is interesting because the British MEPs who are about to leave the EU have been involved in the thinking behind this document.The opening sentence of this document was very different from 2003 one, which was quite optimistic: "We need a stronger Europe; that is what our citizens deserve; that is what the world expects.We are living in a time of existential crisis, inside and outside the European Union" (EU HR/VP:2016:1) (Tocci, 2017).However, it is important to highlight the formulation of human security, as the principles of cooperation with civil society organizations and the private sector are very nicely outlined in the document while "defining itself as a responsible global stakeholder" (Aldrin & Hubé, 2016).The European Union, based on its experience so far, has a naïve attitude of preferring the tool of "soft diplomacy", as formulated by political scientist Joseph Nye, because, in this case, military and economic power is not necessary to be a convincing global force.Most EU member states believe they have these tools, even though they consider their cooperation with NATO important and not to be ignored (Nye, Jr, 2004).The document mentioned above is important, even though the Treaty of Lisbon of 2007 also encourages the Member States to pursue a common defence and security policy.The creation of the European Defence Agency (EDA) in 2004 was also in this spirit, which would move Europe towards joint defence research, joint defence industrial development and joint capability development, but the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe), established in the 1970s, is still the continent's dominant security body (Guilford Kerr, 2015).

The Global Security
After a brief overview of Hungary's security situation, its place in the European security framework and Europe's role in the global space, it is essential to look at all the geopolitical actors in the global space and the security issues that have and will affect all the populations of the world.
The global actors that determined the security of our planet in the 20th century seemed to have very simply decided who would take the lead so in the almost 30 years since 1991, researchers and experts in the field have been deceived by the false impression that the world could be controlled militarily, economically and ideologically by one player for a very long time.Already in the first decade of the 21st century, experts had to reflect on the fact that the world has become a multipolar 'chess game', not a unipolar or bipolar one, i.e. the USA is no longer the only player in the exercise of power and the direction of power, but new powers, states and alliances that have become stronger economically and militarily during this period are now demanding space.The rise of globalization has speeded up the process of interdependence, both in terms of economic security and social security.The actors concerned have joined economic or military-security alliances in accordance with their interests and geostrategic principles and considerations.Still, at the same time, this process has undoubtedly strengthened the role of sovereignist actors, typically those with national interests, who do not see their future in terms of globalism but in terms of regionalism.The global challenges of the 21st century, which a single world power actor can no longer define, are manifold: we can identify state failures, economic crises, terrorism, population movements, natural disasters, industrial disasters, national conflicts, the struggle for resources, the provision of basic foodstuffs such as water, the protection of key critical infrastructures, abuses in virtual space, cybercrime and regional wars (Barnett & Duvall, 2005).However, it is also clear that even the biggest power players struggle to cope with the burden and difficulties of major natural or humanitarian disasters.We only have to think of the case of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.NATO's leading state as a global strategist failed to apply the principle of resilience to make the most vulnerable in its society resilient in the region where Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 (Sáfár, 2018).One of the world security actors is NATO, whose military-security role is the largest globally today.Still, it is worth attention to China as a recently emerging economic, military and technological power (Babos, 2019).Russia has also become a global economic and military power again, and it is also a global that will take a hard line if necessary (Besenyő, 2019).Equal attention should be paid to the emergence of India on the global economic and political security scene, as its demographic data suggest that it is already a significant player at the global level, and its rapid economic and technological development is slowly becoming a factor that is not only felt locally but also as a global player.The African Union is also making progress, and its current economic performance should not mislead us, as its demographic data suggest that it will no longer be a force to be reckoned with by 2050 (Barston, 2019).It is important to mention the SCO alliance, and the SAARC alliance (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), which are not military alliances like the CSTO but fit well into the paradigm of Eurasian integration that is now clearly emerging (Singh & Singh 2021;Vinokurov & Libman, 2012).The economic security role of the BRICS, a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is also an important factor in the global space.USA interests do not shape this alliance.Civil actors from EU Member States are present in the above-mentioned geopolitical areas.They are active at the global level in human security, health security and sometimes food security.

Hungarian NGOs active in the field of human security, social security and health security in Hungary and the global space
After the regime change, when Hungary freed itself from the Soviet sphere of interest and started its accession process to the Western military and economic alliances, it also demonstrated its new democratic establishment by building up its civil society, allowing banned organizations to resume or formulating new ones.
The Hungarian Red Cross did operate in Hungary but in a subordinate role to the State Party.The organization was founded during the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1881 and became a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1921.Since then, it has played a very important role in natural and human-made disasters worldwide (Sáfár, 2018).Its foundation was also based on human security issues, such as the idea of a Swiss businessman who saw the wounded in the Battle of Solferino.The battle took place in 1859, and as a result, in 1863, Henry Dunant founded the international organization that is still one of the world's most prominent actors in the global field of social security, health and safety.The Hungarian Red Cross, as a member of the ICRC, is present on every continent of the world in areas affected by natural disasters, wars and humanitarian crises, coordinating international organizations (Hantos, 1981;Our History, Red Cross website).
Caritas Hungary operates worldwide, wherever the Catholic Church is present.It undergoes human security activity based on the teachings of the Catholic Church, which is obliged to carry out its activities irrespective of gender, age, nationality, or religion, wherever humanitarian disasters occur, not only in war times but also in peacetime, where it carries out a huge social security activity worldwide.The Caritas Hungary emerged as an organization in the early 20th century at the urging of Ottokar Prohászka and was very active in the humanitarian disasters of the two world wars.Today's Caritas Hungary was registered as a legal entity of the Catholic Church in 1991 at the Hungarian Metropolitan Court of Justice.Then it joined Caritas International, which currently carries out security activities in almost 166 countries.It is a Hungarian NGO that responds early to all humanitarian needs of global security threats and carries out its social security activities following international standards (Schupler, 2009; Member organizations, Charity Council website).
The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid is also a member of the Hungarian Charity Council, established in 2010.The organization does not have a long history, it was only founded in 2006 with the aim to play a humanitarian role mostly in the Carpathian Basin region, but its Health Security Doctor team has already travelled to many places around the world, such as Haiti, Japan, Burma or even Afghanistan, to help with humanitarian crises caused by natural disasters (Our History, Hungarian Reformed Church Aid website).
The situation of the Hungarian Baptist Aid is also special, as it was established after the regime change, and registered in 1996 at the Fejér County Court.Its founder was a pastor, Sándor Szenczy, who held position of president until his death.According to the organization's information, it has been and is active in human security in some 18 countries, but its main tasks are concentrated in Hungary (Abroud, website of the Hungarian Baptist Charity Service).
The Hungarian Interchurch Aid also started its activities after the regime change in 1991.Today, the organization has a significant social security activity on a national level.Still, its resources are not limited to Hungary, but it works in Europe and in many areas outside and Europe, such as the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan (About us, Hungarian Interchurch Aid website).
Among the members of the Charity Council is the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, one of the largest Hungarian NGOs in Hungary, founded at the dawn of the regime change, but its values and ideals go back more than 900 years in history (Török & Legeza, 2009).Along with the Hungarian Red Cross, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta is the Hungarian NGO that carries out its human security, health security and food security activities in most global locations through the framework of international organizations, based on their coordination parameters.

The impact of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta on the international scene
A brief history of the idea: Europe's social values are based on the spiritual and cultural events of the Middle East of two thousand years ago.The Order of Malta was born out of the political and geopolitical events of the last few centuries after the turn of the millennium.The Christian-Muslim confrontation was not only about the acquisition of territory.Still, it was also a severe social, cultural and security risk for both sides, putting the actors of the time under pressure to act.The Crusades can be understood in this light.
The ideological value of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta goes back to this time, indicating that the framework of social and human health security was also assessed in important aspects at that time, not only at the local level but also at intercontinental terms.The organization (Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta), owned by the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and Malta, was founded at the beginning of the Crusades.The starting point is Jerusalem itself, the area for the reconquest of which the Crusades began in 1096.There is some speculation, not fully substantiated, that the germ of the organization dates back to the activities of Italian merchants in the Holy Land around 1070, who undertook to provide health care for European citizens who made the pilgrimage.We know that the first identifiable dedicated hospitium (spital) was led by a Provençal seeking monastic life, Gérard de Martigues, who is still credited as the founder of the Order.The role could only have been undertaken by independent and free men who could travel or even stay where the task was.According to sources, they had already played a major role in the recapture of Jerusalem in 1099, and in 1113, Pope Paschal II, in his bull Piae postulation voluntatis, recognized them as the first internationally run institution for the sick.Its development into an order of knights was modelled on the Knights Templars, recognized by Pope Callixtus II in 1120, because the tasks they performed, such as caring for the sick, providing accommodation and nursing the poor, in addition to the wars in the Middle East, increasingly required the military involvement of members who had the appropriate training and equipment.During the military campaigns of the following centuries, the battlefields were not without the military role of the Order, which also reflected the social order of the time: bellatores (fighters), oratores (worshippers), aratores (workers) (Török & Legeza, 2009).
The social structure of the Order was similar: clericos, sacerdotes, laicos liberos.Although the Order had a rule, it was a mixture of the Rule of St Benedict and the Rule of Augustine, drawn up by a leader called Raymund du Puy in 19 points.The Order's headquarters was,, therefore,, Jerusalem at its foundation.Still, it changed headquarters many times over the centuries, with the castle of Margat as its headquarters from 1186 to 1206, and after its loss until 1285, the castle of Acre, followed by the island of Cyprus until 1309.During this period, the Knights Templar ceased to exist for a variety of reasons.Still, many historians attribute this to the fact that it did not embrace internationalism but remained within the framework of the French nation.The next stop for the Knights of Malta was the island of Rhodes until 1522 when the Turkish Sultan conquered the territory and gave the Knights free passage.The Island of Malta was occupied from 1523 to 1789, but Napoleon forced them to leave it as well, and from 1834 the Order was based in its present seat in Rome (Romhányi & Solymári & Tihanyi , 2021 ;Török & Legeza, 2009).
The foundation of the Order of Malta's civil organization, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, took place during the events of the late 20th century, in the 1989-90s, at the end of the Cold War.With the end of the bilateral era and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, East-Central Europe, as a sphere of interest of the Soviet Union, was freed from the Moscow-led regime's authority overnight.At the end of the 1980s, geopolitical changes in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Hungary's southern neighbourhood were associated with high social security risks in these regions, even though not all countries in this region were involved in armed conflicts to force regime change.Such was the case in Romania, where the leaders of the communist regime, unwilling to adapt to the political changes in the region, resisted social pressure, resulting in armed clashes in Timisoara and Bucharest at the end of 1989.As a result of the escalation of violence, a human security crisis emerged, leading to a massive influx of refugees into Hungary, most of whom were of Hungarian nationality and naturally sought asylum there.The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta was actively involved in managing and securing the humanitarian crisis.
In Hungary, a law made registering independent civil law organizations possible on 4 February 1989, and the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta was registered on 10 February (Tampu, 2020).The social security events of the time took the young NGO with them because its activities were fundamentally determined by the human security needs of Europe arising from the changes in world politics, both on the domestic and international scene.As Hungary is becoming part of the economic and political circulatory system of Western Europe, the restructuring, reorganization and rethinking of all security areas at the state level have already called for joint thinking between the newly established Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta and the previously banned and re-operating NGOs.The activities of the first year of the Charity Service were launched in the spirit of the Order's 900-year-old societal (social and health) security doctrine, based on the values of the Order's Constitution, bearing in mind the importance of the Sovereignty of the Order of Malta (Török & Legeza, 2009).
The social security activities of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta started in Hungary and abroad in the year of its foundation.Its first European human security task was the care of refugees from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in Hungary (housing, food, health and safety), carried out in August 1989.It was carried out from 14 1989 to 14 November 1989, with some 48,600 East German citizens seeking to enter the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), reaching their destination via Hungary.Crossing the Hungarian border on 23 December 1989, a convoy of lorries carrying food, clothing and basic medical supplies left for Romania.It also took on an important security role during the war in Yugoslavia, where it deployed its ambulances to evacuate settlements.Hungary's accession to the European Union has extended the international reach of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, which has taken on a more global health security role.Its interest, like that of many European states, was directed towards the African slums monitored by the United Nations, and to this day, it is here that the organization develops most of its most important and international programmes (Where we work, MMSZ website; Romhányi & Solymári & Tihanyi, 2021).
The Order of Malta's Hungarian branch began reaching out to three inferior states in Sub-Saharan Africa after 2006.In 2009, its health activities led to a concrete agreement, the main aim of which was to set up a mission of Hungarian doctors in a church hospital in a Kenyan town, following a long-term strategy.This was, of course, to be coordinated through the international organization of the Order of Malta, even though the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta was responsible for the financial backing of the activity.A great deal of preparatory work had to be done in cooperation with organizations, countries and universities that already had the necessary experience and background knowledge without neglecting the role and cooperation of local church and civic organizations.As a continuation of this health security activity, between 2011 and 2012, the organization implemented the establishment of a 10 million HUF sanitation centre in one of the largest slums in Kenya, Kibera slum, Kambi Muru, with funding from Hungary (Where we work, MMSZ website).The established health centre will provide important primary health care services to the slum dwellers, promoting and reducing many health risks.Local NGOs were also involved in its implementation, providing long-term sustainability opportunities.The services of the sanitation centre include clean running water, showers, toilets, laundry facilities and last but not least, the possibility of all jobs for the people living in the settlement.The facility has also allowed for the construction of a sewage drainage system, which decreases the health risk for the people living there, thus ensuring the health safety of thousands of infants and populations at risk today.
Following the success of the Kibera sanitation centre, another town in Kenya set up a similar centre between 2012 and 2013, using modern technology to provide a complex package of services to local needy people.(Where we work, MMSZ website).The financial scale of this project was much higher and of a higher standard.The sanitation system is still in operation today, ensuring the health security of many thousands of people.In Kenya, other programmes and projects are also running in parallel, such as the repatriation programme, which is also important from a social security point of view because the important thing is to help families who move from the countryside to the slums, seeking shelter, to move back to their rural homes, which are much safer if their livelihoods are secure.In parallel, ongoing impact assessment programmes involving local universities could pave the way for developing similar successful but much larger and more effective centralized systems in municipalities in different countries, even on other continents.
The next African country was Uganda, as Kampala also has a large slum, Kironde Zone, where hundreds of thousands of rural families live.Here, too, clean drinking water was not provided by the local authorities because often, the country's governing bodies do not want to consider the existing social security problems.Thus, the organization has set up a sanitation centre with similar technical equipment, the cost of which was subsidized by Hungary.
Although Tanzania, in the south of the country, does not have slums similar to those in the two states discussed above, it also has humanitarian problems, high levels of poverty and existing infrastructures, if they exist, are outdated, non-functional and life-threatening.In this country, in 2014, the organization renovated the entire water supply and sanitation facilities of a school with a similar amount of money, where 1,200 primary school children are studying (Where we work.MMSZ website ; Juhász & Tampu, 2022), The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta is continuously expanding and renewing its societal (social, human and health) security activities and is present in new countries such as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Thailand, Ukraine, Serbia, Pakistan, countries of South America, etc. (Where we work, MMSZ website; Romhányi & Solymári & Tihanyi, 2021).

Conclusions
Humanity's global security architecture is a complex and intricate task to be understood, built and achieved through networks of alliances.The security of Hungarian citizens cannot be understood without understanding and ensuring the security of European citizens.Still, the foundations of conceptual security of existence extend beyond Europe regarding social, human and health security, as seen in developing societies in Africa and the Middle East.Supporting and guaranteeing the security of these societies, in terms of technical and human resources, is not only the responsibility of the governments of the individual countries but also the responsibility, the basic task, and the mission of social, humanitarian, sometimes religious, civil society organizations recognized and qualified by them.
Today, the Hungarian branch of the Order of Malta is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in Central Europe, maintaining one of the largest humanitarian institutions in Hungary.Its activities in Hungary cover all regions of the country, it has a huge network of staff and thousands of volunteers, so there is no social security sector in which it is not involved.But today, after more than 30 years of operation, we can say with certainty that it is a global player in the field of social security, among all the NGOs that have emerged to mitigate, respond to and recover from humanitarian disasters, with responsibilities in health security, human security and social safety, both in Europe and beyond.