Commissioner Hammarberg continues dialogue with Hungarian Prime Minister to
eradicate intolerance and discrimination
Strasbourg, 26/11/2009 – “The Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, published today a
letter sent to the
Prime Minister of Hungary, Mr Gordon Bajnai, on the fight against
intolerance, discrimination and racism affecting members of minority
groups, in particular Roma.
The letter follows the Commissioner’s visit to Hungary last October
during which he held discussions with the Prime Minister, the Ministers
of Foreign Affairs and of Justice and Law Enforcement as well as with
other representatives of national authorities, international and
non-governmental organisations.
In his letter, the Commissioner reiterates his grave concern about the
observed rise of extremism, intolerance and racism which has targeted in
particular Roma. He is also worried by the public use of anti-Roma, hate
speech by certain public figures and by the lack of strong condemnation
of and effective measures for preventing similar incidents.
While welcoming some positive measures undertaken by the Hungarian
government like those aimed at integrating Roma into the public sector,
Commissioner Hammarberg stresses that such measures should be
accompanied by activities to increase public awareness of the situation
of national minorities and other communities which suffer from
discrimination or intolerance, such as the Roma, the Jewish community
and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people.
Finally, the Commissioner recommends the ratification by Hungary of
Protocol N° 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights, containing a
general prohibition of discrimination, and the acceptance of the
collective complaints procedure under the European Social Charter.
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