In a new report published today, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) welcomes positive developments in Hungary since adopting its last report on the country in 2015, but many issues raise concern (see the Hungarian version of the report). 

ECRI lauds the adoption of a police hate crime protocol in 2019, which aimed at enhancing hate crime investigations, including through the appointment of ‘mentors’ at each local police unit. Furthermore, the authorities have made significant efforts to improve Roma inclusion through the National Social Inclusion Strategy, supplemented by further actions, such as the “Emerging Settlements” initiative. ECRI is also pleased that serious efforts were made to offer protection and support to people fleeing from the war in Ukraine.

Despite these developments, the ECRI report, which covers the situation in the country until 30 June 2022, expresses concern over other important issues, such as the adoption of restrictive laws and legislative changes that seriously undermine the human rights of LGBTI people, in particular during the period of “state of danger” (associated with the Covid-19 pandemic), and of asylum seekers.

According to the report, political and other public discourse in Hungary has become “increasingly xenophobic” and has taken on “highly divisive and antagonistic overtones” in recent years, especially targeting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, Muslims and LGBTI persons. The report thus strongly encourages public figures, including political leaders on all sides, to take “prompt, firm and public” stances against the expression of racist and LGBTI-phobic hate speech and to react to any such expression with counter-speech and “alternative speech”.

ECRI is also concerned that school drop-out rates for Roma remain high, segregation in education is still widespread, Roma occupy the most disadvantaged positions in the labour market and forced evictions of Roma continue, often without appropriate re-housing solutions. 

Another issue raised is the merger of the Equal Treatment Authority, which was a stand-alone equality body until 2020, with the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights. No prior consultations were conducted and no information campaign for the wider public was organised to explain the new institutional framework and available remedies, the report notes. 

ECRI requests “priority implementation” for two recommendations addressed to the Hungarian authorities, necessitating follow-up action within the next two years: 

• to commission an independent review of legislative measures adopted during the period of “state of danger”, their impact on groups of concern to ECRI, including LGBTI persons, and their compliance with Council of Europe and other human rights standards in the fields of equality and non-discrimination;
• to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies to identify and address racist and LGBTI-phobic hate speech and hate crime by providing more targeted and practical training on the 2019 police hate crime protocol.

Other report recommendations include the following: 

• to organise a nation-wide awareness-raising campaign on the avenues of complaints available to victims of discrimination;
• to take urgent steps at legislative level to ensure legal recognition of a person’s gender through procedures that are quick, transparent and accessible to all and based on self-determination; 
• to end all forms of de-facto segregation affecting Roma children in schools;
• to adopt a comprehensive integration strategy for migrants.