Комиссар по правам человека

Strasbourg, 15.10.2009 - Commissioner Hammarberg concluded yesterday a three-day visit to Hungary during which he held discussions with the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Justice and Law Enforcement and other representatives of national authorities, international and non-governmental organisations. The discussions focused on the fight against intolerance and racism affecting members of minority groups, especially Roma.

The Commissioner expressed to the authorities his grave concern about the observed rise of extremism, intolerance and racist manifestations that have targeted, in particular, members of the Roma minority population. Of special concern has been the public use of anti-Roma hate speech by certain public figures and the lack of strong condemnation of and effective measures against a reoccurrence of such incidents.

The Commissioner appealed to all party leaders to ensure that no xenophobic or anti-Roma statements be made in the forthcoming election campaign.

Commissioner Hammarberg encouraged the authorities to reflect further and to adopt urgent measures in order to fully protect the human rights of all members of minorities and to align legislation and practice with the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. In this context, he encouraged the authorities to give effect to the recommendations made by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), including the need to penalise with a view to preventing the creation of and participation in the activities of groups which promote racism.

The Commissioner welcomed the efforts made by the competent authorities in order to identify, arrest and punish those responsible for the brutal attacks against Roma. He noted with satisfaction the recruitment of 67 Roma by the police forces and the aim to increase this number to 300 by 2013, as well as the determination shown by the government to make possible the prompt recruitment of 200 Roma graduates in the public sector.

The Commissioner stressed the need to increase public awareness on the situation of minorities which suffer from systematic discrimination or intolerance, such as the Roma, the Jewish community and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people. The use in schools of the Factsheets on Roma History, published by the Council of Europe, was also recommended and authorities showed willingness to make good use of this material.

During his mission, Commissioner Hammarberg also visited the primary school of Erdélyi street in the 8^th district in Pest whose pupils are primarily of Roma origin. Despite efforts made so far, de facto segregation in the field of education seems to persist in Hungary. The Commissioner, recalling the relevant opinions of the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers' recommendations, urges the national and especially the local authorities to take measures for the elimination of Roma pupils' exclusion and segregation and the adoption of positive measures for their full integration in the national education system.

Such efforts should be combined with measures to improve the living conditions of the Roma minority in the country, one third of which reportedly still remains in settlements. The Commissioner refers notably to the government's responsibility under the European Social Charter to provide adequate housing and to ensure the protection of family life and calls upon the Hungarian authorities to enhance social housing and to avoid evictions without making available alternative accommodation for Roma families, as prescribed by the Council of Europe human rights standards.

Finally, the Commissioner calls on the authorities to proceed to the ratification by Hungary of Protocol No 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights, containing a general prohibition of discrimination, and to the acceptance of the collective complaints procedure under the European Social Charter.