Breaking barriers: justice for children with imprisoned parents

Our coalition’s submission is a call to action, highlighting the urgent need for the CRC to address the rights of children affected by parental imprisonment in its General Comment No. 27 on access to justice and effective remedies. The coalition, comprising the Support Network for Detainees and their Families (FECSKE), the Hazavárunk Foundation (HF), and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), emphasises the challenges faced by these children, including lack of recognition as rights holders, inadequate support and services, and restrictive visitation policies that undermine their right to maintain contact with imprisoned parents in Hungary. We call for a reversal of policies that marginalise these vulnerable children and advocate for increased collaboration between civil society and state agencies to uphold children’s rights.

The submission underscores systemic issues in the prisons of Hungary, such as severe restrictions on family visits and a lack of child-friendly environments, which hinder the maintenance of parent-child bonds. It also draws attention to broader socio-economic challenges faced by affected families, including poverty, stigma, and limited access to support services. We recommend that the CRC urge State parties to support CSOs in providing essential services, enhance training for professionals on the realisation of the best interests of the child principle, and promote independent monitoring to ensure compliance with international standards.

The document further highlights some good CSO practices such as providing services to children with a parent in prison by fostering the maintenance of the child-parent bond (HF’s Package from Dad programme), further including legal aid and empowerment (HHC’s strategic litigation and FECSKE’s empowerment activities). As pointed out in the submission, States should seek a consolidated and cooperation-based relationship with CSOs. However, in case of little or no openness to cooperation from the authorities, strategic litigation and continuous advocacy are crucial tools to drive positive structural change and uphold the rights of children and families affected by parental imprisonment. An example of this is a strategic litigation success in which an HHC lawyer was involved in representing one of the applicants: In a 2023 landmark judgment, the European Court of Human Rights condemned the practice of the overall ban on physical contact upon prison visits in Hungarian prisons, and this practice has been subjected to an ongoing policy change.