Category: News

On the reception of Ukrainian refugees in Hungary

It is without precedent in Hungary’s penitentiary system that convicts were only allowed to have visitors in merely four months in the past two years. In the rest twenty months, no one was permitted to have any kind of visitor under any condition. Even if this unjustifiable restriction ends in May 2022, the accumulated problems of the past years caused by the unnecessarily strict criminal policy will not be solved. Today, forty thousand children are being deprived of their right to family life.

Out of 275 applicants, the Support Network for Detainees and their Families was selected as the one of the 15 best and most innovative nominees and have won a jury prize of €2,000 at SozialMarie – Prize for Social Innovation yesterday.

Civil society organisations who challenged the National Election Committee’s decision in the Curia (Supreme Court) have achieved an important victory, not only for themselves but also for the 1.7 million people who decided to cast an invalid vote in the referendum.

The HHC has long been reporting on issues related to unnecessary restrictions of detainees’ contact with the outside world to the CPT. For the past years, there has been a systemic overuse of COVID-lockdown measures … Read more

On Sunday, more than 1.6 million Hungarians cast invalid votes to reject the government’s manipulative and fear-mongering referendum. The invalidity of the referendum shows that the majority of Hungarians do not support the government’s exclusionary policies. Five days after the miserable failure of the government’s anti-LGBTQI referendum, the National Election Committee (NEC) suddenly realized that the months-long campaign “defeats the constitutional purpose of the exercise of power.”

Millions of children have been forced to leave Ukraine since the beginning of the war. They are in a particularly vulnerable situation, which is why they require an additional measure of legal and social support.

This document contains useful information if you are a Ukrainian citizen, a family member of a Ukrainian citizen or if you lived in Ukraine prior to 24 February.

We compiled a factsheet on issues hindering good family contact of detainees in Hungary. Why is detainees’ contact with the outside world important? Contact with family members promotes the reintegration of prisoners and the prevention … Read more

Interview with András Léderer, senior advocacy officer of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s refugee programme.

The Hungarian Government requested additional funding under the Recovery and Resilience Facility from the European Commission in the Prime Minister’s letter of 18 March 2022. Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan is yet to be approved … Read more

Our new information note provides on overview on recent key developments following the baseline information note published on 21 February 2022. These series of notes are aimed at those who would like to have up-to-date … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee provides regular, reliable information on the situation at the Ukrainian-Hungarian border and of refugees fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian invasion. Our updates on the protection situation in Hungary: 2 March … Read more

Our updated guide is available in four languages: Hungarian, English, Ukranian, Russian. Individuals fleeing from Ukraine have different options in Hungary based on their citizenship. This document collects the most important pieces of information. Detailed … Read more

Our communications to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe show that the independence and integrity of the judiciary in Hungary has been further weakened by the government, and Hungary has been failing to implement the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the Baka case.

Today the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), delivered its judgment in the case of an Afghan family who were held in the transit zone for 209 days in 2017. The Court found that the familiy had been unlawfully detained under inhuman conditions.

In the early hours of this morning the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine began and populated areas across the entirety of Ukraine are being shelled by Russian forces. People will inevitably start fleeing the armed … Read more

European election observers and Hungarian civil society organisations call on EU Member State governments to honour OSCE ODIHR’s recommendations and second election observers to Hungary for the parliamentary elections on April 3   To EU … Read more

Our new baseline note provides an overview of the legal framework, practical arrangements and key developments on nine key areas, from the electoral system to the regulations on election observation. The note is aimed at … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee welcomes today’s ruling by the CJEU, which is an important victory for the rule of law and EU citizens.