Topic: Refugee and migrant rights

2025 report on pushbacks in Europe

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the fundamental rights to be enjoyed by every child.  The Hungarian Child Rights Coalition prepares an alternative report on the implementation of the Convention, which draws on the professional experience of its member organizations and covers developments over the past five years. This year, as a new member of the Coalition, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee is also contributing to the preparation of the report.

Do you want to:
– get to know how democratic power functions at different levels?
– learn about social participation in Hungary and become an active citizen?
– be a part of a diverse, young team of refugees, migrants and Hungarians?
– learn and have fun with interactive educational methods?

If yes, apply to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s Human Rights Course by 29 March!

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee is asking Hungary’s highest court (Kúria) to review court rulings that rejected lawsuits filed on behalf of refugee families from Transcarpathia (Zakarpattia, western Ukraine) seeking continued access to state-funded accommodation. According to the human rights organisation, the courts’ interpretation of the law is flawed and inconsistent with the protections guaranteed under the Temporary Protection Directive.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee prepared an information leaflet for Iranian nationals currently in Hungary.

The project seeks to provide high-quality, free-of-charge legal assistance and representation to asylum-seekers and other persons of concern to UNHCR in Hungary, as well as to ensure through strategic litigation activities that the right to international protection … Read more

The project encourages and provides practical tools to help youth with refugee background, migrant and Hungarian youth  to become active and conscious members of their communities and Hungarian society;  and to advocate for their and … Read more

The HHC’s shadow reports and its suggestions for questions to be included in the List of Issues for the UN Human Rights Committee

The “Human Rights Defenders of the Future” the youth group of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, held a Forum Theatre performance on 10 December, on World Human Rights Day. The interactive performance portrayed the problems refugees and foreigners face living in Hungary.

A new handbook is published to support civil society in building strong communities of practice and the first ‘Caring to Include’ toolkit can be accessed that is developed to strengthen the well-being of staff and volunteers who support refugees and people seeking protection.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), together with the Support Network for Detainees and Their Families (FECSKE), has contributed to the call for input by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee participated at the 2025 OSCE Human Dimension Conference. This 11-day conference was dedicated to discussions on the condition of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the OSCE area. The conference provided … Read more

Do you want to:
– get to know how democratic power functions at the local level? 
– be a part of a diverse, young team of refugees, migrants and Hungarians? 
– explore human rights issues faced by refugees in Budapest? 
– learn and have fun with interactive educational methods? 

If yes, apply to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s Human Rights Course by 14 September! 

The project encourages and provides practical tools to help youth with refugee background and Hungarian youth  to become active and conscious members of their communities and Hungarian society;  to advocate for their and others human … Read more

WING is a transnational initiative running from 1st June 2025 to 31st May 2027, funded under the CERV programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) of the European Commission. It is jointly implemented by eight civil society organizations from across … Read more

This report presents key insights from seven refugee-assisting organisations in Europe, including the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. As part of the Caring to Include project, it identifies challenges, good practices, and clear priorities for improving staff mental well-being and embedding trauma-informed approaches.

In a landmark judgment, the European Court of Human Rights has mandated the Hungarian government to pay just satisfaction to three asylum seekers represented by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee after determining their expulsion from Hungary … Read more

We hosted the first toolkit development meeting on the mental well-being of staff and volunteer in Budapest for our partners in the Caring to Include project, coordinated by the Dutch Council for Refugees and funded by Erasmus+.

June 20 is World Refugee Day. Meanwhile, in Hungary, the word “refugee” has become a slur, and xenophobia underpins government policy. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organization devoted to defending persecuted people, firmly rejects this approach. Its refugee clients have just won two more cases at the European Court of Human Rights. In both cases, children – even with serious health conditions – were victims of rights violations by Hungarian authorities.

Despite having a Hungarian wife and daughter and living lawfully in Hungary for 31 years, a Turkish father was expelled from the country. He was not even informed of the reasons why his presence was considered a security risk. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has awarded him just satisfaction amounting to approximately six million forints, ruling that the Hungarian state expelled him without ensuring a fair trial and adequate judicial remedy. Orhan Demirci was represented by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.