Each year hundreds of thousands leave their home due to wars, hunger, torture and persecution globally. In Europe, although often perceived as a safe region, asylum-seekers are often met by refusal, detention and expulsion.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee works towards providing effective assistance to those fleeing to Hungary.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee is looking for lawyers to carry out national research for an EU-wide mapping study on the topic of access to classified data in national security immigration/asylum cases in Denmark, Finland and … Read more
This project aims at addressing some of the challenges and consequences of a demolished asylum system in Hungary through evidence-based advocacy and litigation. Since 2015, the Hungarian government has been systematically demolishing a functioning asylum … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has been providing legal information and direct legal assistance in protection-related matters to those having to flee due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We regularly monitor reception facilities where Ukrainian refugees are accommodated throughout Hungary. We summarize our findings in short, thematic reports.
Since 27 May 2020, it is almost impossible to access the asylum procedure in Hungary. Our new information note summarises the litigation struggle of clients represented by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), who lawfully entered … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s client, a 23-year-old Iraqi man, entered Hungary irregularly in 2015. He immediately informed the police that he needs asylum in Hungary. He was then placed in asylum detention, even though the … Read more
The validity of temporary protection (menedékes) cards is automatically extended until 4 March 2024.
As explored in The Right to Know project in 2021, evoking national security concerns have become a blanket authorisation for some EU Member States to exclude asylum seekers and refugees from protection, reject or withdraw … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) submitted a third party intervention to the European Court of Human Rights on 17 February 2023 in Trapitsyna and Isaeva v. Hungary, app. no. 5488/22 that concerns the interference with … Read more
The rules for applying for asylum in Hungary have changed. These new rules are in force until the 31st of December 2023. This leaflet contains information on how to apply for asylum (refugee status) in Hungary.
In 2021, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee launched its pilot course to support the social inclusion of foreigners and refugees living in Hungary. This is our film on the empowerment course. Please get in touch with … Read more
Hungarian authorities are responsible for the death of a young Syrian man who drowned in the river Tisza at the Serbian-Hungarian border after police assaulted and pushed him back in 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled today.
The Hertie School and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) have joined forces to launch a new project, Strategic Litigation for Rights in Europe: Building Knowledge, Skills and Connections for Legal Practitioners to Use the EU … Read more
Are you a lawyer, passionate about protecting fundamental rights across Europe, and eager to develop your skills and knowledge to unlock the power of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter)? If so, STARLIGHT is for you.
The protection of refugees requires trained professionals, who know how to build and operate protection systems in line with international human rights obligations. Unfortunately, in most regions of the world refugee studies are not taught … Read more
On 7 December 2022, the Hungarian Parliament amended the infamous Stop Soros law in a last-minute amendment that was introduced through a parliamentary supercommittee to an unrelated omnibus bill. The changes will enter into force … Read more
The Hungarian state violated the human rights of three Syrian refugees – the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) declared on December 15. The Hungarian authorities expelled them without properly examining their asylum applications or … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee reached a milestone in our litigation struggle against Hungary’s indiscriminate and violent push-back policy applied at the Serbian-Hungarian border. In September 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that it violates the prohibition of collective expulsions and the right to remedy. This is our second victory in Strasbourg concerning this unlawful practice, and it gives us hope for several similar pending cases – and reaching systemic change in this unfair policy.
The Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed that a common Hungarian practice is not only cruel but unlawful: Hungarian legislation provides that authorities can withdraw international protection further to a danger to national security without providing the grounds of the decision to the person concerned or their legal representative. In September 2022, the Luxembourg court judged in favour of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s client. The judgement clarified that refugees have the right to know why the authorities denied them international protection.
“We do our utmost not to let the children drop out from education.”
“I had to pick the children up to avoid having them stomped.”