Information leaflets for asylum seekers
Information leaflets for asylum seekers in 9 languages are now available and can be downloaded! The publication was supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Topic: Refugee and migrant rights
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.
Access to Territory and Asylum Procedure in Hungary 2010
This report summarizes the experiences gathered in 2010 in the course of the project “Asylum Seekers’ Access to Territory and Asylum Procedure in the Republic of Hungary”.
Watch our latest short films!
Our latest short films showcase the work of Helsinki Committee lawyers in helping refugees and migrants in Hungary.
Info leaflets for young asylum seekers
Information leaflets are now available for unaccompanied young asylum seekers in eight languages thanks to the support of the Europeam Refugee Fund. The leaflets can be downloaded by clicking on the pictures.
Structural differences and access to country information (COI) at European courts dealing with asylum
Country information (COI) is widely considered as determinant evidence in most asylum cases, but national courts’ practices relating to the access to COI and its judicial interpretation are also divergent.
Refugee Law Reader Conference on Asylum and Refugee Law Education in Europe
The project “Knowledge-based harmonisation of European asylum practices”, coordinated by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, held its closing conference in Budapest on 8-9 December 2011.
Statement on the Hungarian-Slovakian dual citizenship issue
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee finds the case of ethnic Hungarians from Slovakia losing their citizenship due to obtaining Hungarian citizenship astonishing and absurd. As a consequence of the bad neighbourly relations between the two countries, … Read more
Fleeing Homophobia – LGBT asylum applications
Each year hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) asylum seekers arrive to Member States of the EU. European countries regularly reject the asylum applications of LGBTI asylum applicants on the basis of prejudices and stereotypes.
Migrants in the Media
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s study examines the negative stereotypes in the Hungarian media related to the topics of migration and refugees. The research was based on 300 articles collected and evaluated in 2011.
Serbia as a Safe Third Country: A Wrong Presumption
Hungary refuses to examine on the merits asylum claims of asylum-seekers arriving in Hungary through Serbia, based on the wrong presumption that Serbia is able and willing to provide protection to these persons. This practice is in breach of Article 3 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Strasbourg Human Rights Court rules Hungary held asylum-seekers in detention unlawfully
The European Court of Human Rights found that two Ivorian asylum-seekers, represented by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, had been held in immigration detention unlawfully for 5 months. Hungary must pay 10 000 EUR to each applicant for damages. The Court’s judgment highlights systemic problems concerning the detention of asylum-seekers in immigration jails in Hungary.
Country Information in Asylum Procedures – Quality as a Legal Requirement in the EU
In recent years, country information (COI) has become one of the main issues on the European asylum agenda, partly as a result of the spectacular advancement of information technologies.
The crucial influence of interpretation in proceedings with foreigners
The aim of the project is to raise awareness of the crucial influence of interpretation in the course of proceedings with foreigners.
COI in judicial practice
Practical cooperation, exchanging good practices and dialogue on the assessment of country information (COI) as evidence in the judicial review of asylum decisions.
UN Committee Against Torture (CAT)
Documents related to the Fourth Periodic Report of Hungary
Statelessness in Hungary (2010)
Having a nationality is like the air to breathe. One takes it for granted and only realises its importance when it is missing. Currently, there are at least 12 million stateless persons in the world, … Read more
Best practices of voluntary return – Guidelines (2010)
In the framework of its 2010 project entitled “Return in a lawful and humane manner” the Hungarian Helsinki Committee conducted a research on best practices of voluntary return and reintegration of failed asylum seekers or other groups of migrants.
Foreigners in Hungary – A Guide for Journalists (2011)
Is it true that most immigrants are Chinese in Hungary? Is it correct to talk about “economic refugees”? Foreigners are more likely to commit criminal acts than Hungarians, aren’t they? What is the difference between expulsion and extradition? Is it true that in Hungary the number of immigrants has been radically increasing in recent years?
Fleeing homophobia – Seeking safety in Europe project (2010-2011)
The aim of this project (led by the Free University of Amsterdam) is to identify best practices regarding qualification for international protection and asylum procedures.
“Individualised” risk of torture in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee wrote a policy paper that aims to clarify how the European Court of Human Rights, in its evolving jurisprudence, interprets the requirement of individualisation when defining the threshold for a real … Read more