EU Commission slams Hungarian government for giving space for hate speech

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) criticised the Hungarian government for campaigns that have created a forum for the rise of hate speech.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), established by the Council of Europe have published their 6^th report on Hungary. The Commission slams the Hungarian government for giving space to hate speech, napi.hu reports.

There are some positives…

The report lists several good practices since the latest installment of ECRI’s proposals was suggested back in 2015. They highlight how the authorities and civil society organisations have seriously tried offering protection and support to people fleeing from Ukraine.

However, despite the progress achieved by the country by for example establishing a public Victim Support Service, some issues give rise to concern for the ECRI.

Most importantly, the commission slams the Hungarian government for using legislative changes that encourage hate speech.

• Read also: Hungarian minister: Get ready for a prolonged war, gas power plants to be built in Hungary

…but the negatives outweigh them

“The Hungarian public discourse has become increasingly xenophobic in recent years, and political speech has taken on highly divisive and antagonistic overtones particularly targeting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, Muslims and LGBTQ+ persons” – the ERCI states in the report.

“Several legislative changes channeled through government-supported campaigns have created a forum for the rise of such hate speech. These trends seem to have generated sentiments of marginalisation and exclusion among several parts of the population within the Hungarian society.”

The commission is also concerned that “the effectiveness of the legal framework on hate speech falling within criminal law remains extremely limited”. They also lament that the legislation continues to lack provisions on racist motivation, as an aggravating circumstance.

• Read also: UN Committee is “extremely concerned” about the situation of women’s rights in Hungary

The report establishes that in Hungary, “due to increasingly hostile political discourse and the adoption of a series of restrictive laws”, the human rights of LGBTQ+ persons have significantly deteriorated.

These suppressive laws were fast-tracked after the Hungarian government announced “state of danger” due to the pandemic. This means that they were accepted without “any meaningful public consultations”.

Overall, the ERCI report establishes that “these trends seem to have generated sentiments of marginalisation and exclusion among several parts of the population within the Hungarian society”.

The full report, which gives 16 recommendations for the next 5 years for the Hungarian government, can be found here.

Read alsoRussian political scientist: Putin wants to occupy even Hungary

Source: napi.hu