Human Rights Watch criticises Hungary over conditions of migrants

Budapest, December 2 (MTI) – Asylum seekers and immigrants in Hungary are detained for too long and often under unacceptable conditions, the international Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Wednesday.

In October, HRW visited seven Hungarian migrant facilities, with inmates who had been detained for illegal entry or whose asylum application was pending or had been rejected. According to the report, conditions for those vulnerable groups of people left a lot to be desired.

In the report Lydia Gall, eastern Europe and Balkans expert at HRW, cited guidelines from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and said that asylum seekers should not be detained unless extraordinary conditions make detention necessary and added that keeping vulnerable groups in detention was not acceptable in general.

During its investigation, HRW staff talked to refugees who said they had not received any explanation as to the reasons for their detention, as well as pregnant women or children without families who had been detained for a long time.

According to Gall, Hungary fails to fulfil its international obligations concerning asylum seekers and migrants. She suggested that the EU should exert pressure so that the Hungarian government should drop its border control procedures which violate human rights, as well as its practice of harrassing and detaining asylum seekers.

HRW demands that Hungary should immediately release detainees belonging to vulnerable groups, including families with children, children without families, disabled migrants, as well as people awaiting expulsion but who cannot leave the country within a reasonable amount of time, the report said.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters