ombudsman

Ombudsmen of Turkic states meet in Hungary

Turkic Council Orbán

The Turkic States Ombudsman Association is holding its next international conference in Budapest, the Hungarian Ombudsman’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.

A delegation of the association has arrived in Hungary comprising of ombudsmen from Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. They visited north-eastern Hungary’s Beregsurány to observe the legal and humanitarian support provided to people fleeing Ukraine by the Hungarian Ombudsman’s Office, the statement said.

The delegation is scheduled to visit regional ombudsman offices in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, as well as meet the president of the Constitutional Court and other officials, it said.

Hungary’s ombudsman launches study on measures against child abuse in schools

Daily News Hungary Logo Új

Ákos Kozma, Hungary’s ombudsman of fundamental rights, has launched a comprehensive study of measures available to apply in public education institutions in the instance of sexual or any other form of abuse against children, the ombudsman’s office said on Monday.

The ombudsman has contacted some one thousand primary and secondary schools and vocational training institutions to gather information about their experiences in connection with child abuse cases and measures aimed at preventing them, the office said in a statement.

A comparative review of each institution’s experiences, practices, opinions, proposals and current situation is of paramount importance in order to assess the situation, the office added.

As we wrote before, Hungarian Ombudsman was demoted by his foreign colleagues, details HERE.

International Ombudsman Institute head has talks in Hungary concerning Ukraine refugees

police ukrainian refugees

Chris Field, the head of the International Ombudsman Institute, has started a visit in Hungary aimed at reviewing ombudsman services to refugees from Ukraine, the Hungarian ombudsman’s office (AJBH) told MTI on Monday.

Field arrived in Hungary at the invitation of Ombudsman Ákos Kozma.

Earlier on Monday, Field visited the AJBH’s regional office in Debrecen, and the Hungary-Romania border nearby. He was informed about ways of helping refugees, relevant measures taken, as well as about the information centres the AJBH had established along the Ukrainian and Romanian borders to assist new arrivals.

According to the ombudsman’s statement, the practice of setting up information points at the border is a novelty, and several countries have indicated their interests in building a similar system of offices in the provinces, to allow local residents easier access to ombudsman services.

In the next few days, Field will visit the Hungary-Ukraine border, and meet the head of the Constitutional Court, as well as police, immigration authority officials and leaders of the penitentiary system.

As we wrote on May, it is official, the Hungarian Ombudsman has been demoted by his foreign colleagues. The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights fell from category “A” to category “B”. Details HERE.

Read alsoOmbudsman to open office near Hungary-Ukraine border

Hungarian Ombudsman demoted by his foreign colleagues

kozma ákos ombudsman

It is official, the Hungarian Ombudsman has been demoted by his foreign colleagues. The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights fell from category “A” to category “B”.

The Hungarian Ombudsman was downgraded

The World Federation of National Human Rights Institutions has decided to downgrade the Hungarian human rights state institution from category “A” to “B”, as reported by 24.hu.

It means that our Ombudsman no longer has voting rights and cannot hold office in the World Federation. Furthermore, it can only participate as an observer in Federation meetings and cannot actively participate in the work of the UN Human Rights Council.

Failed to address important issues and protect human rights

“Kozma Ákos, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, and his office are failing to adequately address a range of human rights concerns, including violations against vulnerable ethnic minorities, LGBT+ people, refugees and migrants,”

the organisation says.

“It has failed to defend civilians, press freedom and the independence of the judiciary. It has not referred politically sensitive issues to the Constitutional Court. This also shows a lack of independence of the Ombudsman, according to the decision of the World Association of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).”

The Helsinki Committee (Magyar Helsinki Bizottság) writes in a Facebook post that for the above-mentioned reasons, the Hungarian human rights state institution has been reclassified from category “A” to “B”.

The Hungarian institution shows no commitment

“In our shadow report last year, written with the help of several NGOs, we analysed the Ombudsman’s activities in detail and came to the same conclusion as the organisations,”

the Helsinki Committee writes on their social media platform.

“He is now formally out of the prestigious club of ombudsmen who can be taken seriously,”

they add.

“The Ombudsman has had a good six months to demonstrate his independence to the GANHRI. […] How much does the downgrading hurt him? We don’t know, because he hasn’t even disclosed the fact to the public,”

their post says.

Well-founded decision

“However, as Hungarian citizens and civil rights defenders, we are also saddened by the downgrading of the Hungarian ombudsman institution. But it must also be seen that the decision of the world federation is based on the knowledge of the deplorable but real situation. In recent years, the Hungarian state itself […] has reduced the legal protection possibilities of citizens,”

the Helsinki Committee writes.

michel orbán
Read alsoOrbán: European Council should remove the latest sanctions package from the agenda of its next meeting

Ombudsman to open office near Hungary-Ukraine border

Hungary’s ombudsman’s office on Tuesday said it will open a local base near the Hungary-Ukraine border.

Ákos Kozma, the ombudsman for fundamental rights, visited the police headquarters of Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg County to enquire about the handling of refugees fleeing Ukraine and further ways of supporting them.

“I consider it especially important to monitor the situation in person in these extraordinary times, and my staff and I are constantly working on providing legal and humanitarian aid to as many people as possible,”

the ombudsman’s office quoted Kozma as saying.

The local office near the border will provide administrative and legal assistance to refugees.

The ombudsman’s office added that it is also launching a donation drive to help people fleeing Ukraine.

Read alsoThis is how Hungary helps Ukrainian refugees

Hungary’s constitutional order under threat?

March Budapest protest
Ahead of the general election next spring, “statements threatening Hungary’s constitutional order and democracy are gaining traction,” forcing the leaders of institutions that protect it to take a stand, Ákos Kozma, Hungary’s ombudsman of fundamental rights, said on Friday.
 
“Respecting the rule of law and protecting our constitutional values … is our shared duty,” Kozma said in a statement. “Attempts to remove public officials unlawfully or to change the constitution by means that are contrary to the regulations … threaten the foundations of rule of law,” the ombudsman added.

While the pluralism of values and principles is an important pillar of democracy,
 
“certain requirements of the rule of law must enjoy full acceptance in society as a foundation of the democratic state,”
 
Kozma said.

The prime ministerial candidate of Hungary’s joint opposition has indicated that he would initiate a referendum on his plan to overturn Hungary’s constitution should he assume power.
March Budapest protest
Read also Hungary’s constitutional order under threat?

Foster children violently abused in Hungarian group home?

Children Abuse Violence Erőszak

Following a number of allegations of severely disadvantaged children living in unacceptable conditions in the institution in Kalocsa, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary ordered an inspection of the facility, the results of which were recently published.

As hvg.hu writes, the group home has long been the subject of media attention and subsequent investigations due to reports of aggressive behaviour, involving both caretakers and kids, the run-down state of the building, and the lack of proper pedagogical work. For instance, in 2013, four children living at the home were tried for hitting a teacher over the head with a metal rod, in an attempt to steal the keys of the institution and escape. In 2014, magyarnarancs.hu published an investigative piece about the group home, in which former employees and residents spoke of their experiences, revealing some truly shocking facts. According to their accounts,

kids were routinely fed tranquilisers, and there were examples of students being taken to a prison on a “field trip” or left alone while their teachers sat drinking on a nearby sports field.

This was followed up by an inspection in 2016 which mentioned further problems, such as the fluctuation and unpreparedness of employees and the use of cigarettes as a way of controlling students, that is, confiscating them in the case of misbehaviour and offering them as an incentive to get children to cooperate.

smoking, cigarette

In 2020, 24.hu published a series of articles about the group home, in which, in addition to shedding light on further violent acts (such as the nose and nipples of a student being twisted with pliers by a teacher) occurring within the walls of the institution, they also wrote about another scandal: as 444.hu had uncovered,

the priest trusted with the task of offering spiritual guidance to boys aged 10 to 18 had previously been charged with molestation,

in spite of which he was allowed to remain in his position.

The newest report, reviewed by 24.hu, describes the workforce situation of the group home as “improved”; however, it also lists several major issues:

  • children’s meals are lacking in quantity and/or nutrients;
  • kids are not educated according to their age, they are years behind;
  • the building is overcrowded;
  • aggression is made legal by the institution; furthermore, in order to become “part of the community”, new kids need to “fight their way in” while their teachers look on;
  • the group home does not deal appropriately with the matter of smoking.

The summary of the report says that they have not found proof of child abuse perpetrated by a caretaker; however, in the more detailed version, there are references to possible cases: for instance, one child admitted that they had been physically hurt by an adult, while another alluded to having experienced verbal aggression. An unnamed employee stated that the abusive caretaker mentioned in previous reports was still employed by the institution.

sad-child-sitting
Read alsoHungarian children will most often be victims of sexual exploitation in the EU

Hungarian ombudsman orders probe into conditions at orphanage

kalocsa orphanage

The ombudsman for fundamental rights has ordered a review of the conditions at a children’s home in Kalocsa, in southern Hungary, based on media reports and lawmaker accounts of “serious concerns” and allegations regarding the institution, the ombudsman’s office said on Monday.

Independent MP Bernadett Szél announced that she was turning to the ombudsman and the human resources ministry over reports of child abuse at the Kalocsa orphanage in August last year.

The ombudsman’s office said in a statement that

it had conducted a surprise inspection of the children’s home last Thursday, interviewing children and staff.

Ákos Kozma, the ombudsman for fundamental rights, will release a report of the investigation’s findings, including on the operations of the orphanage and the enforcement of children’s fundamental rights, once the review is concluded, they added.

As we wrote before, there may be ten to twenty-five times more victims of child abuse in Hungary than a study anticipated. Unfortunately, the pandemic only worsened the situation, read details HERE.

abuse harassment crime
Read alsoHungary to extradite US man wanted for child sexual abuse

Hungarian ombudsman received no complaints from patients discharged from hospitals

Daily News Hungary

The government’s restrictions introduced in response to the novel coronavirus epidemic have been “necessary and proportionate”, Ombudsman Ákos Kozma said in an interview to the daily Magyar Nemzet published on Wednesday.

Kozma said that regulations introduced in a state of emergency should be evaluated in light of “different constitutional standards”, adding that a special legal order in such situations is aimed at protecting people’s rights to life and wellbeing.

Asked if the ombudsman’s office had received complaints during the state of emergency, Kozma said that

“some applicants asked about the rights of employees and about the data employers were entitled to collect”, while others complained about the high cost of digital education. He said that his office had not recognised any violations in connection with coronavirus restrictions.

The ombudsman said

the office had received no complaints from patients discharged from hospitals to free beds for potential coronavirus patients.

Read alsoHungarian parliament elects new fundamental rights ombudsman

Karácsony promises to address accommodation problems for young people

KARÁCSONY Gergely; FEKETE-GYŐR András

Gergely Karácsony, the joint opposition mayoral candidate for Budapest, pomised on Monday to alleviate the accomodation problems of young people if he gets elected.

At stake in the local elections in October is whether young people leave Budapest or whether those linked to ruling Fidesz currently holding powerful positions do, Karácsony said at a joint press conference with Momentum leader András Fekete-Győr.

The ratio of young Hungarians who use their skills and education abroad is extremely high in European comparison, Karácsony said.

This is mainly due to the government’s “bad policies”, while the municipal council of Budapest has failed to make efforts to secure higher wages and lower accommodation costs for young people, he added.

Karácsony, who is the mayor of Budapest’s 14th district, noted that last year Budapest topped the global list of cities with the fastest rate of real estate price rises. He added that

a programme promoting the construction of rental accommodation and affordable homes has been drawn up in cooperation with Momentum’s experts.

He promised to set up a home affairs ombudsman’s office and regulate home purchases aimed at “financial speculation” if he gets elected.

Also at stake at the election is whether the municipal council does everything after October 13 to make Budapest a hub for the knowledge-based economy in central Europe, Karácsony said. All the conditions for this are given, including universities, large Hungarian companies involved in creative sectors and IT, and the necessary capacity and knowledge, he added.

Karácsony expressed regret over Budapest not having an economic and scientific strategy, noting that he had proposed setting up a Budapest Academy of Sciences.

Fekete-Győr said the current government and regime were no allies to students.

“Hungary’s young people want more Europe and less Putin; they want much more transparency, zero corruption, and innovation”, he said. They want freedom instead of “slavery packaged as Christian freedom”, he added.

Hungarians mark Memorial Day of Roma Holocaust

roma holocaust

Hungarian officials and politicians on Friday commemorated the victims of the Roma Holocaust.

August 2 was named international day of the Roma Holocaust in 1972. Over 3,000 Roma prisoners killed that night in Auschwitz in 1944 are commemorated on that day. About 500,000 Roma, 10,000 Hungarian Roma among them, are estimated to have been killed in Nazi camps, 23,000 of them in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Friday marks its 75th anniversary.

Erzsébet Sándor Szalay, the deputy ombudsman for ethnic minorities, said that accurate teaching of the Holocaust in public education was important for young people to recognise and reject extremist ideologies.

In her statement marking the international Memorial Day of Roma Holocaust on Friday, Szalay Sándor made reference to present-day attacks by neo-Nazi paramilitary groups against Roma, such as the series of attacks in 2009 in which six people died, saying that in order to prevent such actions, legislators, NGOs, religious and professional groups must work together to shape society’s attitudes.

DK

The opposition Democratic Coalition underlined the importance of remembering the victims and the horrors of the Holocaust era.

DK deputy leader Péter Niedermüller and deputy group leader Gergely Arató said in a statement that remembrance was even more important “now that Hungary is again flowing with hate, when the Roma Holocaust Memorial is regularly desecrated, when people are being starved in the transit zones at the border, when the Roma community has its water supply cut off during a heatwave.”

“But European Hungarians can prevent any new horrors together,” the statement said. “They can eliminate hate forever and create a liveable, peaceful world.”

LMP

Opposition LMP said it believed Roma people should never be “second-class citizens” in Hungary.

“Their identity, culture and customs are an integral part of Hungarian national culture, making our shared homeland stronger and richer,” LMP co-leader János Kendernay said in a statement. He said it was vital not prevent expressions of racism, exclusion and hate from gaining a foothold in the future.

Fidesz MEP on Roma Holocaust

It is “our duty” to create laws combatting the discrimination of the Roma and other minorities, and take a stand against racially motivated crime, Fidesz MEP Lívia Járóka said in a statement on Thursday, ahead of the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day on August 2.

Járóka, who is also vice-president of the European Parliament, said the EU and national authorities ensuring equal treatment for minorities should be strengthened, and EU funding should be channeled into evening out historical differences.

She has initiated a multiparty working group to promote the plan.

Hungarian parliament elects new fundamental rights ombudsman

Parliament on Tuesday approved Ákos Kozma as Hungary’s new ombudsman for fundamental rights.

Kozma, nominated by President János Áder, was elected with 137 votes in favour, 39 against and one abstention.

Kozma, serving currently as the deputy head of the Independent Police Complaints Board, has been elected for a six-year term.

He is an expert in constitutional law and has held government positions during the first Orban government between 1998 and 2002.

At a hearing at a joint session of parliament’s justice and sustainable development committees on Monday, he vowed to focus on children’s rights, climate protection and biodiversity during his time in office.

Hungarian ombudsman nominee vows to focus on children’s rights, climate protection

The current ombudsman, law professor László Székely, has held the position since September 2013. His mandate will expire in September.

Hungarian ombudsman nominee vows to focus on children’s rights, climate protection

Ákos Kozma, the nominee to become Hungary’s next ombudsman for fundamental rights, has vowed to focus on children’s rights, climate protection and biodiversity during his time in office.

At his hearing before a joint session of parliament’s justice and sustainable development committees on Monday, Kozma said he wanted to be “everybody’s ombudsman”.

“We have to get out of the ivory tower,” he said.

Kozma identified the protection of children and people in need as his priorities.

In response to a question, Kozma underlined the importance of working with civil organisations. As the ombudsman nominee, however, he declined to comment on political decisions on issues like climate change.

Kozma, who has served as the deputy head of the Independent Police Complaints Board since 2010, said that though he believed the ombudsman’s office in Hungary was doing its job well, he would look into how the institution is run in other parts of Europe and take over practices his office finds useful.

The ombudsman is elected by a two-thirds vote in parliament for a six-year term and may be re-elected once.

The current ombudsman, law professor László Szekely, has held the position since September 2013.

Kozma is an expert in constitutional law and held government positions during the first Orban government between 1998 and 2002.

Hungarian parliament to elect new ombudsman

Hungarian parliament to elect new ombudsman

hungary parliament


Lawmakers will vote to elect Hungary’s next ombudsman for fundamental rights during a two-day session of parliament next week.

Monday’s session will start at 1pm with lawmakers marking Semmelweis Day, a day of national health care. Afterwards, MPs will get to address parliament ahead of the agenda.

Later, Hungarian parliament will vote on establishing a select committee tasked with appointing the members of the Media Council of Hungary’s National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH). This will be followed by interpellations and direct questions.

On Tuesday, following questions to the cabinet, lawmakers will vote to elect the new ombudsman.

President János Áder has nominated Ákos Kozma, the deputy head of the Independent Police Complaints Board, for the post.

The ombudsman is elected by a two-thirds vote in parliament for a six-year term and may be re-elected once. The current ombudsman, law professor László Székely, has held the position since September 2013.

Kozma is an expert in constitutional law and held government positions during the first Orbán government between 1998 and 2002.

Parliament will also vote on ten bills, including an amendment proposal submitted by the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance dubbed Lex Czeglédy.

Under the proposal, an election candidate would not have immunity in criminal proceedings if charges are pressed or the candidate is detained before they are officially registered as a candidate. The bill was submitted after the National Election Committee decided against lifting the immunity of Csaba Czeglédy, a former Democratic Coalition MEP candidate who has been investigated in connection with corruption.

Parliament will also vote on postponing the introduction of a system of independent administrative courts with authority to make rulings in matters of public administration. Further, MPs will consider granting permission to the United States to station its armed forces in Hungary.

Ombudsman turns to chief prosecutor over kindergarten abuse in Budapest

abuse harassment crime

Ombudsman László Székely has filed a report with the chief prosecutor’s office concerning a case in which a child was exposed to “humiliation and mental torture” by kindergarten teachers, the ombudsman’s office said on Thursday.

According to the ombudsman’s findings, the teachers regularly shouted at the child and called the child “stupid”.

The report quoted a psychologist as establishing that the child defecated as a consequence and eventually stopped communicating with kindergarten staff. The parents turned to the head of the kindergarten and to the municipality but did not receive a timely response.

The child protection authority then started proceedings to remove the child from the family.

The parents filed a criminal report but the prosecutor’s office dropped the case “in absence of criminal activities”, the ombudsman’s report said.

In his report, the ombudsman said that abusing children in kindergarten or school was a serious matter and “practices tolerating such behaviours or boycotting investigation must be changed from their foundations.”

According to the report, the parents’ right to a fair procedure was harmed because the kindergarten failed to respond to their complaint in a timely way, while the municipality failed to investigate or inform the complainants about the possibilities of legal remedy.

The ombudsman also noted that removing a child from their family would not prevent possible abuse at kindergarten or school.

As we wrote on January, children with disabilities living in special needs homes in a village in north-eastern Hungary should be moved to foster homes unless conditions in the homes and their affiliated school are immediately improved, the ombudsman’s office said, details HERE.

Ombudsman urges move of NE Hungary special needs home children to foster homes

Romani

Children with disabilities living in special needs homes in a village in north-eastern Hungary should be moved to foster homes unless conditions in the homes and their affiliated school are immediately improved, the ombudsman’s office said on Thursday.

A report released by the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights says an inspection of the special needs homes and school in Tornanádaska revealed that the children there live in isolation and “run-down conditions”.

The inspection also found that conditions at the homes “do not even meet the minimum standard required for caring for children in protective services”.

The report also raised concerns about how the children are being fed.

Further, the operator of the local authority foundation-run homes has yet to begin the renovation works it had been ordered to carry out by social services, the report said.

László Székely, the ombudsman for fundamental rights, has asked the head of the Directorate-General for Social Affairs and Child Protection to explore closing down the homes and placing the children with foster parents or in different special needs homes, unless conditions in the Tornanadaska homes can be improved immediately. Székely has also asked the director of the Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County Social Affairs and Child Protection Centre to initiate a review of the children’s current placement, taking extra care that siblings are placed in the same home.

Ombudsman requests assessment of child-care services

Ombudsman László Székely has requested an assessment of child-care services and the introduction of alternative measures from Human Resources Minister Zoltán Balog in response to a recent survey showing that every third child taken into care is deprived of a family upbringing due to their family’s financial constraints.

Székely said in a statement sent to MTI on Thursday that the practice revealed by the survey breaches obligations included in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and severely violates the child’s right to be raised and looked after in a family.

The survey was completed in Budapest, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Nógrád County, Pest County and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County.

Székely called for coordinated social policy measures in order to fulfil a child’s right to be raised in a family, and said further measures were needed to increase the number of temporary foster parents. He also called for the establishment of a professional working group to work out ways to prevent the problem through social policy measures.

Council of Europe delegation inspects Hungary transit zones

Hungary fence

A Council of Europe delegation has arrived in Hungary to inspect the living conditions of 14-18-year-old migrants in Hungary’s transit zones near the southern border towns of Röszke and Tompa.

Claude Janizzi, who heads the CoE’s Lanzarote Committee and is in charge of the delegation, told a press conference on Wednesday that the delegation had been invited by the Hungarian government to verify child protection measures put in place in the transit zones.

Janizzi said that after enquiring about the government’s efforts to protect unaccompanied migrant children in the transit zones, the committee had been told that 14-18 year-olds are assured legal assistance and are continuously helped by social workers. They are given three meals a day, have access to medical care, are given clothes, receive education and are ensured the freedom to practise their religions.

He said the Lanzarote Committee had been concerned about the situation in Hungary’s transit zones because it had been told that unaccompanied minors aged 14-18 were being counted as adults and treated accordingly. The committee acknowledges Hungarian efforts in recent years, but is concerned that migrant minors, who are in a difficult situation to begin with, could fall prey to sexual exploitation in the transit zones, he added.

He said protective measures for children should be increased rather than cut back.

The five-member delegation is on a three-day visit to Hungary. It will meet the ombudsman for fundamental rights as well as representatives of the Ministry of Human Resources, the Immigration and Asylum Office, the United Nations’ Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and civil groups.

The committee will compile a report on its findings which it will later publish, Janizzi said.

The Lanzarote Committee oversees compliance with the Lanzarote Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation.

Photo: kormany.hu