UNICEF

UNICEF: Violent crimes against Hungarian children total 15,000

Budapest (MTI) – Annually, over 15,000 children fall victim to violent crimes in Hungary, UNICEF’s Hungarian committee reported on Wednesday.

In its report, the committee said that while corporal punishment is less frequent, many respondents in an online survey indicated that they did not even consider verbal abuse a form of violence.

Sixteen percent of the 7,000 respondents in the survey said they did not think slapping a child was a physical assault and one third said yelling at a child was “OK”.

Citing official figures, authors of the report said that nearly 80,000 crimes were committed against children during the past 5 years. The cases included over 8,000 instances of jeopardising a minor and 300 cases of sexual violence.

Hungary at midfield in UNICEF report on inequality among children

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary is near the middle in a list of 41 high-income countries that UNICEF ranked by inequality among children, the children’s rights advocacy director at the National Committee Hungary Ágnes Lux said on Thursday.

The report ranks 41 EU and OECD countries according to how far children at the bottom of the distribution fall below their peers in the middle, Lux told a press conference. It looks at bottom end inequality of income, educational achievement, self-reported health and life satisfaction in the period between 2002 and 2014, she added.

Hungary is at 21st place in the category assessing the inequality of income, the same level as Belgium, Malta and Slovenia. In the category of educational achievement Hungary is at 17th place, next to Finland, Portugal and Greece. When it comes to self-reported health, Hungary also stands at 17th place, next to the UK, Slovenia and Latvia. Regarding differences in life satisfaction, Hungary is at 15th place, next to Ireland, Malta and Bulgaria.

Lux said that in 2013, child poverty was at 15 percent in Hungary and more than half of households with children belonged to the deprived category. This means that these households were affected by at least three problem areas connected to their financial situation, such as the lack of heating, no washing machine or no car.

Regarding the overall score, Hungary is at midfield, next to Australia, Germany, Greece, Romania and Portugal.

Denmark tops the list with the least inequality between children and the last place is shared between Turkey and Israel.

Agreement signed on UNICEF Global Services Centre in Budapest

New York (MTI) – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the government of Hungary signed an agreement in New York to establish a Global Shared Services Centre in Budapest.

The document was signed by Hungary’s foreign affairs state secretary Istvan Mikola and UNICEF’s Executive Director, Anthony Lake on Monday local time.

In line with the agreement, more than 300 staff will provide services including payroll, invoice processing, human resources and an IT helpdesk, a statement said.

“I would like to reiterate my government’s commitment to the unique and noble mission of UNICEF aimed at the protection of children worldwide,” Mikola said at the signing ceremony.

He added that Hungary was pleased that UNICEF had selected Budapest to host its services centre because this decision “responds to the agenda of the Hungarian government to consolidate the country as a competitive, outstanding international service hub in the centre of Europe.”

The agreement, won by Budapest out of 24 bidders, is for 15 years, with the option of extending it every 10 years.

Martin Mogwanja, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, told MTI that the centre is planned to start operations with an initial staff of 30 in August.

Photo: MTI

Hungary bids to host UNICEF service centre

Budapest, December 1 (MTI) – Hungary has submitted a bid to host a UNICEF service centre in Budapest, daily Magyar Nemzet said today, citing the foreign ministry’s office for security policy and international cooperation.

The office told the paper that the government decided last week to submit a bid and this happened on Nov. 28.

Ever since the international organisation decided to move away from New York, several countries have expressed their willingness to host its offices, the Czech Republic being another contender in eastern Europe.

A final decision in the matter is expected in the second half of December.

According to the paper, the centre will employ some 350 people and if Budapest is picked, 90 percent of the employees will be Hungarian.

UNICEF: Hungarian Children Unfamiliar with Rights

Budapest (MTI) – According to a recent survey done by UNICEF Hungarian National Committee, few Hungarian children understand their rights and assume that violence by an adult is legal.

The non-representative survey of 1,191 primary and secondary school children in the 10-19 age group conducted in the autumn sought to establish whether children know their rights.

Only every third child was aware they have special rights which are different to those of adults. Half of respondents said adults do not allow them to have a say in their own affairs and every fifth said adults do not respect children, the survey said.

It showed that despite zero tolerance being in place in Hungary since 1995 against any form of violence against children, 44 percent of the respondents did not consider a slap in the face violence and 66 percent were unaware that one child hitting another constitutes assault.

Two out of three respondents would not appeal for help in an instance their rights were infringed, the survey showed.

Ombudsman Outlines Responsibilities

Budapest (MTI) – Laszlo Szekely, Hungary’s ombudsman, told MTI in a wide-ranging interview that the government control office has a constitutional right to investigate how civil organisations distribute funding.

Referring to a rights group which had turned to him for his opinion on whether the control office (Kehi) had the legal authority to examine the use of funds distributed under the Norway Grants scheme — and asking him to seek the top court’s opinion — the fundamental rights ombudsman said the Constitutional Court’s opinion was not required. “My job is to advise the sides involved about the basic legal facts rather than to take sides in a political dispute.” The scope of Kehi’s powers and how they are exercised must be jointly clarified by states (ie, by Hungary and Norway) on the basis of the agreement on granting and disbursing foreign funds, Szekely said.

On the topic of a complaint about the shrinking size of Budapest’s green areas due to the planned museum quarter in City Park, he said this was an issue to be examined not by the ombudsman but by municipality politicians and experts.

Concerning discrimination affecting members of the LGBT community, Szekely said his office had received only a few submissions. However, he called for extra efforts to increase social sensitivity on the issue and to enhance tolerance. “This community was, 2-3 decades ago, forced to remain basically invisible. Now it is high time for society to get used to fact that they openly declare their orientation, which is a basic component of their identity.”

Szekely said it was important for his office to take the complaints and submissions by vulnerable, exposed and low status people seriously. These include the Roma, homeless, drug addicts and the unemployed. In this field civil organisations help the ombudsman’s office greatly, Szekely said, noting for example excellent cooperation with UNICEF Hungary.

Discussing a new task, he noted his office will be in charge of overseeing the enforcement of the United Nations’ Convention Against Torture from January next year. People are kept in detention in Hungary at 4,000 sites that include police and army facilities as well as correction and psychiatric institutions. A new, ten-member team set up by the ombudsman’s office will carry out unannounced spot checks and prepare reports to the UN every year, Szekely said.

Photo: magyartarsashaz.hu

New Website To Help Children’s Safe Web Browsing

(MTI) – Internet service providers will soon launch a new interactive website designed to help children with the basics of online security.

The content on otthonaneten.hu will be different for each age group. The website will teach 5-6-year-olds the basics of the web by letting them put together their own videos. The more adept 8-12-year-olds will be able to use their previously acquired skills in learning how to avoid harmful pages and how to find useful information. The website will provide them with entertainment such as interesting videos, games, music and useful learning tools, the Budapest-registered International Children’s Safety Service (NGYSZ) told MTI.

Parents may also want to get involved, and otthonaneten.hu will have a FAQ section geared specifically towards them. The website will also have articles on cyberpsychology and how to solve problems relating to browsing.

Otthonaneten is a collaborative effort by UPC, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), the Safer Internet Programme and NGYSZ, with support from the Public Educational Presidential Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the UNICEF Hungarian National Committee.

Photo: idesuss.hu