ECRI Report, Published on 9 June 2015
Country
Hungary
Year
Type of publication
Geographical coverage
National
Area/location of interest
Type of Institution
Council of Europe body
Institution
Main Thematic Focus
Racism & xenophobia Discrimination Ethnic profiling
Target Population
Muslims Migrants Ethnic minorities People with migrant background Refugees & asylum seekers
Key findings
Acccording to the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, data on hate-motivated offences are collected by the prosecutor’s office and the police and are published as part of general crime statistics with no recording of bias motivation. Data protection laws generally do not allow the recording of data on ethnic origin or religion. The authorities informed ECRI that between 2009 and 2013, the police recorded 201 incidents as possible violations of Article 332. They were also able to state that 62% of these incidents involved alleged hate speech against Roma, 20% against Jews, 7% against LGBT persons and the remainder concerned ethnic origin and skin colour.
• The rise of the radical right-wing populist party, Movement for a Better Hungary, better known as Jobbik, along with its open anti-Gypsyism and antisemitism, have generated negative headlines about Hungary in recent years. Jobbik was described variously as fascist, neo-Nazi, extremist, racist and homophobic. Its rhetoric fuels existing prejudices against Roma and Jews in particular and has contributed to the current climate of resentment and hostility towards these communities.
• ECRI is, moreover, concerned that hate speech is not restricted to extremist parties and groups but occurs across the political spectrum. State officials and members of mainstream parties have been implicated. For example, a prominent journalist, co-founder and member of the ruling Fidesz party, published an article in the Magyar Hírlap newspaper in January 2013 in which he asserted that a significant portion of Roma are “animals” that “should not exist”.12 This caused outrage in Hungary and across Europe.13 Similarly, in May 2014, the Prime Minister’s personal representative for cultural matters stated publicly that the theatre world should be liberated from the “lobby of the fags”.
Methodology (Qualitative/Quantitative and exact type used, questionnaires etc)
The working methods for the preparation of the reports involve documentary analyses, a visit to the country concerned, and then a confidential dialogue with the national authorities.
Sample details and representativeness
ECRI’s reports are analyses based on a great deal of information gathered from a wide variety of sources.