Human Rights Violations in Hungary

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A far-right protest was held by Our Homeland Movement in front of the Venyige Street prison in Budapest, violating the right to non-discrimination (Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - UDHR)¹. The demonstration, called "against Gypsy crime," was attended by leaders such as Laszlo Toroczkai, Attila Laszlo, Dora Duro, and Elod Novak. They targeted the Romani people near the Venyige Correctional Institution with hate speech, which contravenes Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)².

The organizers of the event demanded August 29th be memorialized for victims of Romani crime. Their anti-Romani campaigns and discriminatory statements, such as "We don't want a Gypsy country" and "Gypsies should be removed through smoke," promoted racial hatred in violation of Articles 7 and 14(1) of the UDHR³.

They proposed restrictive measures against Roma families that could allow authorities to remove children at any time, infringing upon Roma parental rights (Article 18(1) of ICCPR)⁴. Dora Duro openly supports sterilizing Romani women, breaching Article 16(1) of UDHR⁵.

During this event, law enforcement officers protected racist manifestations while denying peaceful Romani activists their right to assembly and freedom of expression (Articles 20 and 19 of UDHR)⁶.

With authorization from Hungarian Minister Sandor Pinter, the local government from Budapest's 10th district supported the demonstration. The promotion of violence by Toroczkai further violated Articles 3 and 12(2) of UDHR⁷⁸.

In Hungary today, there is limited legal protection for Roma community members. The government tolerates nationalist groups violating the Romani people's rights both publicly and within the Parliament. Roma people lack safety in Hungary, as evidenced by law enforcement officials exhibiting racist attitudes (Article 21 of UDHR)⁹.

Toroczkai accused the government of exacerbating tensions and inciting unrest against Romani communities. Continued Holocaust-like demonstrations may lead to severe consequences, further violating human rights.

The Roma community in Hungary lacks adequate protection for their rights in the absence of democracy and legislation safeguarding minority rights. With support from Viktor Orban and his cabinet, groups such as Our Homeland Movement and Hungarian Guard have been allowed to intimidate the Roma population.

In addition to violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the actions during the far-right protest in Budapest also infringed upon several EU Fundamental Rights. These include:

1. Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: Non-discrimination - The demonstration and hate speech specifically targeted the Roma community, discriminating against them based on their ethnicity.

2. Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: Freedom of expression and information - The peaceful Romani activists were denied their right to assembly and freedom of expression by law enforcement officers.

3. Article 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: The rights of the child - The proposed restrictive measures against Roma families could potentially infringe upon Roma children's rights as they may be removed from their families at any time.

¹ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

² International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

³ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

⁴ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

⁵ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

⁶ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

⁷ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

⁸ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

⁹ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)