Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Ninety-eighth session

23 April–10 May 2019

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideratio n of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention

List of themes in relation to the eighteenth to twenty-fifth combined periodic reports of Hungary

Note by the Country Rapporteur

1.The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination decided at its seventy-sixth session (A/65/18, para. 85) that the Country Rapporteur would send to the State party concerned a short list of themes with a view to guiding and focusing the dialogue between the State party’s delegation and the Committee during the consideration of the State party’s report. The present document contains a list of such themes. It is not an exhaustive list; other issues may also be raised in the course of the dialogue. No written replies are required.

Statistics (arts. 1 and 5)

2.Statistics on the ethnic composition of the population, disaggregated by ethnicity, national origin and languages spoken. Economic and social indicators disaggregated by sex, gender and ethnicity, and statistics on migrants, asylum seekers and refugees (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, paras. 1–5).

The Convention in domestic law and the institutional and policy framework for its implementation (arts. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7)

3.Update on the concrete application of the Equal Treatment Act and other legislation containing provisions that prohibit racial discrimination, including against national minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, paras. 9–10).

4.Information on the human and financial resources allocated to the Equal Treatment Authority and to the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, paras. 16–17 and 20–21). Activities carried out by the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights to promote and protect human rights, including the rights of minorities, and by the Deputy Commissioner responsible for the protection of the rights of national minorities (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, para. 23).

5.Updated information and statistics on cases of racial discrimination brought before domestic courts and administrative bodies, especially the Equal Treatment Authority and the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, including on reparations provided to victims (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, paras. 18–19, 22 and 24–25).

Racist hate speech, incitement to racial hatred and hate crimes (arts. 2, 4 and 6)

6.Update on the application of the recently amended criminal legislation to combat hate crimes, including examples of cases. Detailed information on measures to prevent and combat hate speech, hate crimes and incitement to hatred, including in the media and on other public platforms such as the Internet, and by politicians and public figures against Roma, migrants, refugees and persons of Jewish origin. Measures to increase awareness among the population about combating hate speech and the role of the media (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, paras. 62–67).

7.Examples of the application of Act XL of 2011 and of section 351 of the Criminal Code with regard to extremist organizations and organizations that promote ideas of racial superiority and racial hatred (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, paras. 56–59).

8.Additional information on the range of penalties prescribed for racial discrimination offences or offences with a racist motive (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, para. 69).

Situation of the Roma community and other ethnic minorities (arts. 2, 3 and 5)

9.Measures to prevent racial discrimination and racial profiling against Roma and the results of those measures.

10.Update on concrete results achieved following programmes to promote the integration of Roma in education without segregation and in the labour market, and to improve their access to health care and housing, including for Roma women (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, paras. 26–35, 37–40 and 78–109).

11.Update on the participation of Roma in public and political life.

12.Information on other ethnic minorities, including on their access without discrimination to education, the labour market, housing and health care, and on their representation in public and political life.

Non-citizens, refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons (arts. 2 and 5)

13.Update on the 2017 amendments to the Act on Asylum and its compliance with the Convention and international standards, with regard to: (a) access to the asylum procedure; (b) respect for the principle of non-refoulement; (c) procedural safeguards accorded to asylum seekers; (d) the right to appeal negative decisions on asylum applications; (e) detention conditions in the transit zones of Roszke and Tompa; and (f) application of Decree No. 191/2015 to designate safe countries and establish the use of the accelerated asylum procedure (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, para. 109).

14.Measures to avoid the automatic detention of migrants illegally entering the territory of the State party and to prevent collective and violent expulsions.

15.Information on access to education, social and psychological services and legal aid for asylum seekers, children and unaccompanied minors in transit zones.

16.Information on the situation of other non-citizens, including on their access without discrimination to education, the labour market, housing and health care.

Human rights education to combat prejudice and intolerance (art. 7)

17.Measures to promote human rights education, including on racial discrimination, in schools. Measures to promote dialogue, understanding and tolerance among the various ethnic and national groups residing in Hungary, including Roma, refugees and asylum seekers (CERD/C/HUN/18-25, paras. 137–138).