null Discussion of the 2023 annual report in the Nationality Committee

At the session of the National Assembly's Committee of Nationalities in Hungary held on 29 October 2024, the Ombudsman and the Minority Ombudsman presented their report on their activities in 2023, which was unanimously adopted and deemed suitable for plenary debate. The meeting was chaired by Serbian nationality advocate Alexov Lyubomir, Vice-Chairman of the Committee.

In addition to a brief summary of the 2023 Ombudsman's activities, Ákos Kozma also dealt specifically with some of the events and challenges in the field of nationalities in the past year. He said that 2023 was a special period in terms of the legal environment, as three important legal documents in the field of nationality law celebrated their round anniversaries. It was the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Act on the Rights of National Minorities and Ethnic Minorities, and in the international context it was the 70th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Convention on Human Rights and the 25th anniversary of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. He stressed that the three-decade history of the Act on the Rights of National Minorities is an indication of the solidity and value of the legislation, while its flexible and professional changes have been implemented regularly. In this context, the Minority Ombudsman was also actively involved in the activities of the working group preparing the revision of the cardinal law, during which she formulated a number of proposals and constitutional comments for 2023. These were accepted by the panel and incorporated into the final draft, which is now part of the Act on the Rights of Nationalities. However, the Ombudsman said that one of the important messages of the 30th anniversary and the celebrations and evaluations that go with it is that young people must be more involved than ever in decisions that affect their communities, as all actions are about their future. The cultivation and development of nationality culture is not an abstract goal, but a clear and undoubted way of shaping the self-identity of future generations.

 

Elisabeth Sándor-Szalay, Minority Ombudsman, said that in 2023 she has paid special attention to several issues that have had a significant impact on nationality communities in Hungary. Unlike in previous years, only some of these issues were predictable, most of them were immediate and necessary professional responses to current social processes and structural problems. The specific topics covered a wide range of issues, such as: the situation of Ukrainian and Roma refugees from Ukraine, the exercise of the rights of opinion giving and consent by nationality self-governments, segregation trends in the domestic public education system, the possibilities and limitations of action against hate speech and hate crimes.

In her summary, the Minority Ombudsman also drew special attention to the situation of nationality self-governments and nationality cultural autonomy, the challenges of nationality education in terms of material and human resources, the worsening segregation trends, and the situations affecting social living conditions and housing. She pointed out that, in the context of the problems examined, the energy and economic crisis, particularly high inflation and the significantly increased cost of living of the population have also posed a major challenge to those concerned.

The Minority Ombudsman stressed that the development of their own culture and the well-being of their own community is only the first task, as all nationalities share legal and policy systems with all other nationalities, and can therefore act and assert their interests together. And for the majority society, all nationalities must be visible, both individually and collectively: the obvious fact must be made clear that the nationality cultures and languages of the nationalities in Hungary not only "enrich" Hungary in a figurative sense, but also represent and convey an inescapable and honourable value for everyone. In addition, the performance and shortcomings of the care systems are experienced by all citizens living in our country, so it is in the common interest to identify and remedy the problems.

Both the Ombudsman and the Minority Ombudsman appreciated the partnership between the Committee of Nationalities in Hungary and the Association of National-level Nationality Self-Governments, and thanked the ongoing dialogue and cooperation with the nationality advocates and the representative of the German nationality in Hungary, as well as with the presidents of the nationality self-governments.

The nationality advocates present thanked the speakers for their summaries and in their comments drew attention to the impact of the issues raised in their own communities.

Erika Kissné Köles welcomed the activism in the field of nationality education and the comprehensive study of museums, and indicated further possibilities for investigation in certain areas of cultural autonomy. Slovak nationality advocate Antal Paulik highlighted the lack of information and inaccuracies in textbooks and educational materials on nationality communities. Romanian nationality advocate Trajan Kreszta drew attention to the difficulties in financing cultural institutions, confirming the Minority Ombudsman's remarks that high inflation and rising energy prices pose a serious challenge to nationality institutions. Croatian nationality advocate József Szolga highlighted the obstacles to cooperation between municipal and nationality self-governments, agreeing with the difficulties reported in the context of the right of nationality self-governments to give their opinion and consent. Liliána Grexa, the Ukrainian nationality spokesperson, mentioned the opening of a bilingual school in September, which she considered a great step forward and important, but also expressed that there is a need for a school with a larger capacity and a church, given the needs of the increased Ukrainian community. Speaking about nationality education, Greek nationality advocate Koranis Laokratis mentioned the importance of creating a Greek-language nationality higher education.

In addition to the individual replies, the Minority Ombudsman reflected in general terms on what had been said and assured the representatives of the nationality communities that, in addition to identifying and alleviating problems falling within her competence, she would provide them with professional support, as far as possible, on issues which were important for the nationality communities but which did not fall within the remit of the Minority Ombudsman.

The body adopted the report by 11, with no dissenting votes and no abstentions, and recommended it to Parliament for adoption. The nationality advocates also thanked the Ombudsman and the Minority Ombudsman for their work for the rights of the nationality communities. The Committee's position will be presented to the National Assembly by Liliána Grexa, Ukrainian nationality advocate.

The 2023 Annual Report and its INFO.sheet are also available on the Minority Ombudsman's website.