In order to promote the situation of nationalities in Hungary, continuous international communication and professional cooperation with the organisations involved in the field is necessary.

The field of nationality law offers numerous opportunities for international action within the scope of the powers granted by the Ombudsman Act, for involvement in the activities of various regional and international organisations in relation to nationalities, for regular contacts with the governmental and social bodies of the mother countries of nationalities and their diplomatic missions accredited in Budapest.

The main international partners of the Minority Ombudsman are:

ENNHRI - European Network of National Human Rights Institutions. ENNHRI is the European regional organisation of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and a member of the Global Network of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). ENNHRI aims to support the work of national human rights institutions and to promote the protection and promotion of human rights in Europe.

ENNHRI's tasks include:

  • Strengthening cooperation between its members.
  • Coordinating joint action on human rights issues.
  • Supporting initiatives to improve the human rights situation.
  • Promoting the implementation of human rights standards and principles.
  • Supporting the work of the GANHRI, which is attached to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

ENNHRI members include ombudsman institutions, human rights commissions and institutes. The FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights) also works with national human rights institutions through the network and directly.

FRA- The Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union is an independent EU agency dedicated to promoting and protecting fundamental rights at EU and Member State level. FRA provides EU institutions and Member States with evidence-based advice to improve the respect for fundamental rights in their actions and legislation.

The FRA carries out the following tasks:

  • Providing expertise on fundamental rights to the EU institutions and Member States.
  • Providing opinions to the EU institutions and governments on the protection of fundamental rights.
  • Collect, analyse and disseminate data on the impact of EU action on fundamental rights.
  • Initiate research and surveys on fundamental rights.
  • Publish publications on fundamental rights and their implementation.
  • Publish an annual report on the situation of fundamental rights in the EU.
  • Design communication strategies and campaigns and promote dialogue with civil society.
  • Proposing mechanisms to enforce fundamental rights.

More information on the FRA's work and publications can be found on the FRA website (fra.europa.eu).

European Ombudsman - The European Ombudsman is an independent and impartial body that ensures accountability of the institutions and bodies of the European Union. The Ombudsman's role is to investigate complaints from citizens, businesses and organisations about maladministration by the EU institutions and to promote good administrative practice. The Ombudsman aims to improve the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the EU administration. Since February 2025, the post has been held by Teresa Anjinho, lawyer, independent human rights expert and university lecturer.

The duties of the European Ombudsman in brief:

Investigate complaints:

The Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration in the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies.

Promoting good administration:

The Ombudsman can also act proactively to identify and resolve wider systemic problems.

Making recommendations:

If the Ombudsman finds maladministration during an inquiry, he will make recommendations to the institution complained against to resolve the problem.

Reporting:

If the recommendations are not successful, the Ombudsman may submit a special report to the European Parliament.

EQUINET - European Network of Equality Bodies - A professional platform for cooperation, capacity building and mutual learning between equality bodies in the legal interpretation and practical implementation of the EU's equal treatment directives and in the promotion of equality and the elimination of discrimination.

National equality bodies are established under the EU's equal treatment directives. This legislation requires each Member State to have (at least) one equality body, whose tasks include providing independent assistance to victims. Equality bodies are specialised authorities whose staff are trained and experienced in dealing with discrimination cases. They can use their powers to take action against discrimination on grounds of age, disability, sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

ECRI - The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance is the human rights body of the Council of Europe. It has been in existence since 1994 and aims to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance in the Council of Europe countries.

ECRI combats these phenomena in the following ways:

  • examining the relevant legislation, policies and other measures in the Member States and their effectiveness,
  • making recommendations at local, national and European level,
  • ECRI reports on all member countries in five-yearly cycles. This involves, in addition to a legal examination of the Member State, field research followed by a confidential dialogue with the Member State government
  • comments on current political and social events
  • formulate general guidelines for the Member States,
  • monitoring changes in international law.

The Hungarian member of ECRI is Imre Juhász, a former Justice of the Constitutional Court, who was nominated by the President of the Republic on 7 July 2025 to the post of Commissioner for Fundamental Rights.

IOM - International Organization for Migration

Founded in 1951, IOM is an intergovernmental organisation in the field of migration, working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.

With 175 Member States, 8 observer states and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is committed to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. To achieve this, it provides services and advice to both governments and people from migrant backgrounds.

The IOM works to ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, thereby promoting international cooperation on migration issues, contributing to practical solutions to migration problems and providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including both refugees and internally displaced persons.

The IOM Charter recognises the link between migration and economic, social and cultural development and the right to freedom of movement.

Since 2016, IOM has been part of the UN system as the lead intergovernmental organisation promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all.

IOM works in four cross-cutting areas of migration management:

  • Migration and development
  • Migration and Development
  • Migration governance
  • Forced migration

IOM's Hungarian office, established in 1991, is actively involved in building the capacity of the Hungarian government to address migration issues through training, regional and international exchanges, conferences and research projects. The IOM Budapest office has entered into partnerships with a number of relevant NGOs that assist migrants and victims of trafficking in Hungary.

UNHCR - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 1950. The General Assembly mandated the High Commissioner to direct and coordinate international action for the protection of refugees and to solve related problems. The High Commissioner's primary responsibility is to protect the rights and welfare of refugees. Its aim is to ensure that everyone is free to exercise their right to seek asylum or refugee status in another country, to return voluntarily to their country of origin, to integrate into the local community or to travel on to a third country. Since 2016, Filippo Grandi has been re-elected UN High Commissioner for Refugees several times.

UNHCR has been operating in Hungary since 1989. In the initial period, it mainly assisted the Hungarian government in drafting national legislation harmonised with international refugee law and in building up the infrastructure for refugee care.

Today, the Hungarian office of UNHCR operates within the framework of the UNHCR Central European Regional Representation. The Regional Representation, based in Budapest, operates in eight states in the region: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland.

In Hungary, UNHCR aims to achieve the following objectives:

  • Ensure that asylum seekers have the possibility to access the safe area in Hungary along the external borders of the EU (Hungarian - Ukrainian, - Serbian and - Croatian borders) and to submit their asylum applications,
  • Ensure that reception and care conditions meet the expected standards, both in reception centres and in other institutions of the refugee care system, and that asylum seekers and refugees residing there are treated with respect, taking into account their specific needs due to their age, gender and diversity,
  • Ensure a fair and efficient refugee status determination procedure and that the standards of national law and the activities of the refugee status determining authorities are in line with international standards and norms,
  • Finding an appropriate durable solution for refugees, including the establishment of effective integration and resettlement mechanisms and, in particular, the creation of an inclusive social climate that rejects racist and xenophobic manifestations.

OSCE - Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) The world's largest regional security organisation. Originally established under the 1975 Helsinki Final Act of the OSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe). It aims to strengthen security and cooperation among member states and to prevent and manage conflicts. The OSCE's activities cover the political-military, economic-environmental and human dimensions.

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities is responsible for the protection and promotion of the rights of minorities in the OSCE member states.

The duties of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities include:

  • Monitoring the situation of minorities in the OSCE member states in the field of the protection of minority rights and taking action in case of violations of their rights.
  • In the framework of promoting dialogue, he mediates between minorities and the majority society and facilitates constructive dialogue.
  • In promoting minority rights, it makes proposals for improving legislation and making measures more effective.
  • It promotes the exchange of information and best practices on minority issues in order to foster cooperation between Member States.

In a number of cases, bodies monitoring international minority rights standards or preparing country reports also ask the Minority Ombudsman for specific technical information to assist them in their work. These contacts are mutually beneficial, since in many cases domestic legal protection goes hand in hand with international legal development: the results of other countries or bodies can often be directly used in the work of the Minority Ombudsman.

The Council of Europe is the framework for the two most important international legal instruments guaranteeing the enforcement of nationality rights:

Both international conventions are regularly monitored by the relevant expert bodies of the Council of Europe. The country reports and expert recommendations resulting from the monitoring visits and the recommendations of the Council of Ministers are available on the Council of Europe website:

  • European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: link
  • Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: link

Continuous communication with the international organisations, professional bodies, experts and representative organs mentioned above is a priority in the work of the Minority Ombudsman. The international professional representation is further strengthened by the activities of Elisabeth Sándor-Szalay as a university professor in Hungary and abroad and permanent member of the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.