Summary

The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, visited Hungary from 15 to 22 November 2021, at the invitation of the Government. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur expresses her grave concern at the attacks on media freedom, independence and pluralism in Hungary over the past decade. By adopting laws and policies that have tended to enhance the political influence of the ruling party over media regulatory bodies and public service media, favouring media outlets supportive of its political agenda, ostracizing and delegitimizing other outlets, weakening the independence of the judiciary and stigmatizing civil society actors, the Government has endangered media freedom and undermined freedom of opinion and expression. The Special Rapporteur recommends that relevant laws and policies be revised to ensure the right to information from diverse sources, news and opinions, and to safeguard independent, free and pluralistic media as an indispensable pillar of multi-party democracy.