COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD STARTS CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF HUNGARY

HR/CRC/98/18
19 May 1998

The effects on children of economic and political changes in Hungary and steps taken to prevent discrimination against Roma gypsy youth were among the issues raised this morning as the Committee on the Rights of the Child took up a report from the Budapest authorities.

Hungarian Government officials presenting the report said the country's move from a planned to a market economy had entailed many difficulties. The economy suffered from underemployment and inflation which affected the circumstances of families, they said, adding that a decree had been adopted in 1997 to see what role must be played by the State to stabilize the economy to improve the situation of families and children. They also pointed to programmes to integrate Roma children into schools and society.

Hungary submitted the document in line with its obligations as one of the 191 statements to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In assessing the report, Committee members asked, among other things, about monitoring and evaluation procedures on the rights of all children in Hungary, including the Roma; the content of the law on the protection of children; contradictions between local legislation and articles of the Convention, and gaps between laws for the protection of children and their actual implementation.

The Committee resumes its meeting at 3 p.m. to continue its consideration of the report of Hungary.
Report of Hungary

The report of Hungary (document CRC/C/8/Add.34) gives an article-by-article account of how the State implements the provisions of the Convention. It says that the Constitution of Hungary affirms that every child shall have the right to enjoy protection and care, provided by his or her family, by the State and by the society, necessary for a proper physical, mental and moral development. The 1996 drafting process of the Bill on the Protection of the Child and the preparation of a comprehensive and substantial amendment to the Act on Public Education and to the Act on Vocational Training will signify a prominent step in ensuring the effective implementation of constitutional provisions and provide possibilities for their further development. Much has to
be done to ensure positive discrimination for the child and to forge the necessary solidarity within society to these ends in the context of the 1995 economic stabilization programme which requires significant sacrifices from citizens and from the system of social and educational institutions since these measures have ushered in a decline in the funding for social policy programmes. In order to promote the interests of the child and youth age groups in governmental policy-making, the Child and Youth Council for Reconciliation of Interests was established in January 1995, with the participation of government officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations covering all age segments of youth.

In Hungarian law, the report says, a child is a person below the age of 18 years, unless the person is married. If a person is above 16 years of age, the guardianship authority may issue a marriage permit, which also means that adulthood has been attained. The minor above the age of 16 years, for whom schooling is not compulsory, may independently enter into a work contract and may leave the parental home with the permission of the guardianship authority. A child cannot be held accountable under criminal law. A person below the age of 14 at the time the act was committed cannot be tried for criminal offence. Criminal law prescribes separate rule for juveniles who are above 14 but below the age of 18, providing for more lenient sentencing ad different criminal procedures and correction rules containing specific guarantees in order to protect the interests of the minor. There are also numerous legal provisions in criminal law that provide special protection for the child. The rights
of children belonging to national or ethnic minorities in Hungary are given effect through positive discrimination. Besides ensuring the rights of national and ethnic minorities by law, Hungarian society must confront the expansion of social prejudice which substantially hinders the effectiveness of these rights. Legal rules alone shall not be able to prevent the proliferation of anti-Gypsy sentiments, racism ad xenophobia, and the Government is therefore contemplating the adoption of active means
to ease social prejudice and to fight intolerance.
Introduction of Report

HANNA SZEGO BOKORNE, Professor and Member of the Coordination Council for Children and Young People in the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary, said political and economic circumstances were important factors which affected children. After the change in the regime nine years ago, Hungary had undergone a deep transformation concerning the concept of human rights. The rule of law had been introduced in Hungary then; the Constitution spelled out civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights, which were so important for children. There were also other Hungarian laws which had improved the situation of children. Economic rights were more difficult because, as the Committee knew, the situation in Hungary's part of the world
was undergoing a period of transition. The move from a planned economy to a market economy entailed many difficulties; the economy suffered from underemployment and inflation, which affected the circumstances of families.

Gypsy Roma children found themselves in disadvantaged situations, Ms. Szego Bokorne said. They were treated the same way as children of disadvantaged families. The Government was constantly trying to eliminate misconceptions concerning them.

She said decree number 31 of 1997 dealt with special protection awarded to children. The difficult transitional period weighed heavily on the family, therefore the purpose of the decree was to see what role must be played by the State to stabilize the economy to improve the situation of families and children. A law for the protection of children had been adopted last year, furthermore, and there were also many laws with special clauses concerning the interests of children.

Discussion of Report Committee experts noted the major structural difficulties connected to political and economic changes in Hungary, but stressed the importance of monitoring and evaluation procedures. It was not only the Roma children who needed to be monitored, but all of the children in the society. Hungary was trying to shape a child-friendly atmosphere, but the participation of children needed to be highlighted. Was there any relationship between the political and economic situation and the implementation of the obligations of Hungary under the Convention on the Rights of the Child? Had there been a comparative study concerning children's rights before and after the political changes? What was the content of the law on the protection of children? Were there any
contradictions between local legislation and articles of the Convention? It was important to prevent
discrimination between Roma children and Hungarian children. Was there a difference between the laws protecting children and their actual implementation and any difficulties relating to this? Further information was requested about statistics relating to children; harmonization of legislation; the relationship between the Coordination Council the local governments to ensure the quality of services given to children across the country; dissemination of the Convention in Hungary; and the debate about role of the Ombudsman concerning children or whether there was a need for a special Ombudsman for children. Children must be indoctrinated in their rights. It was difficult for the Committee to monitor the implementation of the Convention when there was no distinct statistical data relating persons from age zero to 18.

Hungary's Coordination Council for Children and Young People and the Reconciliation Council for Children and Youth Interests were impressive institutions, the Committee experts said. Children from zero to 14 and then youth from 14 to 18 had different interests and needed different treatment. How did the two councils deal with both groups?

In response to the questions of the Committee experts, the Hungarian delegation, led by ISTVAN KONCZ, Titular State Secretary and Secretary of the Coordination Council for Children and Young People in the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary, said the present Government did not want to make the same mistakes of the regime of before 1989, when authorities tried to implement ambitious programmes without economic backing. The Government believed that all rights and programmes must be adequate to the level of development of the country, not more, not less. The authorities did not like positive discrimination, believing instead that there should be no discrimination of any sort in a democratic society. Positive discrimination for children was the only exception; Hungary now had a child-friendly society because of that positive discrimination.

Concerning the institutional capabilities of the Government in the field of child policies, the Delegation said the Coordination Council for Children and Young People was chaired by the Prime Minister and counted seven Ministers among its members. This was not a protocol body but it convened under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister every second month with a concrete agenda. There was also the Reconciliation Council for Children and Youth Interests which was made up by Government officials, youth organizations, and associations and foundations concerning children. There were 164 youth organizations in Hungary and 3,064 associations and foundations. These two institutes were part of a process carried out by the Government to ensure the
implementation of the provisions of the Convention. The same structures for children were similar all over the country. With regards to the budget for children's projects, each Ministry defined the part of its budget earmarked for child issues, therefore the budgetary question was very transparent. The Government had provided 1.5 billion Hungarian florins in budget allocations for specific programmes for this generation of children. Local governments got less for children's programmes. Because the Hungarian bureaucracy was small, 95 per cent of that money would reach children. This did not include allocations for health and education services and government support for families.

On the issue of harmonization of legislation, the delegation said all the provisions of the Convention were accounted for within the Hungarian legislation. There was a dilemma and ongoing debate about the best way to implement the Convention from the legal point of view, whether through several laws or through one law. The Convention on the Rights of the Child had been adopted in its integrity in domestic law and could be directly referred to in courts.

The delegation said some experts were interested in comparing respect for children's rights in the past and the present, but the authorities preferred not to continue to do that and to concentrate instead on trying to improve the reality. There was no coherent international position on the age definition of children, and there seemed to be a transition period concerning persons between the ages of 14 and 18. That was why in Hungary, the Coordination Council, as its name showed, cared for children and young people.

The Convention was disseminated around the country in publications as well as through television and radio programmes, the delegation indicated. Hungary's centre for human rights was in need for funds for years, but with the assistance of international organizations, the Government had translated all the texts of the human rights treaties into Hungarian. At present, the new institution of the Ombudsman dealt with all issues in Hungary and worked extremely well.

The delegation said everyone felt the Roma issue was a sensitive question; it had to be open and frank when speaking about it. The Roma population had come to Hungary in the fourteenth century. The Government agreed with all the stipulations in international instruments concerning the economic and cultural development of the Romas and their legal status. The problem started with their implementation. For example, police were not allowed to refer to Romas as gypsies, and any statistics concerning Romas were prohibited. That helped eradicate negative discrimination. At the same time, the Government had adopted a 1997-1998 programme and measures to improve the situation of 'gypsies'. The first eight points of the programme dealt with Roma children: dealing with children and their schooling was the way to resolve the Roma question. Their language, culture and
traditions were very important and formed an integral part of Hungarian culture. There were programmes to integrate the Roma children into schools, which would help their integration into the society as a whole. For example, Roma children were offered food at schools to make the idea of schooling more attractive to them.

Concerning prevention programmes, the delegation said last year the Coordination Council had adopted a detailed strategy on prevention involving the Ministries of education, interior, finance and defence. A big budget had been adopted to launch that project. From 1 September last year, prevention strategies and the convention had become part of the national curriculum in Hungarian schools. Police officers also came to schools and talked about drugs, alcoholism, criminality and other issues of interest to children.