HUNGARY PRESENTS REPORT TO COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE

MORNING
HR/CAT/98/38
17 November 1998



The Committee against Torture this morning started its consideration of a report from the Government of Hungary on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in that country.

Peter Naray, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations Office at Geneva, presenting his country's third periodic report, said a substantial increase of crimes had prompted the Government to adopt measures aimed at strengthening its security forces. The Government placed great importance on international cooperation in the struggle against organized crime.

Andreas Mavrommatis, the Committee expert who served as rapporteur to the report of Hungary, said that the Government's report and other information received from non-governmental sources attested that Hungary was seriously engaged in implementing the provisions of the international conventions it was party to.

Other experts raised questions on such issues as detention of asylum-seekers and immigrants; lack of education for children detained in concentration military camps; medical rehabilitation of victims of torture; and mistreatment of Romas and immigrant detainees.

When the Committee meets at 3 p.m., it will issue its conclusions and recommendations on the report of Iceland, which it considered last week, and will hear the responses of the delegation of Hungary to the question raised this morning.

Report of Hungary

The third periodic report of Hungary (document CAT/C/34/Add.10) reviews the measures undertaken by the State party to comply with the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It says that Hungary has recognized the competence of the Committee against Torture to receive and consider individual communications and is ready to cooperate with it. In addition, the report says that new regulations for the creation of an Ombudsman system have been enacted to strengthen Hungary's legal environment. The report further says that the Convention is a directly enforceable legal instrument in Hungary, consequently its provisions, including the definition of torture of the Convention, may be invoked by anybody, including the courts and other authorities.

The report states that in the republic of Hungary everyone has the inherent right to life and human dignity; no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Hungarian legal system has been appropriately upgraded and the relevant legal environment corresponds to United Nations norms. During the present phase, high priority is given to putting all these provisions into day-by-day practice. A long-term programme has been launched in Hungary with this purpose, especially in two fields: information for the relevant human rights guarantees and professional training, the report says.

Presentation of Hungary's Report

PETER NARAY, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations Office at Geneva and head of the delegation, said that the previous dialogues with the Committee had resulted in positive movement and useful recommendations for the relevant Hungarian legislative and law-enforcing authorities.

Mr. Naray stated that the new Hungarian Government has paid special attention to the improvement of public security in light of the fact that in the course of the last few years, the number of committed crimes had increased substantially. The Government placed great importance on international cooperation in the struggle against organized crime. The unfavourable, even tragic events unfolding in the neighbouring regions, as well as international mass migration, had forced the Hungarian authorities to face without adequate expertise a number of new or little-known problems.

Mr. Naray further said that the Government had allocated supplementary financial resources to the strengthening of the judiciary and the law- enforcement agencies. In addition, several bills had been submitted by the Government concerning the fight against organized crime, and the amendment of the Criminal Code and the Code on Criminal Procedure with the aim to strengthen public order and public security. The further strengthening of legal guarantees was under process in Hungary, he added.

Discussion

ANDREAS MAVROMMATIS, the Committee expert who served as rapporteur on the report, said the Government's report and other information received from non-governmental sources attested that Hungary was seriously engaged in implementing the legal foundation which would facilitate the full application of international conventions. The establishment of the Ombudsman and new legislation was very important. However, he said that the function of the Ombudsman should be beyond the level of municipal legislation. He wanted to know whether the decisions of the Ombudsman were binding.

Mr. Mavrommatis, referring to the report which said that "a soldier or policeman was not punishable for carrying out an order, unless he was aware that by doing so he would be committing an offenses" was dangerous; the soldier or policeman might not be in a position to judge the extent of the offence and he would be in a difficult situation to verify the consequences of his acts.

Concerning the expulsion of aliens or asylum-seekers, Mr. Mavrommatis asked if there were procedural legal grounds to implement article 3 of the Convention regarding the expulsion of foreigners from Hungary. According to article 3, the State party should not return an alien to a country where he might be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Regarding measures on keeping an immigrant in custody, Mr. Mavrommatis wanted to know the length of period for which an individual was kept in detention. What was the average period of time for completion of inquiry? Could Hungary allow its nationals to be extradited to a foreign country?

Mr. Mavrommatis stated that a State could not condone the practice of torture against individuals. However, there was some possibility that individuals could resort to torture. What was the situation of Roma detainees and their children? Was there any effort on the part of the authorities to improve their prison conditions?

YU MENGJIA, the Committee expert who served as co-rapporteur on the report of Hungary, said that the Government was making efforts to comply with the provisions of the Convention. Nevertheless, there were some shortcomings probably due to material constraints. He wondered about the measures undertaken by the authorities to promote awareness regarding the prevention of torture. What kind of education was provided to law-enforcement bodies to prevent torture?

Mr. Yu said that there were allegations of torture and excessive use of force against detainees, specially Romas and immigrants. How did the Hungarian authorities react to those allegations? Did they take any action to prevent this situation? What actions were taken to handle the minority issue?

Mr. Yu said that a high proportion of asylum-seekers and migrants were kept in detention camps. What measures were taken to ameliorate the situation of detainees?

The report had indicated that there was a sharp rise of cases of criminal procedures against official persons, Mr. Yu said, and asked the delegation to explain the reasons behind the rise in numbers.

Other experts also commented on the report and put questions to the delegation. One expert said that there were 5,936 foreigners, asylum-seekers and immigrants in concentration military camps without any right to liberty of movement. Among those persons were 130 children without any education or recreational activities. In addition, female, male and non-family members were all living in the same rooms. That situation was unacceptable and of deep concern to the Committee, the expert said, asking the delegation about the measures taken to remedy this situation.

More information was requested on steps taken to educate prison and medical officers on human rights issues. How was a victim of torture compensated? Was there a system of State liability to acts of torture? Were victims medically rehabilitated?

Referring to the decree of the Minister of the Interior of 1995 on detention facilities which guaranteed that a detainee had the right to establish direct contact without any restrictions with the Human Rights Committee and the Council of Europe, an expert asked if detainees had telephone and fax facilities to do so? The expert also asked if the Chief Public Prosecutor had civil and military jurisdiction in his function? He wondered if military and civil jurisdictions existed parallel to each other in the country?

Another expert asked about the circumstances in which female prisoners were kept. How many female prisoners were there in the various prison centres of Hungary?