MESSAGE FROM THE OMBUDSMAN

The war raging in Ukraine right now is traumatic and deeply shocking for everyone in Europe and all over the world. All this, however, should not paralyse us: we should be committed to the protection of human rights in this situation as well. We should show active solidarity: we should help and support all the victims of the war, the persons fleeing their country, both individually and as a community.

As the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary, I find it a high priority to personally follow the events even in these extraordinary times. At the same time, my staff and I are continuously working on finding ways to provide direct legal and humanitarian aid to as many people as possible. With a view to that, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, which is the UN’s National Human Rights Institution, is opening a temporary regional office near the affected border section, where my staff members will be there to offer personal help to refugees, for instance, in administrative matters and legal counselling. Furthermore, we will help persons fleeing the war by providing regularly updated information on the Office’s website and social media site.

Dr. Ákos Kozma
Commissioner for Fundamental Rights
 

COMMISSIONER FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS BRIEFED ON SITUATION IN SZABOLCS-SZATMÁR-BEREG COUNTY

On 1 March 2022, Ombudsman Dr. Ákos Kozma was briefed personally at the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Police Headquarters in Nyíregyháza on the circumstances of receiving the persons fleeing from the war in Ukraine and the further possibilities of providing more efficient help to them.

The expert meeting held at the County Police Headquarters was attended by Mr. István Román, Chair of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Defence Committee and government delegate of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Government Office, and Dr. Zsolt Hudák, Police Colonel, Chief Police Counsellor, Deputy Chief of County Police for Law Enforcement, as well as Mr. Béla Varga, Colonel Fire Service, Director of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Directorate for Disaster Management, Mr. József Nagy, Colonel Fire Service, Deputy Director of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Directorate for Disaster Management and Dr. Győző Vinnai, Member of Parliament for the area.

“Up until now, more than 90,000 refugees have arrived from Ukraine fleeing the war. I consider it a key priority to personally follow the current state of events in these extraordinary times. At the same time, my staff and I are constantly working on providing direct legal and humanitarian assistance to as many people as possible. With a view to that, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (OCFR), which is a National Human Rights Institution accredited by the UN, will shortly open a temporary regional office near the border section
concerned, where my staff members will be there to offer personal help, for instance, in administrative matters and legal counselling. Moreover, we will help refugees fleeing from the war by providing regularly updated information on the Office’s website and social media site”, Dr. Ákos Kozma affirmed during his visit. During the meeting, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, OCFR Secretary General Dr. Balázs Könnyid, and OCFR Director for Police Complaints Dr. Domonkos Wildner were briefed on the circumstances of receiving the refugees from Ukraine and the working conditions of the staff on duty. Simultaneously, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights is launching a charity campaign to provide relief to war refugees.
 

ONLINE MEETING WITH THE IOI REGIONAL PRESIDENT FOR EUROPE ON REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE

On 3 March 2022, Dr. Ákos Kozma, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, held an online discussion with Mr. Andreas Pottakis, the Regional President of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) Europe and Greek Ombudsman on the issue of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

During the meeting, the Commissioner provided information on the current situation at the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, the conditions of reception of people fleeing from Ukraine to Hungary and the measures taken to help them. Mr. Pottakis assured the Commissioner of the continued support of the IOI and offered to keep the IOI member organisations informed on the basis of the information sent to him on the issues concerning refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The Commissioner informed the Greek Ombudsman that the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary has opened a temporary regional office at the Záhony railway station yesterday and about the information points to be set up at the border crossing points concerned.

The opening of the regional offices set up by the Hungarian Ombudsman’s Office in Szeged, Győr and Debrecen, as well as those to be set up in Székesfehérvár, Miskolc and Pécs, were also discussed during the online consultation.

 

OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OPENS TEMPORARY REGIONAL OFFICE AT ZÁHONY
 

With a view to providing direct support to people fleeing the war in Ukraine, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has opened a temporary regional office at the Záhony railway station today. The staff members of the OCFR, which is a National Human Rights Institution accredited by the UN, will provide administrative assistance and legal counselling to the persons turning to them, and they will also contribute to the humanitarian relief efforts.

“The ongoing military events in Ukraine are shocking and traumatic for all people of good will in Europe and around the world. However, we must not allow this to paralyze us: we must remain committed to defending human rights. We need to show active solidarity, both as individuals and as a community, to help and support all the victims of the war, the people who are fleeing”, Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Dr. Ákos Kozma underlined.

“As of today, the number of refugees who have arrived from Ukraine to Hungary fleeing the war has exceeded 100,000. As I have already emphasized it during my visit on Tuesday, as Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, I consider it a key priority to personally follow the current state of events in these extraordinary times, as well as to provide—together with my staff—direct legal and humanitarian assistance to as many people as possible. With a view to that, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (OCFR), which is a National Human Rights Institution accredited by the UN, is now opening its temporary regional office at the Záhony railway station. At the same time, as of today, a new tab has been added to our Office’s website (www.ajbh.hu), where—in addition to our social media site—we provide further, regularly updated information on asylum law in Hungarian, Ukrainian and English for those who have arrived to our country from Ukraine fleeing the war”, the Ombudsman pointed out.

The staff members of the OCFR will be there to offer personal help to the persons turning to them, for instance, in administrative matters and legal counselling, and will provide relevant information to refugees. Moreover, they will inform those affected about the possibilities of submitting a complaint concerning fundamental rights, and they will also assist in the humanitarian relief efforts.

 

DONATIONS ARE CONTINUOUSLY COLLECTED BY THE STAFF OF THE OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Following the opening of the temporary regional ombudsman office, Dr. Ákos Kozma and his staff handed over to the charity organizations those donations that had been offered by the staff of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights to help refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.