Country report non-discrimination : transposition and implementation at national level of Council Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78 : Hungary [2024]

Hungary is a country of around 10 million people. Fifteen years after its political transition into democratic pluralism, Hungary became a member of the EU. The creation of democratic laws and institutions has been accompanied by increasing awareness of the principle of equal treatment, but the issue of discrimination was brought to light by the debates generated by the process leading to the adoption of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law in late 2003 - Act CXXV of 2003 on equal treatment and the promotion of equal opportunities (ETA). The law established the Equal Treatment Authority (Authority) - a body responsible for combating discrimination in all sectors and with regard to all grounds. Until it was merged into the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (Ombudsman) at the end of 2020 (see below), the Authority's activities and strategic litigation by NGOs further raised awareness of equal treatment and the situation of the groups most exposed to discrimination. The group most vulnerable to discrimination is the Roma population. The only 'visible' ethnic minority in Hungary constitutes 6-9% of the country's population. Despite positive legislative changes and significant amounts spent on integration programmes, Roma people still face deeply rooted discrimination in education, employment, healthcare, housing and access to goods and services, and they are greatly overrepresented in the poorest layers of society. Similarly, despite a relatively detailed and seemingly progressive legal framework, persons with disabilities also face discrimination (including the failure to guarantee accessibility and reasonable accommodation of their specific needs) in many areas of life, such as education, employment and access to services. Although a legal framework promoting the integrated education of children with disabilities is in place, many educational institutions fail - primarily due to a lack of financial and human resources - to provide the conditions required for their successful integration.