Hungary
Hungary regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. In 2012, the National Police Headquarters established a special hate crime network, which is responsible for supervising hate crime investigations. In the same year, a civil society working group against hate crimes (GYEM) was established with the aim of strengthening co-ordination with police and developing a list of bias indicators, which were adopted by the network and uploaded onto the police intranet. In 2018, the Ministry of Interior hosted a workshop on hate crime recording and data collection. The workshop was co-facilitated by ODIHR and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights and resulted in a set of recommendations for relevant state authorities.
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 65 | 50 | 8,928 |
| 2022 | 58 | 58 | 8,980 |
| 2021 | 38 | 40 | 8,979 |
| 2020 | 100 | 12 | Not available |
| 2019 | 132 | 39 | - |
| 2018 | 194 | 52 | - |
| 2017 | 233 | Not available | Not available |
| 2016 | 33 | 33 | 39 |
| 2015 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2014 | 79 | 23 | Not available |
| 2013 | 43 | 30 | 14 |
| 2012 | 38 | 16 | Not available |
| 2011 | 37 | 28 | Not available |
| 2010 | 19 | 12 | Not available |
| 2009 | 15 | 18 | Not available |
Hate crime recorded by police
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR observes that the law enforcement agencies of Hungary have not recorded the bias motivations of hate crimes.
INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
In his country visit report, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed improvements in the legal framework against hate crimes and hate speech and urged the authorities to better investigate the possible racial motivation of offences and take appropriate sanctions against those who commit hate crimes.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the Working Group Against Hate Crimes, a coalition made up of Amnesty International Hungary, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Háttér Society, the Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, published "Hate Crimes in Hungary: Problems, recommendations, good practices." The report covers key issues in improving responses to hate crime, such as addressing under reporting, proving legal representation, improving official recording mechanisms and ensuring effective state action.
It its fifth report on Hungary, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended that the National Crime Prevention Strategy be revised to include measures against hate crime.
Anti-Roma hate crime
In his annual report, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe expressed concern at the increased frequency of violent acts targeting Roma communities, stating that all incidences of hate crime should be investigated, including those committed by law-enforcement officials.