BACKGROUND The reluctance of employers to provide Hungary’s Constitutional Court upheld a six- flexible working arrangements, combined month ban on assemblies and with the traditional allocation of care duties demonstrations in a retrospective decision within the family to women, exacerbated the made in July. A new restrictive asylum negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on system was introduced under the state of gender equality. emergency. The Equal Treatment Authority, ROMA an established human rights protection body, Discrimination against Roma persisted. was abolished in January without Children from Roma families living in poverty consultation and its functions transferred to continued to be separated from their families the Office of the Commissioner for and placed in long-term state care, even Fundamental Rights. In September, the though this practice is forbidden by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Hungarian Child Protection Act. Institutions recommended downgrading the Alarm about the prevalence of racist hate status of the Commissioner from “A” to “B”, speech against Roma and other minorities in accordance with the Paris Principles, as and about hate crimes was raised by the the office had not engaged with or addressed Human Rights Council Working Group that all human rights issues in Hungary. Hungary met from 1 to 12 November. took over the Presidency of the Council of RIGHT TO PRIVACY Europe’s Committee of Ministers in May for six months. More than 300 Hungarian nationals were DISCRIMINATION identified as possible targets for the Pegasus spyware produced by surveillance technology LGBTI PEOPLE firm NSO Group. Media groups identified the Hungary adopted a homophobic and Hungarian authorities as a potential client of transphobic law in June 2021, banning the company. Experts from Amnesty access by those under 18 to material that International were able to confirm, through promotes or portrays “divergence from self- technical evidence, several cases where the identity corresponding to sex at birth … or spyware was successfully installed on homosexuality”. The new law violated the phones, some of them belonging to rights to freedom of expression, non- journalists. The Hungarian National Security discrimination and education.1 The European Services Act remained in violation of Article 8 Commission launched an infringement of the European Convention on Human procedure against Hungary in July. Rights, according to a European Court of WOMEN Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment in the case The government was still reluctant to ratify of Szabó and Vissy v. Hungary in 2016. the Council of Europe Convention on In a unanimous ruling in July in the case of preventing and combating violence against Vig v. Hungary, the ECtHR found that women and domestic violence (Istanbul enhanced police checks used in 2013 when Convention) that it signed in 2014, alleging Dávid Vig – then a lawyer and academic – that the convention promoted “gender was stopped and searched under the ideology” and “illegal migration”.2 provisions of the Police Act, were in violation Women continued to experience of the right to privacy. widespread gender-based discrimination. Many government policies and REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS communications actively reinforced gender The European Border and Coast Guard stereotyping, promoting women’s domestic Agency (Frontex) suspended its operations in roles while downplaying the importance of Hungary in January after the government gender equality. failed to address a December 2020 ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) against Amnesty International Report 2021/22 188