1. The Hungarian Ombudsman’s Investigations About Children’s Rights In Care
Dr. Agnes Lux
legal referent, head of the children’s rights project
Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights
in Hungary
ENOC Annual Conference, Warsaw Poland
14-16 September 2011

2. Ombudsman’s role
The main task of the Ombudsman (Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights) is to investigate any abuses of constitutional rights he/she has become aware of and to initiate general or particular measures for their redress
Act LIX of 1993, on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights, states that anybody may apply to the Ombudsman, if they have suffered injury as a result of action of any authority or body performing a public service.

3. The role of the children’s rights ombudsman – a special six year project
No independent body/institution for children’s rights,
Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights (~quasi children’s rights ombudsman) has a special responsibility based on the Act XXI of 1997 on Child Protection
 ex officio investigations
 complaints
* Project thinking
* Regular media presence, publicity
„MINI – website” about children’s rights :

4. Special topics in every year
Awareness-raising of the children about their rights
In 2009:
Violence against and amongst children
In 2010:
Children in care
In 2011:
Right to health
In 2012:
Child-friendly justice

5. In 2010 the priority was the role of the family in ensuring children’s rights
We focused on:
the right of children to be brought up in the family
the role of the state in promoting it (obligatory assistance),
the operation of the system of state provisions substituting family and the issue of adoption in this context

6. Legal basis
International (CRC) and national law (Hungarian Constitution, Child Protection Act of 1997) states, that
every child has the right to protection and care provided by the family, by the state and by the society, which is necessary to the proper physical, intellectual and moral development
but the pratice shows different picture…

7. Special comprehensive investigations about children in care since 1998
The comprehensive investigations recovered 51 abuses of rights, and contained 24 proposals (later the majority of proposals have been accepted)
2002: a follow-up investigation was initiated
some problem have remained: e.g about general conditions, staff (education, competence, lack of supervision), inadequate treatment (corporal punishment, other abuses), presence of drug-alcohol-smoking…

8. Comprehensive investigations (year/nr/county)
2000
3 (Budapest, Heves, Szabolcs)
2001
7 (Budapest, Hajdú-Bihar, Fejér, Pest, Győr-Moson-Sopron )
2002
follow-up (Budapest, Pest, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Csongrád)
2003
2 (Békés, Szabolcs)
2004
1 (Sopron)
2005
5 (Fejér)
2006
9 (Borsod, Somogy, Fejér)
2007
2 (Fejér, Somogy)
2008
2 follow-up (Szabolcs, Tolna)
2009
7 (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Komárom-Esztergom)
2010
4 (Somogy, Tolna)

9. Persistent problems In many cases there are serious problems with
The quality and quantity of food
Rooms and places for children are bare
Lack of freetime programmes
Difficulties of personal relationships and contacts (e.g. with parents, boy/girlfriends)
The efficiency of procedures managing the missing/runaway children are questionable
Lack of professionals
Lack of supervisons, education, special trainings
Presence of abuse, corporal punishment other mistreatment (which remains usually hidden…)
Problems in the fostercare system

10. Solutions…?
There are budgetary limits; but we need a human rights budget approach
The institutional system reproduce these problems again and again
The strength of the linkages and the retaining force of the institution depends mainly on the professional staff
the children need love, trust, care, perspectives (it doesn’t depend on money)

11. Special reports in 2010
Investigation into the maintenance of contacts between siblings brought up in special care
Investigation in special children’s homes
Investigation about education and competences of fosterparents
Investigations about unaccompanied minors’s rights
Investigation about children’s homes for 0-3years old children
Investigation about daycare
Investigation about abuses and signalling system

12. Thank you for your kind attention!