20 June 2018
“The Hungarian parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would allow for the imprisonment of anybody aiding undocumented migrants, ignoring pleas from the European Union, the Union Nations and numerous international organisations not to do. Reported Philip Heijmans of Al Jazeera News on 20 June 2018.
According to Heijmans, “The package of legislation called the 'Stop Soros' bill, which targets rights groups and NGOs, criminalises the act of assisting migrants, allowing for the incarceration of individuals, or the banning of organisations. In addition to the bill, the parliament also passed a constitutional amendment stating that an "alien population" cannot be settled in Hungary.”
Ironically, the law was passed on what happens to be the World Refugee Day.
“The Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), two of Europe's leading rights bodies, have criticised the new law for being arbitrary and vague.” wrote Heijmans.
“EU must strip Hungary of voting rights. Helping migrants is not a crime” wrote Kersty McCourt, a senior advocacy officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, and Natacha Kazatchkine, head of the EU internal policy team for the Open Society European Policy Institute, in Euronews.
“The day-to-day work of lawyers and NGOs has today become a criminal offence within a member state of the European Union. The Hungarian Parliament passed a new law that criminalises individuals and organisations that provide advice and information to migrants.” wrote Kersty and Natacha.
One of the relatively poor country in Europe, with a nominal GDP of merely $16,723, compared with Germany’s $44,550 and UK’s $39,734, Hungary needs a scapegoat to blame for its low economic performance.
According to Kersty and Natacha, “Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has been among the most hostile to immigration in Europe and was re-elected in a landslide victory in April on a pledge to crack down on NGOs which it says undermines Europe's integrity by supporting migrants.”
“The legislation further intensifies a relentless campaign by the Hungarian government against independent civil society voices. Most recently, officials of the ruling Fidesz-KDNP parties posted red stickers with the words "pro-migration organisation" on the front doors of human rights organisations, including Amnesty International Hungary’s office in Budapest. This action was dangerously reminiscent of the campaign against Jewish establishments of the 1930s.”
According to the government, the new law’s proclaimed objective is to prevent "Hungary from becoming a migrant country"—although Hungary has one of the smallest migrant populations of any EU member state.
"Criminalising essential and legitimate human rights work is a brazen attack on people seeking safe haven from persecution and those who carry out admirable work to help them. It is a new low point in an intensifying crackdown on civil society and it is something we will resist every step of the way," Amnesty International's Europe director Gauri van Gulik said in a statement.
“But politics, not immigration, is ultimately at the heart of this legislative move. Fidesz just won an election by using its control of the media to whip up public fears over the supposed twin threat to the future of the Hungarian people: migration and George Soros, the founder and chairman of the Open Society Foundations, which has funded civil society groups in Hungary for more than three decades.
For the government, the new anti-migrant legislation delivers on their election promises to “save Hungary” from this supposedly existential threat. Unfortunately, by attacking a problem that is not based in reality, the ultimate loser will be the civil liberties and human rights of the Hungarian people.” wrote Kersty and Natacha.
“The new law takes a two-pronged approach. It criminalises the work of lawyers and NGOs who assist migrants, and makes it more or less impossible for people to seek asylum. The new criminal offence of “supporting illegal immigration” criminalises:
any “organisational activities” to assist asylum-seekers to exercise their legal rights to submit an asylum procedure or to obtain a residence permit; a person who organises border monitoring/observation; and anyone who organises or provides financial means for the above activities.
It is clear that the law is not aimed at individuals who knowingly assist fraudulent applications—which is already a crime. Instead, it takes aim at acts that are legal, and even required, under international law.” wrote Kersty and Natacha.
“The new law clearly breaches the laws of the European Union. The Open Society Foundations and other civil society organisations are calling on the EU institutions to respond—including through legal action against Hungary and the initiation of proceedings under article 7(1) to suspend Hungary’s voting rights. The new legislation is also at odds with international human rights law, and Hungary’s commitments under the 1951 refugee convention.”
According to Kersty and Natacha, “Kersty and Natacha, “In a Kafkaesque twist, it will be illegal for a migration lawyer to help someone to apply for asylum unless that person’s asylum claim is justified—which can’t be known until they apply… A further amendment to the tax law was introduced in the last days – imposing a 25% tax on “immigration activities” – bringing back a provision that was dropped from an earlier draft of the new law.”
Meanwhile Foreign Minister Peter Szijarto, defending the changes in the laws, said that his government was protecting his country from a George Soros backed immigration front that includes the European Commission and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
But the world opinion differs to the reason given by the Hungarian government.
The law may violate numerous international and regional laws on asylum, free expression, free association and free movement. When the government can no longer whip up fear and resentment of migrants and refugees to win votes, where will it look next for an enemy? In a healthy democracy, civil society groups are able to speak out for the rights of all citizens. When civil society is being pushed towards silence, it is time to worry about what happens to the freedoms that it is defending.
