Information Note on the Hungarian Media Laws

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) and the ARTICLE 19 Global Campaign For Free Expression prepared together an Information Note on the Hungarian Media Laws that enterted into force in January 2011.

 ARTICLE 19 is an independent human rights organisation that works around the world to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees free speech.

The two NGOs collaborated on this issue to explain how the new media laws have deteriorated the media situation in Hungary. The two NGOs have already published a number of opinions and statments calling on the Hungarian government and Pariament to bring about substantial changes. Up to now, in its current form the Media Laws still represent an important setback in media freedom in Hungary.

The Infromation Note explains in a clear and comprehensive manner inter alia what are the main problems with the laws; what reaction it sparked in Hungary and in Europe.

The Information Note is available form here in .pdf format.

Share

Related articles

Social Protest and Human Rights - Discussion

The International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) invites you to a discussion on police use of force and human rights' protections in social protests. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Christof Heyns, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Maina Kiai, are addressing these issues in their annual reports and will explain the challenges we are facing.

NGOs Call for Advertising Boycott over Anti-Roma Statements in Hungarian Media

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) is joining with a coalition of Hungarian NGOs are calling on domestic companies and Hungarian divisions of multinationals to take a stand against hate speech in Hungary. The NGOS are asking, among others, Vodafone and T-Com, FEDEX, IKEA and Procter and Gamble to reconsider advertising in a Hungarian newspaper which published an article talking about Romani people in unacceptably racist and prejudiced language.

NGOs analyze Government reactions concerning the Venice Commission’s opinion on the new Constitution of Hungary

The Venice Commission issued an opinion on the new Constitution (the “Fundamental Law”) of Hungary in June 2011. Due to the lack of an official Hungarian translation and the misleading statements of government party representatives, the public may have a false impression of the content of the opinion. Therefore, the Eötvös Károly Institute, the Hungarian Helsinki Commitee and the HCLU have prepared a joint analysis on the reactions of the Government in light of the Venice Commission’s opinion.