A conference was organized in the Hague at the end of May around the home birth case that HCLU won in Strasbourg. HCLU’s attorney dr. Tamás Fazekas represented Anna Ternovszky, in who’s case at the end of 2010 the European Court of Human Rights established that the State of Hungary has violated the applicant’s right to respect for private and family life, when in the absence of legislation it threatened (and still threatens) health care workers who assist at home births.

Ágnes Geréb, midwife who stood before the judge for engaging in professional misconduct resulting in death and in permanent disability received a 2-year prison sentence. She is also banned from practicing her profession for 10 years.

After briefly reviewing how homelessness got pronounced as an offence, we are kindly asking you to send a letter to the minister of interior Sándor Pintér and rapporteur on homelessness, Máté Kocsis about that homeless people are not criminals. If you have time and would like to help somehow else, we can recommend you other opportunities, too.

István Pálffy and Tamás Sáringer-Kenyeres, both MPs of the Christian Democratic Party (KDNP) have submitted a proposal to Parliament to reallocate funds from abortions to child protection and to incite adoptions. 45 organizations called the government’s attention to the fact that in case the Parliament were to adopt the proposal, the most vulnerable women would find themselves in even worse situations and that the proposal is against Hungary’s international commitments. The Parliament voted on the proposal on December 13th.

In Hungary large scale institutions still house 15 thousand people living with disabilities, often under inhumane circumstances. Watch the HCLU's new film about why this situation has to change, and why it has to change now!

Last year one of the first news about the text of the new Constitution was about the extension of right to life to the fetus. The bill submitted to the Parliament is about the protection of the right to life of the fetus. The nontransparent framing process of the Constitution and the lack of real public debate make it impossible to have a clear view on this issue. On March 31 HCLU and Patent Association gave out a joint press release.

Seven civil society organizations, including HCLU, submitted an opinion on the latest version of the government decree regulating home births prepared by the Ministry of National Resources.

Declaration by non-governmental and scientific organizations relating to the open debate on European Union tenders for deinstitutionalization

Today, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg handed down a judgment in which it holds that the Hungarian state has violated the “right to respect for private life” guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Budapest Institute and the HCLU joined forces in preparing a proposal on the reform of issues concerning the people with intellectual disability. Even though there are still 15.000 people with intellectual disability and 8.000 people with mental disorders living in total institutions, Hungarian social policy did not even begin to work out action plans needed for the reform.

An agreement was reached between NGOs and the Hungarian Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour on a National Development Agency call for proposals. It was agreed that European Community funds can and must be used for the closure of long stay institutions and the establishment of family-scale housing. The goal is for disabled persons to become neighbors rather than anonymous residents in institutions.