BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary needs to urgently address human rights violations such as the detention of asylum-seekers and the intimidation of civic groups, as well as concerns about judicial independence, according to a report released Tuesday by the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner. Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic, who visited Hungary in February, also found Hungary “backsliding in gender equality,” with few women in politics and Hungary still unwilling to ratify the Istanbul Convention on combating and preventing violence against women. “Human rights violations in Hungary have a negative effect on the whole protection system and the rule of law,” Mijatovic said in the report. “Camera recordings show that the use of police measures and coercive measures are lawful, professional and justified,” the government said. “The extensive powers of the minister should be counterbalanced by strengthening judicial self-governance,” Mijatovic suggested.

Source: Washington Post May 21, 2019 08:16 UTC