Secretariate of the deputy commissioner for fundamental rights ombudsman for the rights of national minorities

The Minority Ombudsman participated in a prominent social and cultural event of the Slovak community in Hungary, the Day of the Cultural Heritage of Slovaks in Hungary, which this year was hosted by Bükkszentekereszt (Nova Huta). The event was organised by the National-level Slovak Self-government, the Parliamentary Advocate of Slovaks in Hungary and the Cultural Institute of Slovaks in Hungary, with the support of the Municipality of Bükkszentkereszt and the Slovak Nationality Drlf-government of Bükkszentkereszt.

For the thirteenth time this year, the Institute for Minority Rights is organising a summer university on the protection of minorities in Europe. The event, which took place from 7-11 July, attracted 27 students from abroad: students, doctoral students and young professionals interested in the protection of the rights and interests of Hungarians abroad and Hungarian nationality communities. The Summer University is organised by Dr. Laura Gyeney, Director of the Institute, assisted by the staff of the Institute in the organisation of nearly 20 professional lectures.

The Ombudsman and the Minority Ombudsman are public officials elected by a two-thirds majority of the members of Parliament, who are required to act independently of other public bodies and institutions in the performance of their professional duties, and are accountable only to the Parliament that elected them. In accordance with the relevant legislation, they provide Members of Parliament and the public with comprehensive annual reports on their work.

The students of the Óriás Nándor Szakkollégium (College for Advanced Studies) of the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the University of Pécs visited the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights in April 2025. The group was hosted and led by the Minority Ombudsman, accompanied by Dr. Gábor Békési and Dr. Mátyás Kiss, lecturers at the PTE ÁJK and senior officials of the College for Advanced Studies.

The Minority Ombudsman attended the central commemoration in the village of Hercegkút, where together with survivors, leaders of the German nationality community and public leaders, they paid tribute to the victims of the tragic events that struck the Germans in Hungary after the Second World War.

The Subcommittee on Education, Culture and Churches of the Parliament’s Committee of the Nationalities in Hungary held a meeting on 17 December, chaired by Erika Kissné Köles, Slovenian nationality advocate, in the Széll Kálmán Hall of the Parliament. The Minority Ombudsman was the special guest and gave a detailed insight to the members of the panel, as well as to representatives and experts from nationality self-governments, on the comprehensive investigation of the nationality content of museums.

On 10 December, the annual meeting of the Thematic Working Group on Roma Issues, which brings together 15 NGOs and public institutions under the umbrella of the Working Group on Human Rights, was held. At the request of the Chairperson, Attila Sztojka, State Secretary for Social Opportunities and Roma Relations, the Minority Ombudsman presented her experiences in the field of cultural autonomy of the Roma community, self-government system and socio-social challenges in recent years.

The interparliamentary conference on "Cultural heritage and the identity of national communities" concluded the parliamentary programme of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The event was held in the Parliament on 4-5 December 2024, and one of the keynote speakers was the Minority Ombudsman.

In the framework of the investigation on the enforcement of nationality cultural rights, especially on the nationality content of museums, on 19 July and 5 August 2024, the staff of the Minority Ombudsman visited the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum maintained by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation and the Central Directorate of the Hungarian Country Houses belonging to the museum in Szentendre.

Following a special invitation, the Minority Ombudsman and the Head of the Secretariat gave a presentation on nationality rights, non-discrimination and the possibilities of interdisciplinary professional cooperation at the course entitled "Architecture of Peripheries - Rediscovery and Innovation" at the BME.

At the end of September, the Minority Rights Protection Institute organised a two-day conference entitled "The Right of Indigenous Minorities to Mother Tongue Education - in Theory and Practice" at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. At the event, which was supported by the State Secretariat for Nationality Policy of the Prime Minister's Office and the Bethlen Gábor Fund, eminent experts from the international and Hungarian professional community and elected leaders of the communities concerned reviewed current issues and enforcement options related to the protection of the rights of nationalities in Hungary and Hungarians living abroad. The conference was opened by the Minority Ombudsman, who gave a professional opening presentation entitled "The indispensable elements of minority identity preservation - language and education".

The guests of the autumn session of the interdisciplinary discussion series launched by the Minority Ombudsman were Dr. Judit Durst and Dr. Zsanna Nyírő, sociologists and researchers of the HUN-REN TK Institute for Minority Research, who gave a presentation and held a discussion on the complex processes of social mobility for the Secretariat of the Minority Ombudsman and colleagues of the co-departments.