Reacting to the passing of a bill that will ban Pride marches in Hungary and allow authorities to impose fines on organizers and participants as well as use facial recognition software to identify attendees, Dávid Vig, Director of Amnesty International Hungary, said:
“This law is a full-frontal attack on the LGBTI community and a blatant violation of Hungary’s obligations to prohibit discrimination and guarantee freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“On the eve of the 30th anniversary of Budapest Pride in June, this harmful ban turns the clock back three decades, further undermining the hard-won rights of LGBTI people in Hungary. It is unfortunately just the latest in a line of discriminatory measures taken by the authorities that targets and stigmatizes LGBTI individuals and groups.
On the eve of the 30th anniversary of Budapest Pride, this harmful ban turns the clock back three decades
“The spurious justification for the passing of this law – that events and assemblies would be ‘harmful to children’ – is based on harmful stereotypes and deeply entrenched discrimination, homophobia and transphobia. The Hungarian president must not sign this bill into law and authorities must instead ensure that LGBTI people are able to freely express their identities as well as organize and participate in public events.”
Background
The bill modifies the Act on the Right of Assembly making it a crime to hold and an offence to attend events that violate Hungary’s Propaganda Law legislation, which prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to under-18s.
A fine of up to 200,000 HUF (500 EUR) may be applied for people who attend the pride if banned.
The new law was submitted in the Hungarian Parliament on 17 March and rushed through in an expedited procedure today, without consultation. The law is due to enter into force on 15 April.
The right to freedom of peaceful assembly has increasingly come under attack across Europe, with state authorities stigmatizing, impeding, deterring, punishing and cracking down on people organizing and participating in peaceful protests. In a recent report, Amnesty International documented restrictions to the right to protest in 21 countries, including Hungary. Hungary is among the countries flouting its international and regional human rights obligations to respect, protect and facilitate peaceful assemblies, to remove obstacles and to avoid unwarranted interferences with the right to exercise the right of peaceful assembly. See https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur01/8199/2024/en/