The United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Ms. Rita Izsák, presented her annual report to the UN General Assembly on 28 October 2015.
In her report, the Special Rapporteur gave an overview of the situation of the human rights of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in the criminal justice process. Ms. Izsák expressed concern about the disproportionate targeting of minorities by law enforcement officers, which continues to take place in many countries around the world.
During the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur, Ambassador Zsolt Hetesy, Deputy Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN, reiterated Hungary’s strong support to the Special Rapporteur’s work and mandate. Ambassador Hetesy underlined that in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Member States agreed to ensure equal access to justice for all and to enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies, which are crucial steps for the protection of the rights of national, ethnic religious and linguistic minorities. Hungary supports the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations about the need for designing national strategies, ensuring inclusion and building trust, by building bridges between minorities and law enforcement authorities. Hungary also appreciates the Special Rapporteur’s work in preparing the first ever comprehensive study on the human rights situation of Roma worldwide, which was presented to the Human Rights Council in June this year.
Please find the Ambassador Hetesy’s statement here.
