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1. Governance

2. Cross-sectorial cooperation

Governance

In Hungary, as of January 2021, the Directorate-General for Equal Treatment (Egyenlő Bánásmódért Felelős Főigazgatóság) under the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights is responsible for supervising the enforcement of equal treatment based on the Act CXXV of 2003 on the equal treatment and the promotion of equal opportunities (2003. évi CXXV. törvény az egyenlő bánásmódról és az esélyegyenlőség előmozdításáról). The Directorate-General for Equal Treatment is the only competent authority (apart from the Court) which takes legal action in cases of discrimination. 

The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has a crucial role in creating equal opportunities. The commissioner pays special attention to the protection of the rights of children, the rights of nationalities living in Hungary, the rights of the most vulnerable social groups and the values determined as 'the interests of future generations'.

The Commissioner has 2 deputies:

• the Ombudsman for the Rights of National Minorities and
• the Ombudsman for Future Generations.

The Equal Opportunity Programme

Most often, it is the local municipalities that are responsible for providing and ensuring equal opportunities and inclusion in Hungary. In order to ensure the fulfilment of this task, since 1 July 2013, municipalities can only receive support from state funds, European Union subsidies or other funds provided by international agreements if they have an Equal Opportunity Programme (Helyi Esélyegyenlőségi Program, referred hereinafter to as HEP) that complies with the regulations in the Act of CXXV of 2003.

The municipalities have to prepare this Programme every 5 years and review it every 2 years. A specific target group of the programme are disadvantaged children (besides Roma people, those living in poverty, elderly people, people with disability and women). The HEP are based on

• action plans related to the problems of disadvantaged groups and
• analyses of social, educational, employment, health and housing issues and situations.

The action plans have to solve real problems and they are implemented based on priority order and with a deadline and have a dedicated person who is responsible for the implementation.

To help local municipalities in creating effective and lawful HEP, the Directorate-General for Creating Social Opportunities (Társadalmi Esélyteremtési Főigazgatóság) offers advisory and compliance service through its network of equal opportunity mentors according to a Government Decree. There are local consultation forums where the local municipalities and the involved partners cooperate to solve the problems and create related action plans.

Cross-sectorial cooperation

Government actors

Youth policy is mainly administered in the Ministry of Culture and Innovation (Kulturális és Innovációs Minisztérium) under the State Secretariat for Higher Education, Vocational and Adult Education, and Youth Affairs and the Department for Young People. 

Since 2024, the State Secretariat for Social Opportunities and Roma Relations of the Ministry of Interior (Belügyminisztérium) is responsible for social inclusion. The role of this secretariat is, among other things, to coordinate policies in the area of creating social opportunities for disadvantaged children and Roma, and support their social inclusion through facilitating complex interventions and implementing related strategies. The Deputy State Secretariat is responsible for creating strategies and for coordinating, monitoring and reviewing their implementation.

The other government actor related to social affairs is the Deputy State Secretariat for Care Policy under the Ministry of Interior (Belügyminisztérium). It is responsible for the social and economic development programmes aiming to support

• the social and child welfare services,
• the child protection system,
• the protection of children and young adults.

The ministries and its secretariats have to work closely together when it comes to the implementation of strategies and programmes related to young people such as implementing the National Action Plan 2030 on the Child Guarantee (A gyermekek jogainak garanciáit biztosító nemzeti cselekvési terv 2030). (For more information on the strategy, see 4.3 Strategy for the social inclusion of young people.)

Other actors of social inclusion and integration at the state level

There are other important actors of social inclusion and integration at the state level. One of them is the Inter-ministerial Committee for Social Opportunities and Roma Affairs (Társadalmi Esélyteremtési és Cigányügyi Tárcaközi Bizottság) which was created to support the government work on improvement of the situation of disadvantaged people and support their social inclusion.Its members are delegated from different ministries and the Hungarian Central Statistical Office.

The Human Rights Working Group and Human Rights Roundtable (Emberi Jogi Munkacsoport és Emberi Jogi Kerekasztal), is a consultative and cross-sectorial body to facilitate professional dialogue. The role of the Roundtable is to make proposals, provide comments and advise on human rights issues. The purpose of the group is to consult with civil society organisations, advocacy groups, professional associations and constitutional bodies and to support professional communication on human rights in Hungary. The Human Rights Roundtable has 11 thematic working groups. The Thematic Working Group on Roma Issues is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the fundamental human rights of Roma in Hungary, in particular in the areas of housing, employment, education and health. The working group will assess the gaps and make recommendations.

Minority Self-Governments are self-governing bodies who are in charge of the issues that concern the minority group they represent. They are responsible for representing the interests and preserving the cultural autonomy of the minority community.

The National Cultural Grant Management Office (Nemzeti Kulturális Támogatáskezelő) is an independent institution that operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation (Kulturális és Innovációs Minisztérium) and is responsible for the complete cycle of application and grant management in the field.

The Directorate-General for Social Affairs and Child Protection (Szociális és Gyermekvédelmi Főigazgatóság) is one of the central budgetary bodies, subordinate to the Minister of the Interior (Belügyminisztérium) and acts as a central agency. It is responsible for drawing up methodological guidelines and technical recommendations, maintaining social and child protection institutions, and coordinating and implementing social and child protection programmes.

NGOs and other forums with delegates from the state and civil society

NGOs and other forums with delegates from the state and civil society dealing with social inclusion and integration.

Roma Coordination Council

The Roma Coordination Council (Roma Koordinációs Tanács) which is responsible for drawing up strategic lines, supervising their implementation and giving feedback on cohesion policies contributing to Roma inclusion. The council meets twice a year. It has 33 members: the Minister of Interior, State Secretaries, representatives of civil society organisations, Roma minority self-governments, churches and leaders of the Directorate-General for Equal Treatment and Hungarian Central Statistical Office. The Council contributes to the development of professional networks of opportunity, and in monitoring and regularly reviewing the implementation of the strategy.

Better Chances for Children' Committee

The 'Better Chances for Children' National Strategy Evaluation Committee ('Legyen jobb a gyermekeknek!' Nemzeti Stratégia Értékelő Bizottság) which is in charge of supervising the implementation of the Parliament Decision 47/2007 on 'Be Better for Children!' National Strategy 2007-2032 [47/2007. (V. 31.) OGY határozat a 'Legyen jobb a gyermekeknek!' Nemzeti Stratégiáról, 2007-2032] and the monitoring-related processes. This Evaluation Committee gives recommendations, among others, regarding the social inclusion of disadvantaged students. Reducing child poverty and improving opportunities for children is an important theme of this national-level convening. It has 33 members: some from the government side (including the State Secretary for Welfare from the Ministry of Interior and a delegate from the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta) and some from civil society. The Commission last met on 6 December 2024.

Network of Catholic Roma Colleges

The Network of Catholic Roma Colleges (Keresztény Roma Szakkollégiumi Hálózat) provides special support to disadvantaged students in higher education (both in bachelor, master and doctoral programmes) in collaboration with the state. Since 2019, eleven colleges supported nearly 300 Roma students per year. (For more information on the colleges, see 4.5 Initiatives promoting social inclusion and raising awareness.)

Roma Colleges

The aim of Roma Colleges (Roma Szakkollégiumok) is to support Roma youth to continue their studies after secondary school and obtain a higher level of education. It also aims to increase the chances of disadvantaged students (not only Roma youth) to enter the labour market after graduation. Roma specialised colleges are awarded based on the professional opinion of the Council of Roma Specialised Colleges. Currently, in the 11 colleges, an average of 350 students study and benefit from support programmes each year. Since 2011, the number of Roma students has steadily increased: in 13 years, the number of students has tripled. A high proportion of students graduate and find a job after college.

In November 2024, the State Secretary for Social Opportunities and Roma Relations established the Roma Youth Round Table (Ifjúsági Kerekasztal) with 22 members. Of these, 15 are active and alumni students of the Roma Colleges. The aim of the Round Table is to ensure that the views and ideas of the Roma youth generation are easily communicated to policymakers.

Hungarian National Roma Platform

The European Commission has been funding the Hungarian National Roma Platform programme since 2016. It aims at implementing the objectives of the NSIS 2030, engaging in dialogue and evaluating the results and the failures. Its members are local decision-makers, public authorities, national Roma self-governments, civil and church organisations, public service providers, Roma and non-Roma stakeholders. According to the ministry information, in the last 3 years, it has been present in 9 counties and 33 municipalities with over 3000 participants and will be held in 5 more counties in 2022. The target area of the project 'Further Development of the Hungarian National Roma Platform - 2024' is 4 more counties. Various consultation sessions are organised for professionals.

Focusing on the youth field, the activities and role of the National Youth Council (Nemzeti Ifjúsági Tanács) is also should be highlighted. (For more information, see 1.4 Youth Policy decision-making and 5.3. Youth representation bodies.)