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UN High Commissioner for Human Right urges Hungary to revoke constitutional amendments

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urges the Hungarian government to revoke constitutional amendments that have been widely criticised by international and regional human rights bodies as representing a backward step in human rights protection and undermining constitutional justice.

The High Commissioner ‘s call to the Hungarian government came after the Venice Commission  released a report expressing concern that the new constitution does not afford enough protection for fundamental human rights. The report stated that the constitutional amendment “perpetuates problems of the independence of the judiciary, seriously undermines the possibilities of constitutional review in Hungary and endangers the constitutional system of checks and balances.”

The High Commissioner stressed that the principle of non-retrogression is of paramount importance in the area of human rights and “urge[d] the Hungarian Government to address seriously all of the issues raised over the last three years by the international human rights mechanisms as well as by relevant regional ones such as the Venice Commission.”

Source: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13464&LangID=E