(Budapest) – The Hungarian government has issued a draconian decree in breach of EU law that cancels state funded shelter for refugees from western Ukraine, leaving many homeless, Human Rights Watch said today.
Approximately 3,000 refugees from Ukraine are affected, the majority women and children, according to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, which has been monitoring the situation for Ukrainian refugees affected by the decree. The Hungarian government should immediately repeal the decree.
“The Hungarian government has stooped to a new low with this cruel law that is putting thousands of people who fled the war in Ukraine on the streets,” said Lydia Gall, senior Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The European Commission should use all instruments at its disposal to make Budapest scrap the law and fulfill its duties as an EU member state.”
The new decree, issued in June 2024, entered into force on August 21. It limits access to state-funded housing to Ukrainian refugees whose registered residence is in what the Hungarian authorities deem a war-torn area, effectively deeming other parts of Ukraine safe to return to. The decree amends a June 2023 decree that had already restricted eligibility to state-funded housing for Ukrainian refugees to those deemed “vulnerable”: pregnant women, children under 18, people with disabilities, and those aged 65 and older.
An attachment to the decree currently lists 13 oblasts (regions) in Ukraine designated by the Hungarian government as war-torn areas, excluding those in western Ukraine. According to the decree, the government is to review the situation and issue a new list of oblasts covered by the regulation by the 10th of every month.
Meanwhile, on September 4, Russian forces attacked Lviv in western Ukraine, killing seven civilians, including two children, and injuring 66, though the Hungarian government did not modify its list by September 10.
The decree breaches the 2001 EU Temporary Protection Directive, triggered in March 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which requires EU member states to grant temporary protection and assistance to all refugees from Ukraine. It also contravenes guidance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), which does not differentiate between Ukrainian regions in determining whether a person needs protection.
According to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, which works closely with affected groups, the decree has already had a devastating impact on approximately 3,000 Ukrainian refugees who fall outside the strict criteria, leading to homelessness and the inability to access social services in Hungary, including health care and education, which require having a registered address in Hungary.
While the decree could affect all refugees from Ukraine from areas not deemed “war-torn” by the Hungarian authorities and who don’t qualify as “vulnerable,” the majority of those affected are ethnic Roma, and mainly women and children, according to independent news site Telex.hu. This is because most other Ukrainian refugees from areas excluded by the decree do not rely on state-funded accommodation, either because they are Hungarian dual nationals, are staying with relatives, have other support networks, or can pay for their own accommodation.
While the decree set out a procedure allowing people whose accommodation is cancelled to request leniency, the deadline for submitting leniency requests was extremely short, expiring on July 10, and the assessment criteria were unclear. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee said the majority of those who they are aware had requested leniency were rejected.
In other cases, according to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, members of the same family received both approvals and rejections on leniency requests. It is unclear whether the leniency procedure would cover people affected by the withdrawal of support if further areas of Ukraine were excluded under the decree in the future.
The Hungarian government has a dismal track record with respect to refugees’ and migrants’ rights. Since 2015, the government has increasingly cracked down on the right to asylum, engaging in unlawful pushbacks at its borders, unlawfully detaining people in border areas, and effectively dismantling access to the asylum procedure. These unlawful practices relate to non-Ukrainian migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.
The European Commission should take immediate action over Hungary’s latest flaunting of refugee and EU law, Human Rights Watch said. It should initiate infringement proceedings against Hungary under EU law for breaching the Temporary Protection Directive. It should also make funds available to those with a proven track record of providing housing to beneficiaries of temporary protection, including municipalities, civil society organizations, and the UNHCR.
“Leaving refugees fleeing a devastating war homeless not only flies in the face of Hungary’s international obligations but is also a worrying reminder of the government’s consistently inhumane and cruel policies with respect to people seeking safety in Hungary,” Gall said. “The European Commission should press Budapest to do its duty and ensure that all Ukrainian refugees enjoy the benefits of temporary protection.”
