The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary expresses its perplexity and rejects the statement made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay on 18 June 2013. The UN High Commissioner, while welcoming the opinion issued by the Venice Commission regarding the fourth amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary, made several untenable critical remarks with respect to the state of democracy in Hungary.

The most striking misinformation in High Commissioner Pillay’s statement was that she attributed certain claims to the Venice Commission’s final report, which the document did not include. The High Commissioner’s statement quotes exactly those remarks which were omitted from the Commission’s final report.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr János Martonyi declared, after attending a session of the Venice Commission on 14 June, that from Hungary’s viewpoint, favourable changes had been applied in the Commission’s draft report on the fourth amendment to Hungary’s constitution. However, it does not follow that Hungary agrees with the findings of the final version of the report, he added.

It should be noted that the claims the UN High Commissioner’s statement attributed to the final report of the Venice Commission were not included in the document in the alleged form and context in which the UN High Commissioner cited them. The final report did not claim that the fourth amendment “perpetuates problems of the independence of the judiciary,” and that it launched an “attack on constitutional justice” and that it „negatively affects the separation of powers.” These unfactual references give reason to doubt the legitimacy of the conclusions that the High Commissioner drew about the Hungarian democratic constitutional situation and the condition of human rights in Hungary. Our position is that High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay has overstepped her authority when she urged Hungary to revoke the constitutional amendment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary maintains its position that democracy and the rule of law are unimpaired in Hungary. Moreover, Hungary is committed to the fundamental values and norms of democracy, and is dedicated to ensuring the utmost enforcement and protection of human rights. The Government of Hungary remains committed to continue the cooperation with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and her Office, the UN human rights mechanisms and with other international organizations. In the spirit of partnership, the Government of Hungary is open for dialogue and is ready to respond to all well-founded critical remarks and, if necessary, to take the necessary steps to remedy them.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)