Protecting the rights of refugees fleeing Ukraine

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) continued to provide legal assistance to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. In the summer of 2024, the Hungarian governmnet restricted access to subsidized housing for refugees from Ukraine, entrusting itself with deciding which parts of Ukraine would be directly affected by the war and to only provide accommodation for those who came from those regions. The law stipulates that the list of "war-torn areas" should be updated every month by the minister responsible for public administration. However, the list has remained unchanged since July last year.

The Zakarpattia region, bordering with Hungary and previously home to a significant Hungarian speaking minority, many of whom fled to Hungary, is not included in this list. The government arbitrarily took away the housing support from refugees coming from this region, promising them that if Zakarpattia came under direct attack, they would review the decision. In August 2025, Munkachevo (Munkács) was hit by a Russian drone attack. However, the list was not updated.

The HHC represents 94 refugees (73 children and their parents) from Ukraine in their court cases who were impacted by this legislative change and whose leniency requests for housing were rejected by the Government Commissioner in the summer of 2024 and therefore they were evicted from their shelters. As a result of our litigation efforts, 10 refugees from Ukraine received a position decision in their cases and are now eligible for state-funded housing. Unfortunately, 42 of our clients received formalised rejection decisions, which the HHC has now appealed.

"It has taken over a year to achieve what should have been provided to our clients: access to subsidized housing. At the same time, it shows the importance of not giving up and it gives us and our clients hope that the same can be achieved for the other families"  - says Anikó Bakonyi, the Director of the Refugee Program.

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The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) continued to provide legal assistance to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. In the summer of 2024, the Hungarian governmnet restricted access to subsidized housing for refugees from Ukraine, entrusting itself with deciding which parts of Ukraine would be directly affected by the war and to only provide accommodation for those who came from those regions.The HHC represented 94 refugees (73 children and their parents) from Ukraine in their court cases who were impacted by this legislative change and whose leniency requests for housing were rejected by the Government Commissioner in the summer of 2024 and therefore they were evicted from their shelters. The Budapest Court ordered the Commissioner to conduct new procedures in which the decision in each case is made according to the required legal formalities.

Under the new procedure, the Government Commissioner will have to provide a written decision on each individual case concerned, stating the reasons for the decision. These decisions can be challenged again in Court by the families if they are adversely affected. The Court will then be in a position to rule on the merits of whether or not the accommodation funding scheme is against the law.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that the fate of the families will be resolved from one day to the other, but these judgments have paved the way for justice and humanity to prevail, and for the Hungarian authorities to provide adequate housing to vulnerable refugee families in need.

The HHC's attorney, Zsolt Szekeres, who represents the families, alongside his HHC colleagues, Gábor Gyozo and Tímea Kovács, said the following on the day of the judgment:

"Today, the Budapest Court made a good decision in an important case. But this judgment alone does not alleviate the vulnerability of our clients and families in similar situations. We look forward to the Government Commissioner's reasoned decision in writing, and we can only hope that the national and international outcry generated by these cases will not lead him to continue this inhumane practice of putting vulnerable people, including seriously ill children and children with disabilities on the streets. And if this happens, the HHC will turn to the Court again."

Thank you for supporting our project and helping us to continue to provide gap-filling legal assistance to refugees fleeing Ukraine!

Links:

• https://helsinki.hu/en/three-hellishly-difficult-years-for-ukraine-and-people-fleeing-the-war/