The staff of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights have been working in the affected border section since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, after the UN National Human Rights Institution opened a temporary regional office and information point in Záhony, Beregsurány and the BOK Sports Hall in order to provide direct legal and humanitarian support to people fleeing Ukraine. Ombudsman Ákos Kozma told the Magyar Nemzet: in the majority of cases, refugees ask their colleagues for help in matters related to travel documents and employment in Hungary, as well as in other legal matters.
When asked, the registrar said:
We are living in a period of historical significance and challenges, more than five million people have already fled Ukraine, and we are facing the largest wave of refugees since the Second World War. I consider it extremely important that the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights be able to provide direct legal and humanitarian assistance to as many of those arriving in Hungary as possible during these extraordinary times. Therefore, just as in the framework of my series of national visits, I am also constantly monitoring the current situation on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, the conditions for the reception of people fleeing the war in Ukraine, and the measures taken to help them.
Ákos Kozma/Source: Hungarian Nation
In the spirit of everything, as the National Human Rights Institution of the UN, in the days following the outbreak of the crisis, we opened a temporary regional office at the Záhony railway station, and in March, an ombudsman information point at the collection point in Beregsurány, as well as at the humanitarian transit point established in the BOK Sports Hall.
Sixty-three employees of the office participated in the field work, and in Záhony several university students joined the volunteer staff of our institution. My employees also continuously provide humanitarian assistance: among other things, they help refugees from Ukraine with interpreting, transporting packages, finding accommodation, and organizing personal transport in the capital, and they hold various activities for the children, said the ombudsman.
In recent weeks, at my invitation, several of my foreign colleagues have come to Hungary to personally learn about the situation, the reception of refugees coming to our country from the war in Ukraine, and the measures taken to help them. For example, we made a joint visit to the Hungarian-Ukrainian border section with Andreasz Pottakis, the Ombudsman of Greece - who is also the European regional president of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) - Peter Svetina, the Slovenian Ombudsman and his deputy, as well as Seref Malkoccs, head of Turkey with her ombudsman and Ms. Celile Özlem Tuncak, the Turkish ombudsman responsible for women's and children's rights. In addition, I had an online discussion on the issue with many of my foreign colleagues, including Chris Field, the President of the IOI, and the Ombudsman of Western Australia.
They all expressed their appreciation for all the efforts and work that the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights is doing to directly help refugees from Ukraine. The leaders of the IOI assured us of their continued support and indicated that they would like to provide all possible legal, financial and humanitarian assistance to continue our work on the ground. The leading Turkish ombudsman Seref Malkoc also offered his cooperation and support.
Source and full interview: Magyar Nemzet
Featured image: AJBH
