The Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Convention on protecting children from sexual exploitation and sexual harassment was adopted in 2007 and came into force in Hungary on 1 December 2015. The highest-level monitoring body of the Convention is the Lanzarote Commission, which is made up of government exports from states who are party to the Convention.

The Commission was in Hungary from 5-7 July at the invitation of the Hungarian Government. During the visit, the members of the delegation had an opportunity to personally review the state of child protection at the transit zones in Röszke and Tompa, and to hold bilateral meetings.

On Friday the delegation, which was headed by Claude Janizzi, visited the Ministry of Human Capacities, where they were greeted by Deputy State Secretary for International and EU Affairs Dr. Orsolya Pacsay-Tomassich and Deputy State Secretary for Social Policy Imre Nyitrai, and by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior and the Office of Immigration and Asylum.

In its introductory statement, the Commission said that not a single case in which a minor had been sexually harassed or sexually exploited in Hungary had arisen during the course of its review. Topics of the bilateral talks included, amongst others, the background of the regulations currently in force and the practical realisation of caring for minors who arrive in Hungary without adult accompaniment.

The Commission will be publishing a separate report on its visit and on its experiences in Hungary, which it is expected to present at its upcoming plenary session in October 2017.

(Ministry of Human Capacities/MTI)