Like many eastern European post-communist countries, Hungary is now a developed nation with a democratic government, a member of the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and a popular tourist destination. However, Hungary has recently fallen under international scrutiny after new government measures suggest the criminalization of the homeless. The enforcement of human rights is a complex issue that all countries battle with, despite agencies that exist to prevent abuses. Nonetheless, most countries try to ameliorate such behaviour and progress, rather than amend government legislation in order to circumvent social issues, as Hungary has recently done.

          Over the past couple years, the Hungarian government has cut wages and pensions in order to meet its requirements under the bailout from the International Monetary Fund and decrease its state debt. These austerity measures have greatly affected the country, forcing growing numbers of people into unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. Many took out credit in foreign currencies that they can no longer pay back due to the devaluation of the Hungarian forint, and due to the cuts in social welfare, now have little options regarding their social conditions.

           Despite these hardships, Hungary adopted the Act on Petty Offenses in November 2011, and began enforcing it in April 2012. The act made it a criminal offense to habitually reside in public spaces or to store belongings in them, with repeat offenders facing imprisonment for up to 75 days or fined up to 150,000 Hungarian forint (US$655). While similar laws exist in many urban cities, such as those in the United States, it is unusual to find such measures enforced by national governments. In February 2012, the United Nations (UN) special rapporteurs on extreme poverty and human rights, including the right to adequate housing, called upon Hungary to revise this law. Likewise, the Hungarian Constitutional Court ruled it unconstitutional in November 2012, claiming that the ability of the state to punish those who do not have any other option but to live in a public area is incompatible with the constitutional requirement of ‘defense of human dignity.’ However, the following month, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán objected to the ruling and amended the Hungarian constitution in March 2013. It now permits parliament to, “…outlaw the use of certain public space for habitation in order to preserve the public order, public safety, public health and cultural values.” The law also allows local governments and municipal officials to impose their own bans in designated areas. The same article states that the state and local governments should strive to guarantee housing for homeless people, but does not make it a requirement.

          During the eight months that the Act on Petty Offenses was in effect, the police began clearing shelters and temporary dwellings from many abandoned public areas, including the distant outskirts of Budapest, the nation’s capital. The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union obtained government documents showing that about €100,000 of fines were incurred during this time, and according to a report filed by Human Rights Watch, these fines affected over 2,000 homeless people in 2012. In an interview with Human Rights Watch, human rights lawyer Lydia Gall said, “It defies logic to punish the poorest people in society just because they live on the streets…Hungary’s approach to homelessness is completely at odds with Europe’s anti-poverty strategy. Fines and jail will serve only to further marginalize some of the most vulnerable in society.”

          Nonetheless, in the fall of 2013, Budapest became the first municipality to exercise its new constitutional right. The city passed a law that prohibits dumpster diving or taking unwanted items left on the streets for official disposal, and “residential habitation,” or rather, living and sleeping rough in public places. This law applies to all of the 22 districts of the city, and especially the streets of any World Heritage sites, which are popular tourist destinations. Police recognize offenders as committing ‘misdemeanors’ rather than ‘crimes,’ but they can still be sentenced to community service, fined after three warnings, and imprisoned after repeated breaches. Public areas include playgrounds, train stations, cemeteries, and the capital's largest park.

          Under the European Social Charter, a Council of Europe treaty, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Hungary is obliged to guarantee the right to adequate housing. However, last year, the UN stated that there are 5,500 available spaces in Budapest's shelters while there are about 8,000 to 10,000 homeless people in the city, and an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 in the country. In October, the Human Resources Ministry said that a total 11,466 beds at shelters are ready to receive homeless people, and that the number of rough sleepers refusing services is between 3,000 to 4,000 nationwide. According to Ferenc Kumin, the Hungarian Foreign Media Relations State Secretary, the occupancy rate of these shelters is 77.1 in Budapest and 79.4 elsewhere in Hungary. This is most likely due to unfavourable conditions in the shelters such as overcrowding, bedbugs, and high exposure to illness, as well as the emotional and physical difficulty of changing living spaces so frequently.