7 LECTORI SALUTEM T he year behind us was a most lively and eventful one, con- The protection of fundamental rights is an activity that demands sequently, our annual report for 2019 should be dynamic continuous engagement from the Ombudsman: there is no end to and colourful as well. The report holds a mirror up to us to reflect this work, and it must be driven by a constant and unremitting will our achievements, the battles we have fought and others still before aimed at ensuring fundamental rights for all. And in these efforts us, and naturally, it also exposes our weaknesses and failings. The of ours, we must be guided by our firm conviction that “despite the few months that have passed since I took office have convinced me dramatic situation, the world is becoming increasingly conscious that the protection of fundamental rights is not only a job to do or of certain spiritual values, and increasingly open to the meaning of an expectation to meet. It is much more than that: it must become those pillars of peace – truth, justice, love, and freedom”. (Message an inherent duty, a compulsion for each and every member of soci- for the 36th International Day of Peace – St. Pope John Paul II, ety. It is up to the present to pave the way for a better future for the 1 January 2003) generations to come. The only way to achieve this is by raising chil- It is in this spirit that this report presents the activities of the dren and youth in a spirit where children’s rights and obligations Commissioner for Fundamental Rights and his Deputies, as well are equally honoured, where nationality rights are implemented as the inquiries conducted by the Office of the Commissioner for in everyday life, and where environmental protection is not only Fundamental Rights in 2019. The report reflects our accomplish- a component of a corporate scheme, but a vision and a mentality ments in the area of the protection of fundamental human rights, that strives to secure and improve the life of our descendants and presents our results, and gives an account of future challenges and future generations in the long run. tasks to tackle. “Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius suum cuique tribuendi [Justice is the persistent and constant will to give each Budapest, January 2020 one his right].” – This quote by Ulpian was uttered by Pope Francis in his speech delivered in 2015 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Dr. Ákos Kozma Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary