16 Subject matter of the report Date of the visit Date of the report 1. Psychiatric Ward of the Balassa János Hospital of Tolna County 31 May–1 June 2017 25 January 2019 2. Custodial unit of the Nógrád County Police Headquarters, the custodial unit of the Salgótarján Police Department, and the detention unit of the Balassagyarmat Police Department 30–31 January 2018 4 April 2019 3. Chronic Aftercare Department of Unit III of Szeged Strict and Medium Regime Prison 13–14 June 2018 15 May 2019 4. Visegrád Aranykor Foundation Retirement Home 11 December 2018 27 August 2019 Table 3 plan, the Department also studied the OPCAT-related reports the NPM visiting group. There has been an improvement in the of Hungarian and international entities. The focus of the visits physical condition of the custodial rooms in police facilities, but carried out by the OPCAT NPM in 2019 was the detention of wom- the working conditions of the police staff have remained rather en. In accordance with the UN recommendations for NPMs, the poor. The police struggles with excessive administrative burden Commissioner did not announce the visits in advance. In 2019, the while the staff has to work with an outdated operating system. Ombudsman, acting within the powers of the NPM, also carried out Cooperation has improved with the National Commander of the a follow-up visit in line with the international requirements, and Hungarian Prison Service. By now, the penitentiary institutions duly informed his partners about it. are aware of the fact that the staff members of the OPCAT NPM have In the course of the seven visits carried out in 2019, the pro- special entitlements: entry procedures have become less cumber- visions of the OPCAT were fully met: the members of the NPM some, and there is less need to justify the visits. The appearance visiting group were granted unrestricted and unlimited access of a new psychoactive substance has produced unfavourable to the places of detention, persons deprived of their liberty, and trends in the penitentiary institutions, and it is causing significant documents related to the latter’s detention. The authorities and problems at other places of detention, too. The shortage of staff, maintainers were supportive of the NPM’s work. Engaging in the stress due to overwork, and the high staff turnover have led a dialogue with the authorities is essential when carrying out NPM to substantial systemic problems at all places of detention. The functions. There were several occasions when the reports of the narrowing of the possibilities of contacts with the outside world, Ombudsman, acting as OPCAT NPM, became a matter of public dis- including the tightening of the rules of receiving parcels, is prob- course, not only among authorities but also in wider society, so it lematic in penitentiary institutions. Plexiglas contact rooms have can be concluded that the reports of the NPM have had a significant been introduced in order to prevent the smuggling of forbidden ob- general preventive impact. jects into prisons, but this practice was criticised by the detainees Reports issued in 2019 as OPCAT NPM in every detention facility visited. The reports published on the NPM’s website in 2019 are shown in the table at the top of the page. Following the publication of the reports, the Commissioner held consultations with the authorities and the maintainers. By the end of 2019, altogether four OPCAT NPM reports had been prepared on the basis of the experience gathered over the previous years. In accordance with the relevant statutory provision, the Commissioner is to prepare a separate annual report about his OPCAT NPM activities performed in 2019. The OPCAT annual report is addressed to the National Assembly and the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT). The OPCAT NPM’s annual report is also made available to other Hungarian authorities and institutions, and international organisations. It was a general impression during the visits and inspections that providing stress management and burnout prevention trainings and supervision for the staff is not yet an established practice at the places of detention. The bulletin board of the penitentiary institutions nearly always displayed the OPCAT NPM information brochure, and both the detainees and the staff were more or less familiar with the National Preventive Mechanism, but this was not the case at other places of detention. It was a positive experience that police officials were most helpful when receiving 1.7. I IN FOCUS: THE ENFORCEMENT OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS n their communication issued in April 2019, the Commissioner and his Deputies asked organisations nom- inating candidates, as well as the candidates themselves running for the elections to the European Parliament (regardless of their party affiliation), to refrain from involving children in their campaign events, using pictures taken of and with children for campaign purposes, as well as visiting schools and kindergartens in order to boost their popularity. The respect for child rights presumes the existence of a political and constitutional culture which does not allow for the use of children as props or means of party politics. Regardless of their age, children unconditionally have the right to equal human dignity; children must not be objectified. Using children as campaign tools violates precisely this right, and turns them from legal entities into means of party politics. Besides the reports and inquiries detailed further below, it should be highlighted in the area of education that in December 2019 the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights asked the competent ministry in a statement to postpone the introduction of REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF HUNGARY AND HIS DEPUTIES – 2019