Human Trafficking in  [Hungary]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Hungary]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Hungary]  [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Republic of Hungary                                                                   [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Hungary [map] is a central European country bordered by Slovakia (N), Ukraine (NE), Romania (E), Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro (S), and Austria (W).  The Danube River forms the Slovak-Hungarian border from a point near Bratislava to another near Esztergom, then turns south and bisects the country.  Its capital and largest city is Budapest.  Hungarian sovereign debt was upgraded in 2000 and together with the Czech Republic holds the highest rating among the Central European transition economies; however, ratings agencies have expressed concerns over Hungary's unsustainable budget and current account deficits.

Hungary is primarily a transit, and to a lesser extent a source and destination country for women from Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, the Balkans, and China trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation to Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and the United States. Hungarian women are trafficked primarily to Western and Northern Europe and to North America. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2007 [full country report]

 

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Hungary.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - The Government of Hungary is working with IOM and partner agencies to implement a trafficking prevention program in schools.  Through consultations with NGOs, the government has also provided anti-trafficking sensitization training to police, border guards, and consular officials.  In 2003, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in conjunction with the Government of Hungary, established a shelter for unaccompanied minors in order to prevent them from being recruited by traffickers.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – Organized crime syndicates transported many of the trafficking victims for forced prostitution either in Budapest, or for transit to Western Europe or North America. Trafficking rings also exploited victims for domestic servitude and manual labor. Russian-speaking organized crime syndicates were active in trafficking women through the country, primarily from Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union to European Union (EU) countries. Victims were recruited at discos and modeling agencies, through word of mouth, or even through open advertisements in local newspapers and magazines. Reportedly, some victims knew that they were going to work illegally; others believed they were getting foreign visas, and others expected to work but believed their employers were obtaining the appropriate papers and permission. Once at their destination, the victims were forced into prostitution or another form of exploitation. Victims were usually housed in apartments owned by the traffickers or outbuildings on their property. Victims' earnings and travel documents were typically taken by the trafficker.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 1998

[22] The Committee is concerned about the insufficiency of legal and other measures to address the issue of sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution and trafficking of children.

Underage prostitution arrests1

Police in Szabolcs-Szatmár county have arrested three men who abducted two girls and forced them into prostitution.  The girls - aged 14 and 15 - were forced into a car in the eastern town of Nyíregyháza on June 20 and held captive in a flat.

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 1   Civil Liberties: 1   Status: Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

Stop Violence Against Women – Country Page

U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study

ARCHIVES

2004   TRAINING - A Critical Moment In Hungary’s Development

2003   Trafficking in Human Beings in Hungary

2002   Response to trafficking is poor with uneven enforcement of anti-trafficking legislation

2001   Preying on Children - Number of kids trafficked into virtual slavery in Europe is on the rise

2001   Methods and Techniques of Traffickers – Ukrainian criminals reportedly control Hungary

2000   Picked at random by a mafia gang looking for girls at the station to force into prostitution

1.  The linked article has been taken down, moved or restricted

 

 

Human Trafficking in  [Hungary]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Hungary]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Hungary]  [other countries]