High-Level Recognition of Hungarian Ombudsman for his Efforts Made for Ukrainian Refugees

At the 23 May 2022 meeting of EU Ambassadors, Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings expressed his appreciation for the extraordinary efforts that Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Dr. Ákos Kozma and his Office have been making to provide assistance to Ukrainian refugees by being present at the border.

At the EU Ambassadors’ regular meeting held on 23 May 2022, Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings reported about his Office’s activity carried out in relation to the Ukrainian–Russian war. He emphasized that ever since the outbreak of this crisis, his Office has been paying special attention to the importance of measures against human trafficking as the number of refugees has been climbing. In that context, he visited Hungary, Poland, Romania and Moldova in the past few weeks.

 Concerning Hungary, Valiant Richey highlighted the outstanding level of assistance provided by the state and civil society organizations, and he commended the top-level implementation of the recommendations of his Office and the practice of offering job opportunities to Ukrainian refugees.

The Special Representative also expressed his appreciation for the on-border presence of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (OCFR), and all the efforts that the Ombudsman Dr. Ákos Kozma and his institution have been making to provide direct help to the Ukrainian refugees.

The staff of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights have been continuously working at the Hungarian border section for more than thirteen weeks now, since the outbreak of the Ukrainian war. At the information points set up at the locations affected and in the BOK Sports Hall, the OCFR staff members help people fleeing the war in administrative matters and by legal counselling, and they also provide humanitarian aid to them.