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Watchdogs call for OGP investigation into crackdown on Hungarian civil society
Last fall, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) adopted a new policy to help re-establish an environment for government and civil society collaboration, safeguarding the Open Government Declaration and to mitigate reputational risks to OGP. Today, members of Hungarian civil society, including representatives of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Transparency International Hungary and K-Monitor, called on the OGP Steering Committee to take action under the new policy and launch a thorough investigation into the situation in Hungary, with a special attention to the deterioration of the space for civil society.
In the past few years, the rule of law, democracy, pluralism, human rights and the role of independent institutions as checks and balances on political power have been systematically undermined in Hungary. Particularly troublesome from the perspective of the OGP are the government’s actions to reduce the space for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to work independently, voice critiques and receive funding from international sources. Since the summer of 2013, Hungarian government officials have been engaging in a smear campaign against some of the country’s independent NGOs. Many of these allegations have been directed at the very transparency and human rights groups which have been most actively engaged in the OGP process in the country.1
Over time, the allegations have been followed by more direct action on the part of the government. A criminal investigation has been initiated based on a governmental audit into Norwegian Fund beneficiary NGOs, including HCLU, K-Monitor, Transparency International Hungary and many more. A police raid in September 2014 against two of the NGOs running the NGO Fund involved dozens of riot police, seemingly intended to create a spectacle and to intimidate. In a move that puts their very existence at risk, the tax numbers of the four organizations which run the NGO Fund were also suspended in 2014, depriving these organizations of their eligibility to handle foreign grants and making it almost impossible for them to operate.
In terms of OGP processes, Hungarian NGOs which participated in the development of the OGP Action Plan were very critical, claiming that no real consultation or discussion took place between the government and civil society. From the very beginning of the process of drafting the second OGP Action Plan, participating NGOs have repeatedly asked the government to take the necessary measures to restore trust and collaboration with civil society. Among other things, a coalition of civil society organizations has called on the government to review the laws which restrict access to information and transparency, but the Hungarian government has so far never responded to these requests. Instead, a newly adopted government decree on anti-corruption proposes to require the declaration of private asset by NGO leaders, while a more recent announcement on amending the FOI law institutes further barriers to civil society fulfilling its watchdog role.
In addition to complaints from Hungarian civil society, hundreds of leading national and international civil society organisations from around the world have expressed publicly their concerns about the targeting of NGOs and have called on the Hungarian government to stop. A high-profile example of this was when U.S. President Barack Obama highlighted Hungary as a country where “endless regulations and overt intimidation increasingly target civil society.”
The attacks on civil society and the failure of the government to consult properly in relation to OGP processes have now reached a breaking point which undermines the ability of the country to engage in a meaningful way in the OGP. In light of this, Hungarian civil society members asked the OGP Steering Committee to take action under the OGP response policy to help re-establish the necessary space for civil society actors to play their democratic role, including by contributing to the development and monitoring the implementation of Hungary’s OGP Action Plans.
The letter outlines a series of recommendations, which includes steps to restore an environment in which civil society actors feel free to speak out openly, including about government transparency and accountability, and stopping the harassment of watchdog NGOs.
1 The trend on the part of the Hungarian government to increasingly view members of civil society which are critical of it as its enemies has been documented in both the IRM report on Hungary and assessments conducted by independent domestic watchdog organizations. (Return to top)
The Sunlight Foundation is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that uses the power of the Internet to catalyze greater government openness and transparency, and provides new tools and resources for media and citizens, alike.
Source: http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2015/07/02/watchdogs-call-for-ogp-investigation-into-crackdown-on-hungarian-civil-society/
