“The Hungarian government’s proposal to limit adoption by married couples was made to exclude the LGBT community and is an insult to common European values,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on November 18.
The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban introduced several constitutional changes on November 10, the same day that parliament voted to extend the 90-day state of emergency declared on November 3 to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Legal changes stipulate that only married couples will have the right to adopt children, and exceptions can only be made on occasion.
The bill prohibits LGBT couples, single people and unmarried couples from adopting children.
In a statement, HRW called on the Hungarian parliament to “reject the proposed constitutional amendment” and called on the European Union “to warn Hungary that the amendment is contrary to the values of tolerance and non-discrimination of the EU”.
In May of this year, HRW also criticised Hungary for ending the legal recognition of transgender and intersex people. The law makes it impossible for them to legally change their gender, putting them at risk of harassment, discrimination and even violence.
“The law is a major backwards step on transgender and intersex rights, and yet another violation of Hungary’s international rights obligations. It comes at a time when the government has used the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to grab unlimited power and is using parliament to rubber-stamp problematic non-public health-related bills, like this one.”
