In December 2020, Amnesty International Australia wrote to Foreign Minister Marise Payne, asking her to pressure the Hungarian government to drop its plans to ban LGBTQI people from adopting children.
Amnesty International is concerned that the (now adopted) measures would further undermine the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people, including right to a private and family life and the right to protection from discrimination, and negatively affect children’s right to live in a family, to their gender identity, and their parents’ right to impart education according to their religion or belief.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has responded to Amnesty. The Department said that Australia has raised “its concerns about the impact on human rights and democratic freedoms” of recent constitutional amendments and legislative measures in Hungary.
The Department also said that it will “use opportunities in Canberra and through our Embassy in Vienna (accredited to Hungary) to encourage Hungary to ensure that human rights are upheld”.
Amnesty International will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Hungary, and human rights violations against the LGBTQIA+ community world-wide.
