A/HRC/39/41 53. It was reported that two organizations that participated in the review of Hungary b y the Human Rights Committee during the consideration of the Government’s periodic report in March 2018, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty Intern at ion al Hu n gary, have been targeted, at least in part, for their advocacy on migrant s’ rig h t s at t h e Un it ed Nations. 54. It was reported that the Governing Fidesz party have used language such as callin g for “cleaning out [the country]” with reference to civil society. In 2018, t h ere h as b een a targeted campaign of putting stickers on the doors of NGOs reading ‘organization supporting illegal migration,’ reportedly carried out by coalition partner KDNP (Ch ris t ian Democrats) or Fidelitas (the youth wing of Fidesz). The Hungarian Helsinki Committee received a sticker on their door on 27 June 2018, while Amnesty International received such a sticker on 12 June 2018. 55. Further, on 12 April 2018, Figyelő, a publication in Hungary, published mo re t h an 200 names of people part of a group regarded by Prime Minister Orbán as “mercenaries paid by George Soros to topple the Government.” The list included members of human rights and anti-corruption organizations, refugee advocates, investigative jo u rnalist s an d faculty and officials from the Central European University, a number of which have cooperated with the United Nations and have been publicly intimidated for reportin g t o o r about the United Nations. A number of media outlets have accused some of th e n ames o n this list of making complaints to the United Nations against the Government. The campaign by the ruling party Fidesz prior to the April 2018 elections featured hostile rhetoric and billboards against civil society and the United Nations, in particular with regard to the ongoing consultations around the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. 56. On 3 August 2018 the Government responded to the allegations. It n o t ed t h at t h e Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (Validity) was not authorized to prepare and p ub lish the documentation they made at the unit of Pest County Social Institution (Topház) without the guardians’ permission. As several photographs of the rep ort were p u blis hed o n t he internet, the “Pest County Police Headquarters launched an in v estig atio n p ro cedu r e o n account of the criminal report of the state authority responsible for the maintenance o f t h e Institution,” which the Government should not be regarded as a form of retaliation in connection with any monitoring activity. The Government referred to its detailed p o sit ion on the subject matter in response to the 21 June 2017 communication by special procedures (HUN 372017), available online. 57. Pertaining to the participation of K-Monitor in the 2017 Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the Government stated that the objection was related to the organization’s non-compliance with Hungarian legislation, an d that making objections in compliance with the provisions of the Conference’s Rules of Procedure are legitimate and should not be considered a reprisal. 58. Regarding the targeting of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International Hungary, the Government notes it is of the position that “putting s t ickers o n the doors of NGOs does not in any way prevent organizations from availing themselv es o f UN procedures in the field of human rights.” Further, the Government notes that in the review of the Human Rights Committee, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary only remarked that “serious debates on this issue [migration] were t akin g p lace with non-governmental organizations, which exerted their voices in the international space” and that this should not be interpreted as a “call for cleaning out the country” with reference to civil society. 59. With regard to the allegations attributed to the publication Figyelő, the Government affirms that the “impugned acts are not attributable to the Government” given that Fi g yelő is not a publication of the Government, and that it “does not see how report ing ab out t he activity of an NGO by the independent press would prove that the Figyelő publicatio n is a result of the complaints filed with the UN.” Further, the Government notes that the domestic courts are available for redress in the case of infringemen ts by media outlets. Regarding the Government’s rhetoric in the election campaign, in particu lar t h e o n goin g consultations around the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Government notes that its “rhetoric did not target any organization or individual for cooperating with the UN, but took a position and shared its view on the draft of a UN document related to migration.” GE.18-13325 29