A/HRC/45/36 Workers and Justice System Actors, and a risk assessment was initiated for Ms. Castro and ACI-PARTICIPA; on 21 October 2019, it concluded that Ms. Castro was at serious risk. 67. According to information received by OHCHR, incidents of surveillance, harassment and threats have continued during the reporting period. On 19 July 2019, OHCHR participated in a meeting with Ms. Castro and the Director of the Office of the Special Prosecutor for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Media Workers and Justice System Actors to support her request for emergency protection measures. On 1 August 2019, Ms. Castro filed a complaint to the Office of the Prosecutor for incidents of police surveillance and harassment, to which there has been no response. The situation has obstructed Ms. Castro’s human rights work and is severely affecting the well-being of her close relatives and co-workers. 12. Hungary 68. The case of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a civil society organization working on migration and asylum-related issues, was included in the 2018 report of the Secretary-General in connection to its engagement with the Human Rights Committee in 2018 (A/HRC/39/41, Annex I, paras. 53–55, 58–59). In July 2019, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants visited Hungary and regretted that, in the past years, civil society organizations working on migrants’ rights have experienced multiple obstacles in carrying out their work, such as those resulting from legislative amendments, financial restrictions and other operational and practical measures taken by the Government 48 (see also A/HRC/42/30, para. 57 and Annex I, paras. 47–52) and that, as a result, some civil society organizations have been deterred from cooperating with UN entities assisting migrants and refugees (A/HRC/44/42/Add.1, para. 55). 69. The Special Rapporteur referred specifically to a November 2019 ruling of the Supreme Court of Hungary on a 2017 national consultation questionnaire, which contained false allegations about the Hungarian Helsinki Committee pertaining to its work and advocacy on migrants’ rights (para. 55). It is reported to OHCHR that this kind of targeting of the organization is related to its ongoing advocacy with the UN and other international bodies. The Supreme Court established that the Government had damaged the reputation of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and ordered the Office of the Prime Minister to pay 2 million Hungarian Forints (about USD 6,500) in damages to the NGO. The Court also ruled that the Government should publish an apology to the Committee, both through the National Press Service and on the home page of the official Government website, visible for 30 days. 70. On 24 July 2020, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report stating that it complies with all of its obligations under international law, including by proving access to transit zones for civil society organizations providing humanitarian assistance in agreement with the Government. It provided details on organizations that have been granted access to the facilities, and stressed that the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing continues to be open to cooperation with civil society organizations and other entities. 71. In regards to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Government provided details of the decision of the Constitutional Court concerning the constitutionality of the provisions of the Criminal Code, relating to the conformity with the Fundamental Law and annulling Section 353/A of the Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code (facilitation and support of illegal immigration). The response of the Government does not reflect on allegations of intimidation and reprisals concerning civil society organizations assisting migrants and refugees that may have been deterred from cooperating with the UN entities or been subject to smear campaigns, administrative or criminal investigations and reputational damage. 48 64 End of visit statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Budapest, 17 July 2019, at https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24830&LangID=E.

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