A/66/313 III. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 48. In this section, the Special Rapporteur refers to further activities carried out since the submission of his previous report to the General Assembly, including country visits (subsection A), thematic press releases (subsection B) as well as seminars and consultations (subsection C). A. Country visits 1. Mission to Hungary 49. The Special Rapporteur visited Hungary from 23 to 27 May 2011. He would like to reiterate his sincere appreciation to the Government of Hungary for its full openness and cooperation throughout the visit. A detailed report containing the observations and conclusions of the Special Rapporteur on the visit will be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twentieth session, in 2012. 50. At the press conference held in Budapest on 27 May 2011, 9 the Special Rapporteur highlighted the particular context of his visit, which occurred more than 10 years after the first visit to Hungary of a previous Special Rapporteur on racism, and at a time when the Government of Hungary had adopted a new Constitution and was holding the European Union’s presidency. He further recalled that the issues raised during his mission had to be understood in the context of the history of Hungary, in particular, the impact of the fall of the Communist regime on disadvantaged groups, especially the Roma minority. 51. The Special Rapporteur commended the Government of Hungary for the significant efforts made to fulfil its international human rights obligations and commitments with respect to the situation of national and ethnic minorities and the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. He noted that key legislative, institutional and political measures had been taken. In that regard, he welcomed, among others, key achievements such as Act LXXVII of 1993 on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities, and Act No. CXXV of 2003 on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equal Opportunities, which both provided a comprehensive and valuable legislative framework on anti-discrimination. The Special Rapporteur also welcomed the unique Hungarian system of minority selfgovernments, the newly adopted agreement between the Government and Roma leaders, and the European Roma Strategy initiated by the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union. 52. While much had been achieved in the past few years, the Special Rapporteur emphasized that challenges remained, including in relation to the implementation of the measures taken. He stressed that Hungary had to ensure that all those measures led to an effective outcome that would cover the situation of all the individuals who experienced racism and racial discrimination. He identified critical areas which deserved specific attention and determined action. In that regard, he stressed that the situation of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants was a matter that called for specific attention. The Special Rapporteur also emphasized the importance of ensuring that the constitutional changes would not weaken the legal and institutional __________________ 9 14 The full text of the press release is available from www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/ DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11078&LangID=E. 11-45818