In the March 2020 concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Hungary, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted “with appreciation the legislative, institutional and policy measures taken to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular … the implementation of the Barnahus model.”
The Committee’s recommendations to Hungary included, among others, urged the State party to “Adopt the legal measures necessary to support the implementation of the Barnahus programme; and ensure that child victims of violence have effective access to the investigation and therapy services based on the Barnahus model, and that these services are by default available to all child victims of violence.” This recommendation was made with reference to general comment No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence and taking note of target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
To our knowledge, this is the first time such a recommendation has been made by the Committee, which previously had commended Iceland and other countries on their work with Barnahus.
Hungary is a member of the PROMISE Barnahus Network, with Barnahus Szombately as a developing member, and Metropolitan Centre for Child Protection and Regional Child Protection Service of Budapest as an associate member.