Hungarian Civilisation Coalition’s stand against the draft retaliatory law
On 16 May 2025, in four major Hungarian cities – Budapest, Pécs, Miskolc and Szeged – Civilisation Coalition member organisations organised actions in defence of democracy, public transparency and social participation. The common message of the actions and the speeches delivered was:
We were made for you – We are with you – We will stay because of you
The participants were protesting against a bill presented on the night of 13 May, which they believe is an open attack on civil society, the independent press and active citizen participation. It was said:
„Hungary needs civil society. It needs a diverse, vibrant democratic public sphere and debate with diverse actors.”
According to CSOs, the aim of the law is clear: to silence all those who stand up for justice and who take social responsibility. Veronika Móra, Director of Ökotárs, stated:
“We are now being asked to analyse and explain the bill that was submitted Tuesday night. We believe that this is unnecessary and pointless, because this bill, this retaliatory law, is evil in every way, deeply cynical and serves only one purpose: to completely starve, suffocate and cut off all resources from those who speak out or criticise those in power.”
We do not ask permission to help those in need, to stand up for those in trouble, to participate in shaping our own lives.
Dávid Vig, Director of Amnesty International Hungary
He believes the proposal follows the example of countries where attempts have already been made to undermine the civil sector – in Russia, Georgia, Zimbabwe, and Peru.
But Hungarian members of various civil society organisations made it clear: “It will not work! We are here to stay because Hungary is our homeland, and we are at home here.”
The joint stand is not the final step of the resistance – the organisers will continue working together to defend the rule of law, human rights, and free citizen participation.
So far, 240 civil society organisations, 53 editorial offices, and companies have joined the public stance of civil organisations and independent media. The Civilisation Coalition welcomes further supporters – civil groups, media outlets, companies, and trade unions – to join via this link.
The video recording of the press conference can be downloaded here.