The COVID-19 pandemic took over the world. While governments rushed to develop vaccines and proper protocols, human rights fell behind. In some situations, the power gained by governments, and their respective leaders, gave autocratic leaning regimes a tool to restrict rights. Just as people’s faces were obscured by widespread mask mandates, autocratic leaders hid behind COVID-19 to shield what they were up to. Hidden behind the pandemic, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban obtained the ability to rule by decree. Posing as a necessary precaution for health, Orban and the executive branch have given themselves the power to suspend and pass laws without parliamentary procedure by declaring a “state of danger”. This state of danger has since been replaced with a new state of danger because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Using his newfound power, Orban has outlawed the public depiction of homosexuality, attacked independent media including journalists, made unlawful appointments to their supreme court, and pushed back migrants and asylum seekers—all in the name of protecting individuals from COVID-19. The pandemic allowed Orban to hide, and he now seeks to find a way to do that through conflict with Ukraine.
Orban is a member and front runner of Hungary’s Fidesz, the national populist party. He’s been in power for nearly half of the nation’s post-communist time and has won five elections. Fidesz is popular—they’ve continued to win elections despite absurd propaganda, a budding friendship with Russian leader Vladamir Putin, and one the highest death tolls from Covid in all of Europe. Why? Foreign Policy describes the “unique hold [of Fidesz] on those Hungarians who hold a pronounced nationalistic worldview” and emphasizes its ability to “carefully strik[e] a balance between revisionism and realpolitik.” In July of 2014, during his third term as prime minister, Obran announced his goal of an “illiberal” and “workfare” society. He named China, Russia, and Turkey as the ideal representatives of this program. He has remained notoriously anti-immigrant and led a strong push for nationalism within the country. In the April 2022 election, the Human Rights Watch cited a ⅔ majority for Fidesz in the national election. Orban has continued to hold power in the country for decades, and it seems that power is not slowing down.
In March of 2020, Orban’s government called a “state of danger” for Hungary, citing COVID-19 as the source of this danger. Since then, his government has extended this state of danger multiple times, and parliament passed a law stating that they can continue to extend it as long as necessary—until the government ends it. The state of danger allows Orban to override parliament decisions and rule by decree. In May, the nation’s ranking from The Global Alliance of National Human Rights fell from an A to a B, signifying a decline in the status of human rights issues in the nation. Orban has been attacking the government, firing the chiefs of the National Weather Service after a faulty report and making unlawful appointments to the nation’s supreme courts.
The LBGT community has faced some of the largest brunt of Orban’s rule of law. Public depiction of homosexuality has been entirely banned in the name of protecting children. They’ve attempted to impose additional fines on multiple human rights support groups. The nation has attacked women as well, forcing all women seeking abortion to listen to the heartbeat of their unborn baby before termination of the pregnancy. He’s attacked migrants and refugees with thousands of illegal pushbacks, forcing immigrants out of the country or refusing entry. Free speech and the media have been attacked. The Roma population of the nation have faced continual abuse and discrimination. Hungary is on a dangerous path as Orban goes full steam ahead, with mostly unchecked power.
The impact Covid has had on the world goes beyond the devastating death tolls and havoc wrecked on economies. The hidden human rights losses are dramatic—and they aren’t just limited to Hungary. Across the world, autocratic leaning governments have been attacking human rights while the rest of the world focuses on Covid. It’s part of a much greater shift to autocracy seen across the world as nations struggle through democratic systems. It’s eye opening to see what can be done while the rest of the world looks right at a mask, not seeing a moving mouth.
Sources:
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/hungary
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/01/viktor-orbans-hungary-populism-election-nationalism/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Viktor-Orban
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62925460
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