ROMA CHARTER FOR THE FOURTH HUNGARIAN REPUBLIC

(Discussion paper for social dialogue)

Foreword

The Roma Parliament presents this document as a preparation for the renewal of

Hungarian society and political change.

The Charter aims to offer common principles and proposals to all actors —political

parties, civil society organisations, academic, religious and cultural communities—

who seek a real alliance in the fight against social injustice, poverty and exclusion.

The Roma Parliament is convinced that the liberation and political empowerment of

the Roma are not a minority issues but, rather, concerns for the future of Hungarian

democracy. Aladár Horváth, President

Roma Parliament - Civil Rights Movement

Introduction - Why we need a new social contract

The condition for the renewal of Hungarian democracy is to redress historical

injustices.

The Roma communities, as an integral part of the Hungarian nation, have contributed

to the country's work, culture, and freedom struggles for centuries.

Yet political regimes — from socialist paternalism, to neoliberal capitalism, to Orbán's

authoritarianism — have all perpetuated structures of exclusion.

The consequence of this is the isolated and crippled existence of two-thirds of the

Roma. This is morally unacceptable for sentient and thinking people. It is also

economically unsustainable: depriving the Hungarian budget of billions of euros in

revenue every day. The civil society and civil rights organisations that signed the Charter are convinced

that Hungary's golden future lies in the talent, work, and solidarity of the Gypsy-

Hungarian people.

The renewal of the nation begins with the elimination of exploitation, corruption,

racism and colonialism.

I. Situation - The exclusionary structure of Hungarian society

Around one and a half million people live in permanent poverty in Hungary. Half of

them belongs to, or is classified as belonging to, the Roma community. The future of

Hungarian democracy depends on whether these 1.5 million people, citizens plunged

into poverty and hopelessness, can return to the fold of the Republic.

The Orbán regime is social Darwinist: the poor are 'naturally' excluded from society, and the state subsidises the wealthy. By amending the Fundamental Law, the state

has reneged on its fundamental obligations in the field of social security. It uses

money taken from the poor to support the rich, i.e., the ‘national’ middle class.

The NER* [System of National Co-operation: Fidesz elite] has also turned poverty

into a political tool; public works scheme participation into a dependency relationship,

welfare into a test of loyalty. Hungarian public education is no longer acknowledged as apartheid; state health

care has been dismantled. Medical treatment is no longer a human right and a state

obligation, but, rather, a matter of privilege. The poor man, especially if he is a gypsy, dies ten years earlier. The municipalities are institutions of feudal servitude that maintain the NER.

The Roma self government system, together with its subjugated Roma organisations,

is part of the state patronage, it has no merits.

The credible part of the civil Roma movement is openly confronting the regime and is

therefore marginalised and even politically persecuted. The other part is isolated from

the political public sphere: they are the project companies working for integration.

Among them the 'pro-Roma' (non-Roma) organisations and foundations are

becoming increasingly numerous and have economic potential. This third group are

part of the governing parties network of courtiers

Those in the first group, however, can be the flag-bearers of social renewal. Their

mission can be successful if the will of the leading politicians to change the system is

genuine. The majority of society can rally behind this lofty goal, thereby legitimising

the Republic in the spring elections of 2026.

II Constitutional principles in the Fourth Republic

The current, illegitimate, Fundamental Law must be replaced by a new, modern,

legitimate, democratic Constitution, ratified by popular vote, guaranteeing all citizens

fundamental human, civil, social, child protection and minority rights. We consider the

following constitutional principles to be fundamental:

The principle of equal citizenship - all Roma people are part of the Hungarian nation,

not only the political nation, but also the cultural nation. Roma-Gypsy conscious

people in Hungary are entitled to the same citizenship rights as the majority and the

same nationality rights as other minorities.

Equalisation of opportunities is a constitutional obligation - the state has an active

responsibility to eliminate historical disadvantages.

The principle of social justice - poverty is not an individual failing but a political

responsibility: non-discrimination and equal treatment are obligations of the state.

The right and duty to collect ethnic data - in addition to voluntary data reporting, the

state must be obliged to collect statistical data so that discrimination, like state

intervention to promote equal opportunities, can be measured and accounted for. Freedom of political self-organisation of the Roma - Roma representation is a

national political issue that transcends political parties.

Protection of cultural diversity - Roma cultural autonomy is part of national identity. Protection of European values - Hungary and the Roma belong in Europe, not in the

Russian Empire.

III. Policy recommendations of the Roma Parliament

1. Social policy and social inclusion

A new, humanist, social policy must break with the distorted and inhuman practice of

Orbán, which uses money extracted from the bottom to help the middle and upper

middle classes. The state should apply the principle of need in its social policy. It

should give where there is a lack, not where there is already a lot.

Let the new constitution state that the right to housing, and a home, for individuals

and families, is a fundamental right intrinsic to human dignity and cannot be

separated from it.

Support for home ownership should also be made available to poorer families,

primarily through social policy and credit benefits for the purchase and/or renovation

of second-hand property. The public workfare scheme should be replaced by a "temporary job market" offering

subsidised employment, training and scholarships.

2. Education and equal opportunities

Education of Roma youth is the key to the future of Hungary. Roma young people

who graduate from high school are a net benefit to the national economy — the state

must invest in their education. The conscious and targeted use of information

technologies, including artificial intelligence, can significantly increase the number of

Roma graduates and graduates with a high school diploma.

Opportunity-generating, diverse, and loving schools also require a desegregation

policy that radically reduces school segregation, encourages learning in

neighbourhood schools and promotes the use of modern, inclusive teaching

methods.

3. Roma rights, representation and culture

A government working towards a shared and prosperous future must break with the

so-called 'national security doctrine' that has dominated Roma policy across recent

regimes. The latter sees a risk in the link between growing Roma consciousness,

poverty, and political activism. Roma self-consciousness is not a political threat but,

rather, a guarantee for the economic and cultural development of Hungarian society. The new government should restore the functioning of the Roma rights protection

services, which have been closed down by the state. It should establish the system

of Roma cultural institutions, first and foremost the Roma Museum and Archives and

the Roma Theatre, which were promised more than forty years ago and have since

been cancelled.

The new government should not interfere in Roma self-organisation, either financially

or by 'handing out' political inducements and penalties. On the contrary, it should cut

off support for the pseudo- and parasitic- Roma organisations hanging on the

budget's umbilical cord.

The Roma civil sector should hold a debate on the three decades of Roma/Gypsy

self-government: can a legal guarantee be established for the fair and professional

operation of the Roma self-government system, or is the system a failure that should

be abolished?

The state should provide support to social organisations with real membership, moral

credibility and a programmes promoting the public good.

4. Urban development and rural policy

The authorities investigating the misappropriation of EU funds should pay serious

attention to catching and punishing those who misappropriate billions of euros for

Roma inclusion. These criminal organisations have deprived hundreds of thousands

of people of their first, and probably lastm chance of advancement.

We also propose the launch of the operational programme '1000 most deprived

municipalities', which would directly finance the development plans drawn up by local

authorities and their civil partners. We are ready to offer our LÉTRA programme,

developed under the Bajnai government, to the new government.

The role of the state should be: professional coordination, sanctioning corruption and

punishing exclusionary local policies.

IV. Political and social objectives

Liberation of Roma from economic and political slavery means enabling self-

determination instead of dependence, e.g., through support for local small

businesses.

Social liberation of the poorest settlements is key to an opposition victory. The emancipation of the Roma is a precondition for Hungarian democracy. It is the

duty of the political forces to treat Roma emancipation and civilisation as a matter of

national strategy.

The inclusion of Roma people in political decision-making is a precondition for

democratic rebirth.

V. Concluding statement

The aim: to create a republic in which the social inclusion, cultural identity and

economic empowerment of the Roma are no longer empty words but a reality. The Hungarian future will be a shared one if Roma-Gypsies can feel themselves

within the gates of the homeland.

To this end, we are initiating a dialogue with Roma political organisations.

Leaders who adopt a text containing common principles should consult with all

democratic political forces interested in building the Fourth Republic.

The Social Contract signed by the parties can bring about a historic change.

Adopted by the Presidency of the Roma Parliament - Civil Rights Movement,

Budapest, 3 November 2025.