Czech Republic

Reports to Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The fifth periodic report of the Czech Republic's (CERD/C/419/Add.1, May 2003) was considered by the Committee at its August 2003 session. The report prepared by the government provides demographic data as well as information on the following subjects, among others: laws providing protection against racial discrimination; the Council for the Affairs of the Roma Community; the Human Rights Council; the Council for National Minorities; the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid; measures to combat racial hatred and violence against racial and ethnic groups; the right to equal treatment before the courts; the right to freedom and security of person; guarantees related to political rights - e.g. to participate in public affairs, to vote and to be elected; the rights to freedom of movement, citizenship, marriage and choice of spouse, and to ownership of property; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association; guarantees related to economic, social and cultural rights - e.g. work, trade unions, housing, public health, medical care, social security and social services, education and training, equal participation in cultural activities, access to public places; protection against any acts of racial discrimination; measures to promote education against racial discrimination.

In its concluding observations and comments (CERD/C/63/CO/4), the Committee welcomed several developments, including: the constitutional amendment providing that all international treaties promulgated and ratified by the state are directly binding and have precedence over domestic law; legislative efforts to give effect to the Convention, in particular in the field of the protection of national minorities; the amendments to the Criminal Code (2002) and to the Civil Procedure Code reversing the burden of proof from the victim to the offender; the number of governmental advisory bodies dealing with human rights and, specifically, the rights of national minorities - e.g. the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for the Affairs of the Roma Community, the Human Rights Council and the Government Council for National Minorities; the concrete measures, programmes and strategies adopted to improve the situation of the Roma and other marginalized groups, including refugees; efforts to elaborate a comprehensive anti-discrimination law; the preparation of the new Act on Legal Aid, to facilitate access to justice by victims of discrimination; the anti-racism campaigns conducted annually and the broad population targeted by them; numerous other initiatives to combat discriminatory attitudes and practices.

The Committee noted with concern a number of points, inter alia: the difficulties encountered during the drafting of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law; continuing acts of racially motivated violence and incitement to hatred, and the persistence of intolerance and de facto discrimination, in particular with regard to the Roma minority; the criminalization of only active participation in organizations promoting and inciting racial discrimination; allegations of racially motivated ill-treatment and discrimination against the Roma by law enforcement officials, especially the police, noting ineffective protections; the failure always to investigate promptly and impartially allegations of abuse by law enforcement officials; the disproportionately high unemployment rate among the Roma; the practice of usury and its negative economic and social consequences for the Roma; the evictions, or threats to evict, from flats reportedly faced by many Roma families; the continued placement of a disproportionately high number of Roma children in "special schools"; continued reports that judges in criminal proceedings are reluctant to issue findings that crimes are racially motivated; the lack of information on specific cases where victims of discrimination have been afforded adequate reparation; the persistence of negative attitudes towards minorities and refugees among public officials, in the media and in the general public; the impression that the judiciary, unlike the police, does not benefit from sensitization and education activities.

The Committee recommended that the government, inter alia:

• complete efforts with regard to the comprehensive anti-discrimination law promptly and subsequently ensure its effective enforcement; incorporate into the new law the definition of discrimination as stipulated in the Convention;
• pursue and intensify efforts to ensure a more effective application of existing legislation;
• declare punishable any participation in organizations that promote and incite racial discrimination;
• intensify efforts to end discriminatory practices; ensure that the procedure related to the investigation of complaints against police is conducted and overseen by an independent body; include in the next report statistical information on the number and nature of complaints of racial discrimination received, prosecutions undertaken and penalties imposed;
• increase efforts to facilitate access to the labour market by individuals experiencing difficulties in finding employment, including the Roma, asylum applicants and members of other marginalized groups;
• continue and intensify poverty reduction and employment programmes for the Roma; consider establishing a functional loan system for socially weak sections of the population, including the Roma, as an alternative to usury;
• continue activities in the area of research related to the problem of housing and seek solutions to promote the social integration of the Roma; with respect to evictions, develop measures to prevent evictions or mitigate their negative effects, in particular on the most vulnerable groups;
• continue and intensify efforts to improve the education situation of the Roma through, inter alia, enrolment in mainstream schools, the recruitment of school personnel from Roma communities, and the sensitization of teachers and other education professionals to the social fabric and world views of Roma children, as well as those with apparent learning difficulties;
• promptly establish a legal aid system for alleged victims of racism; include in the next report information on the number of persons that have benefited from legal aid and on cases where victims have received adequate reparation;
• continue and intensify anti-racism campaigns and other efforts aimed at combatting racial and ethnic stereotyping; continue and diversify targeted training programmes for such professionals as police, judges and other public officials working with the Roma and other vulnerable groups;
• consult with organizations of civil society working in the area of combatting racial discrimination during the preparation of the next periodic report.

Committee on the Rights of the Child

The Czech Republic's second periodic report (CRC/C/83/Add.4, June 2002) was considered by the Committee at its January 2003 session. The report prepared by the government covers the period from 1995 to 1999 and provides information on these topics, inter alia: the dissemination of the Convention; human rights education; the definition of the child; non-discrimination; the best interests of children; the right to life, survival and development; respect for the views of children; the rights to a name and a nationality and the preservation of identity; the rights to freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, protection of privacy, access to appropriate information; the right to freedom from torture; parental guidance and responsibilities; separation from parents and family reunification; illicit transfer and non-return; the recovery of maintenance; children deprived of their family environment; adoption and the periodic review of placement; abuse and neglect; the rights of children with disabilities; health and health services; social security, childcare services and facilities; the standard of living; the right to education, including vocational training and guidance; the right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities; the rights of children in situations of emergency (e.g. refugee children, children in armed conflicts); the administration of juvenile justice; children in exploitative situations (e.g. child labour, drug abuse, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, sale, trafficking and abduction); children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group.

In October 2002, the Committee prepared a list of issues (CRC/C/Q/CZE/2) to be taken up during consideration of the second periodic report. These issues included, inter alia: data on children under the age of 18 and on minority children; the percentage of the national budget devoted to children; data on children separated from their parents; the number of children with disabilities; child abuse; school enrolment and completion rates; adolescent health; juvenile delinquents; children involved in sexual exploitation, child labour, and street life; corporal punishment; environmental degradation; poverty reduction; independent mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of the Convention; data collection mechanisms and procedures; training and information on the Convention; discrimination; family policy; family alternative-care mechanisms; health services; HIV/AIDS; family reunification.

In response to the Committee's queries, the government submitted an additional document (CRC/C/RESP/23) which included information on these topics, inter alia: the under-18 population; mortality rates; social prevention projects under the Programmes for Crime Prevention; budgetary expenditure on education; children in conflict with the law; children in foster families; children in pre-adoption care; children with disabilities; reported cases of child abuse; children in special schools; the immunization of children; the establishment of the office of the Public Protector of Rights; the Institute of Medical Information and Statistics.

In its concluding observations and comments (CRC/C/15/Add.201), the Committee welcomed these developments, inter alia: amendments to existing legislation and the enactment of new legislation related to, among other things, strengthening protection against the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children and the integration of children with special needs into regular schools; maternal protection, including satisfactory maternity leave and positive health indicators including those regarding infant mortality, under-5 mortality and vaccination intake; the ratification of the Hague Convention of 1993 on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and of ILO Convention No. 182 on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Regarding the factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Convention, the Committee noted: the continuing socio-economic problems arising from the transition to a market economy, including the deterioration of living standards and unemployment; persisting traditional societal attitudes that hamper the enactment of new legislation and also affect the implementation of existing laws and practices; the serious social, economic and environmental impact on vulnerable children of natural disasters, including the severe flooding in 2002.

The Committee noted with satisfaction the following developments, inter alia: the establishment of the Committee on the Rights of the Child within the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for Human Rights; the establishment of the office of the Public Defender in 2000; initiatives to promote awareness of the principles and provisions of the Convention; the transfer to regional offices of all decision-making related to the issuance of authorizations to NGOs as service providers, with the aim to offer greater support to this sector; the strengthening of relations and increased cooperation between government and civil society; the amendment to section 216b of the Criminal Code, deleting from the definition of the child as a person younger than 18 years of age, the phrase "unless such person has attained majority earlier"; the Method Instruction of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on education against expressions of racism, xenophobia and intolerance; initiatives to counter discrimination in education, in particular against children belonging to the Roma minority, including the adoption of legislation to counter discrimination in employment (Act. No. 167/1999 Coll.); the inclusion of the principle of the "interest and welfare" of the child in the Act on the Family and in the Law on Social and Legal Protection of Children.

The Committee welcomed: the decline of infant mortality rates; amendments to codes and law concerning the regulation of respect for the child's opinion; the 1999 amendment to the Citizenship Law aimed at resolving the problems of statelessness that had disproportionately affected the Roma population, including children; efforts to increase the protection of children from various forms of abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse (e.g. amendment to the Act on Misdemeanours (Law No. 360/1999 Coll)) and NGO efforts in this area; the government's policy statement on measures to be taken relating to child and family welfare and on the preparation of a national programme for the support of families with children; the 2002 adoption of the Act of Residential Care (EPS 16); the policy of deinstitutionalisation; efforts to equalize opportunity for citizens with medical disabilities and for the growing number of children with disabilities integrated into mainstream education; in 1995, the introduction of new financial benefits under Act No.117/1995 Coll. regulating contributions and additional social care payments; the implementation of the Elimination of Poverty and Social Exclusion Strategy; efforts aimed at developing post-secondary education, making it more accessible, ensuring education for minority groups and integrating children with disabilities into mainstream education; the secondary school for Roma children established on the initiative of the Roma themselves.

The Committee also noted: the ongoing efforts to provide for the special needs of refugees and asylum seekers and the systematic recording of information on unaccompanied minors since 1998; the ratification of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the intention of the government to ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless persons; cooperation with UNHCR in the drafting process of the new Foster Care Law defining modalities of education and accommodation for foreigners who are also unaccompanied minors; the establishment in 2002 of the trilateral Czech-German-Polish working group addressing, inter alia, trafficking in human beings, in particular related to the sexual exploitation of children for prostitution; social, preventive and re-socialization programmes for victims of sexual exploitation; the July 2000 adoption of the National Plan to Fight Commercial Sexual Abuse of Children and amendments to the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure in 2002; the plan to submit to Parliament a bill aimed at reforming the juvenile justice system; the implementation of strategies aimed at the improvement of Roma children's rights to health care services and inclusion in education; Roma NGO participation in improving the rights of their children.

The Committee expressed concern at the failure of the government to address adequate some of the recommendations set out in the previous concluding observations (see CRC/C/15/Add.81), for example: the reservation to article 7(1) of the Convention; the development of a comprehensive policy on children; the development of awareness-raising campaigns aimed at reducing discriminatory practices against the Roma population; a comprehensive reform of the system of juvenile justice. Concerns were also noted concerning: the lengthy process of legislative reform aimed at making laws fully compatible with the Convention; the lack of financing for the implementation of legislation; the lack of a central coordination mechanism - with an adequate mandate and resources - for all issues related to the implementation of the Convention; the failure to elaborate a comprehensive rights-based National Plan of Action addressing all principles and provisions of the Convention; the limits on the mandate of the Public Defender, restricting it to the actions of the public sector.

The Committee also expressed concern over the following points: the lack of adequate information concerning the state, regional and local budgets on financial, technical and human resources allocated for the implementation of the rights of children; the fact that data collection made by various ministries is not sufficiently developed and disaggregated for all areas covered by the Convention (e.g. vulnerable and disadvantaged groups); the failure to use data on children in an adequate manner to assess progress as a basis for policy-making in the field of children's rights; the lack of awareness of the Convention by politicians, all groups of professionals working with and for children as well as children, parents and the public at large; the ongoing debate about the reform of the juvenile justice system and about lowering the age of criminal responsibility; the failure to integrate provisions on non-discrimination in all relevant legislation; the persistence of de facto discrimination against minorities, in particular the Roma and other vulnerable groups; the failure to define adequately and reflect in all legislation - as well as in court decisions and policies - the principle of primary consideration for the best interests of the child.

Concerns were also noted related to the following, inter alia: the high rate of accidents including injuries, poisoning and traffic accidents; the relatively high rate of suicide, despite the declining trend; the failure to regulate, or to observe in practice, children's participation in such areas as school and institutions; ill-treatment and abuse committed against children in the family, in schools and other institutions as well as by public officials in the streets and in places of deprivation of liberty, particularly in the context of a form of popular justice for an alleged crime such as theft; the fact that certain groups of children, such as Roma, are specifically targeted and that a very small number of reported cases of suspicion of abuse and neglect are investigated; the lack of an integrated system of services; the failure to address domestic violence specifically in legislation; the lack of legislation explicitly prohibiting corporal punishment; the insufficient assistance and guidance to parents in their responsibilities in the upbringing and development of children.

The Committee further noted concerns related to, for example: the failure to address the full range of Convention rights in the 2002 Act of Residential Care; provisions by which a court may order the reformative (preventive) up-bringing of a child below the age of 15, noting that in practice such a child will be placed in the same institution as juvenile delinquents; the increasing number of children placed in institutions by preliminary injunction and the frequent use of this special measure; the predominant use of institutional responses to provide assistance to children in difficulty and the disproportionately large number of children placed in a residential institutional care environment; the lack of regulations for the review of placement; the fact that the economic situation in the health sector does not allow for compulsory preventive medical check-ups of children; the failure to undertake research on the possible effects of environmental pollution on the health of children; the inadequacy of measures to ensure a decent life for persons with disabilities, including the mentally ill; the high number of teenage pregnancies and abortions; the negative impact of the economic restructuring and the privatization process on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights; the insufficient implementation of the reform of the education system and the lack of in-service teacher training; the fact that Roma children continue to be over-represented in so-called "special schools"; discrimination in the access to education of illegal migrants and refugees denied asylum; the failure to provide special care and protection to all asylum seekers, particularly those between 15 and 18 years of age; the place of children under 15 in diagnostic institutions that are not equipped to provide the special care they require; the fact that children may be placed in detention facilities for foreigners for prolonged periods; the failure to ensure compulsory school attendance.

The following points were noted with concern: the failure to ratify ILO Convention No. 138 and the lack of programmes or activities for the prevention and protection of children against economic exploitation; the fact that many children, including children under 15 years, perform regular labour in agriculture, family enterprises and as models; reports of increased instances of sexual abuse of children and the low rate of reporting such crimes; the lack of a comprehensive system of protection and assistance for all child victims of sexual abuse; the failure to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the growing number of street children, noting their vulnerability to, among other things, sexual abuse, violence (including from the police), exploitation, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and malnutrition; the rise of delinquency and crimes committed by children; discriminatory behaviour on the part of some persons working with and for children, including teachers and doctors.

The Committee recommended that the government, inter alia:

• withdraw the reservation to article 7(1) of the Convention;
• establish or appoint a single permanent body to coordinate the implementation of the Convention at the national level; develop a coherent and comprehensive rights-based National Plan of Action for the implementation of the Convention at the central, regional and local levels in cooperation with civil society; establish an independent body to monitor the implementation of the Convention;
• consider broadening the mandate of the Public Defender and providing the office with the necessary human and other resources or establishing a separate independent children's commissioner or ombudsperson;
• strengthen and centralize the mechanism to integrate and analyse systematically disaggregated data on all children under 18 for all areas covered by the Convention, with special emphasis on those who are most vulnerable;
• strengthen awareness-raising efforts and undertake systematic education and training on the principles and provisions of the Convention, including, inter alia, for professionals working with and for children and vocational schools;
• retain the present age of criminal responsibility of 15 years;
• continue and strengthen legislative efforts to fully integrate the right to non-discrimination in all relevant legislation concerning children; ensure that this right is effectively applied in all political, judicial and administrative decisions and in projects, programmes and services that have an impact on all children;
• include specific information, in the next periodic report, on the measures and programmes relevant to the Convention undertaken to follow up on the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;
• ensure that the principle of the "best interests of the child" is integrated into all revisions to legislation concerning children, legal procedures in courts, as well as into judicial and administrative decisions and into projects, programmes and services that have an impact on children;
• strengthen efforts to raise awareness about accident prevention and undertake public information campaigns in relation it;
• study the possible causes of youth suicide and the characteristics of those who appear to be most at risk; take steps to put into place additional support and intervention programmes to reduce this phenomenon;
• introduce a comprehensive legal provision in order to provide for children's right to participate; reinforce awareness-raising and education programmes in order to change traditional perceptions of children as objects rather than subjects of rights;
• expedite the procedure for acquiring citizenship and ensure its effective implementation at the local level; accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless persons;
• enact legislation to protect minorities adequately from racially motivated attacks;
• ensure that allegations of ill-treatment by the police and of police misconduct are promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigated by an independent authority; ensure that those responsible are identified and brought before a competent tribunal that will apply sanctions provided for by the law;
• develop an effective system for the reporting and investigation of cases of domestic violence and ill-treatment and abuse of children, including sexual abuse within the family;
• adopt and implement effectively adequate multidisciplinary measures and policies, including public campaigns, to prevent and address incidences of child abuse and neglect and contribute to changing attitudes;
• implement training programmes to promote respect for children belonging to minority groups, in particular Roma children, and monitor the treatment of children in both basic and special schools in order to protect the physical and psychological integrity of all children while in the care of school officials;
• take all necessary steps to enact legislation prohibiting the use of corporal punishment in schools, institutions, in the family and in any other context;
• take measures for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of the victims of rape, abuse, neglect, ill-treatment and violence, including by providing counselling, care, recovery and reintegration for victims as well as the perpetrators;
• adopt a family policy that includes provisions on a minimum of social security for the child and the family, housing and social services, consistency between parent's work and child care, women's and single parent's status, child maintenance, maternity and paternity leave and other family-related issues;
• establish or strengthen at the local levels the mechanism responsible for alternative care within the system of social welfare; take effective measures to facilitate, increase and strengthen foster care, family-type foster homes and other family-based alternative care; decrease institutional care as a form of alternative care;
• ensure that children under 15 years of age are not placed in the same institutions as juvenile delinquents; take all necessary measures to improve conditions in institutions; provide support and training for personnel in institutions, including social workers; provide adequate follow-up and reintegration support and services for children leaving institutional care;
• define sustainable financing mechanisms for the primary health-care system and for an effective utilization of resources, including adequate salaries for child health-care professionals;
• undertake comprehensive research on the possible effects of environmental pollution on the health of children with a view to effectively addressing this problem;
• implement alternative measures to the institutionalization of children with disabilities; allocate the necessary resources for programmes and facilities for all children with disabilities; further encourage the integration of children with disabilities into the regular education system and their inclusion in society;
• ensure that the provisions of the Convention are taken into account in the privatisation process and that all children equally enjoy social benefits;
• ensure the availability and accessibility of free primary education for all children in the country; take steps to ensure that Roma children or other children belonging to disadvantaged groups are not assigned to special schools;
• guarantee special protection and care to all child asylum seekers with respect to their special needs, including those in the 15-to-18 age group; avoid any form of detention of asylum seekers under 18 years of age;
• undertake a study on the causes and extent of child labour; continue efforts to protect all children from economic exploitation through the establishment of an effective mechanism for inspection; protect all children above 15 years from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous, to interfere with their education or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental or social development; make every effort to ensure that those children above 15 who do work legally continue to have access to education; ratify ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the minimum age for admission to employment;
• increase the protection provided to victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking, including prevention; implement the outstanding recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on child trafficking, child prostitution and pornography, including those related to the cross-border trafficking problem;
• ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography;
• strengthen efforts to identify the number of street children with the aim of preventing and reducing that number; make additional efforts to provide protection for children living on the street and to ensure their access to education and health services; strengthen efforts to assist children in leaving the street; place greater emphasis on alternatives to institutionalization;
• establish a juvenile justice system, including juvenile courts, to ensure the full implementation of international juvenile justice standards; clarify the minimum age of criminal responsibility in light of legal provisions authorizing protective custody for children under the age of 12;
• initiate campaigns at all levels and in all regions aimed at addressing the negative attitudes towards Roma in society, and in particular among such authorities as the police and professionals providing health care, education and other social services;
• develop curriculum resources for all schools, including in relation to Roma history and culture, in order to promote understanding, tolerance and respect for Roma in society;
• ensure that the second periodic report and other relevant documents written are made widely available to the public at large; consider the publication of the report and the Committee's concluding observations.

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