AI, ERRC: Czech Government still discriminates against Romani school children
Five years after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that sending Romani
children in the Czech Republic to ‘special’ and Roma-only schools is
discriminatory, Amnesty International and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)
have urged the European Union to press the Czech Government to comply with EU
anti-discrimination laws, including the Race Equality Directive, backed by the
threat of action for non-compliance.
A new report by Amnesty International and the ERRC, released today, Five more
years of injustice: Segregated education for Roma in the Czech Republic, finds
there has been minimal progress in securing non-discriminatory access to
education for Romani children in the Czech city of Ostrava. The report includes
a request to the EU to prioritise anti-discrimination measures which improve
access to education. In programming its structural funds, the EU should ensure
that use of these funds does not result in racial segregation in education,
housing and health care.
“The Czech Government still hasn’t reformed the system, nor has it delivered
on its own commitment to end discriminatory segregation of Romani school
children”, said Nicolas Beger, Director of Amnesty International’s European
Institutions Office. “These children are still being denied the educational
opportunities other students enjoy, with devastating consequences for their
future. This is a serious breach of international human rights law, and it’s
high time the EU put pressure on the Czech Government.”
On the fifth anniversary of DH and Others v the Czech Republic ruling, Romani
children continue to be over-represented in schools and classes designed for
children with learning disabilities, and Roma-only schools continue to operate.
The report exposes shortcomings in the Czech educational system, which excludes
Romani children from mainstream education. The government’s failure to resolve
the problem has meant a new generation of children endure the same violation of
their right to equal education as their parents. Romani children consequently
have few chances of further education and are trapped in a cycle of poverty and
marginalisation. ‘
The report calls on the Czech Government to end school segregation
immediately, by implementing the existing National Action Plan on Inclusive
Education & Strategy for Combating Social Exclusion, urgently mandating school
desegregation, and ensuring all measures comply with international and regional
standards on education and non-discrimination.
