Commentary: Czech Government wasted its presidency of the Decade of Roma Inclusion

On 30 June, the Czech Republic concluded its presidency of the Decade of Roma Inclusion. The Nečas Government has completely wasted an opportunity to contribute toward reducing the Czech public’s negative attitude toward this minority.

The Decade is a project of the World Bank and the Open Society Institute, founded by billionaire George Soros. It began in 2005 and currently involves 12 countries from Central and Eastern Europe. These countries, including the Czech Republic, pledged to improve the living conditions of Romani people by 2015, especially in the areas of education, employment, health and housing.

Of course, the Czech government is designing measures which will significantly deteriorate the situation of Romani people living in excluded localities. Programs supporting the education of Romani children in mainstream elementary schools are stagnating due to the completely incompetent management of Czech Education Minister Dobeš. At the same time, this government entirely eliminated the Human Rights Minister’s post.

The Czech public learned almost nothing about the few actions that did take place during the year-long Czech presidency of the Decade. No larger campaign about the Decade or the Czech presidency was ever conducted. This waste of the Decade presidency is yet more proof that this government is simply not interested in human rights.