Czech Gov't human rights report: Forcibly sterilized women remain uncompensated

The recently-published Report on the State of Human Rights in the Czech Republic for 2015 provides an overview of key topics and measures taken last year in the context of the human rights agenda. The Government report points out the main human rights problems in the country and related issues.

In the area of civil and political rights, the report focuses on the topic of protecting personal information, the privacy of which may be endangered by the creation of new databases. In the area of prison management the Government has adopted a new concept to perfect the humane treatment of prisoners and contribute to further developments in that field.

In that context, questions about options for resocializing prisoners and meeting correctional facilities’ needs for capacity were discussed last year. The report also notes that the Czech Government did not approve proposed legislation to compensate persons who have been illegally sterilized.

The law on social housing has also not yet been adopted, but compared to last year its design is reportedly at an advanced phase. The report states that the adoption of an amendment to the Schools Act is of great significance, as it should strengthen the inclusive character of the schools and arrange for the expert and financial support needed to educate pupils with special educational needs in the mainstream schools.

During 2015, at the instigation of Czech ombudsperson Anna Šabatová, comprehensive research was performed into the protections against discrimination in the Czech Republic and demonstrated that most victims of discrimination never achieve redress due to many obstacles. The question of the position and rights of trans persons who do not identify with their biological sexual identity was also addressed by the human rights section.

Last year the Czech Constitutional Court did not support the option for children to be adopted by unmarried couples, stating that it considers marriage alone to be a guarantee of the stability necessary to the protection of children. In the area of foreign natonals’ rights, the report focuses on the impacts of the so-called “refugee crisis” of 2015, during which foreign nationals became the victims of ill-treatment after their freedom of movement was restricted due to a lack of capacity in asylum-seeker facilities.