Lucie Fuková: I am resigning from the Czech Govt Council on Roma Minority Affairs because of how it runs and who is Human Rights Commissioner

As news server Romea.cz reported yesterday, volunteer civil society member Lucie Fuková has resigned from the Czech Government Council on Roma Minority Affairs,  the second such member, after Renata Kötnerrová, to resign in protest over the recent scandal about Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Helena Válková and also over the way the Council itself functions. "I am resigning after considering several negative procedural aspects of the functioning of the Government Council on Roma Minority Affairs, along with the conviction that the position of Human Rights Commissioner, for me, represents above all a morally firm symbol of democracy and of integrity of opinions and politics," she said in a statement sent to news server Romea.cz, which is published in full here.

Statement by Lucie Fuková on her resignation from the "Roma Council"

Based on the questions and reactions that I have received from people, I consider it only correct to inform the public of the reasons for my decision to resign. I am resigning after considering several negative procedural aspects of the functioning of the Government Council on Roma Minority Affairs, along with the conviction that the position of Human Rights Commissioner, for me, represents above all a morally firm symbol of democracy and of integrity in opinion and politics.

On a procedural level, as a former member of the Council, I can say today that the direction in which the Council is being guided lacks enough tangible outputs, a fact that is degrading its functionality, in my opinion. The priorities adopted by the Council (11 priorities) can be interpreted as fulfilled by individual ministries in the future without noticeable improvements taking place. I rather see the role of the Council as an initiating body that defines the direction of concrete activities in the area of ​​Roma integration. The actual implementation of measures and programs should, of course, be the responsibility of the individual ministries, but in effective cooperation with the Council. Limited room for change and rigidity can eventually lead to the frustration of the originally enthusiastic, innovative, positive-minded civil society members of the Council in particular.

I consider the above to be a sufficient impulse to leave the Council.

In conclusion, allow me to mention that my resignation from the Council is certainly not primarily a resignation from the area that it deals with, and I am also not resigning from the moral values ​​that for me are an essential prerequisite for the operation not just of the Council but also of this entire society.