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Ref. DC 125(2016)

Limited progress in the Czech Republic to address segregation of Roma in education, says Council of Europe report

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Strasbourg, 01.07.2016 – In an Opinion on the Czech Republic published today, the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities concludes that, despite the authorities’ efforts, the plans to eradicate the segregation of Roma children in schools have so far been unsuccessful. It also points out that discrimination of the Roma persists in many fields, and there has been an increase in the manifestations of xenophobia and intolerance.

Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said: “Ensuring Roma children have adequate access to education is essential to combat discrimination of Roma people in all areas of society. The Czech Republic has made some progress, but it needs to do more.”

The Opinion, published together with the government’s comments, contains an assessment of the Czech Republic’s compliance with the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) and a set of recommendations. Based on a visit to the country in 2015, the Opinion underlines that the situation of the Roma is the most urgent social problem in the Czech Republic.

Many Roma children continue to be segregated into schools for students with special needs, with a limited curriculum and separated from the mainstream student population. In fact the proportion of Roma children in these schools grew from 28% during the 2012-13 school year to 32.4% in 2013-14. The Committee regrets that the Action Plan on Inclusive Education and the 2012 Consolidated Action Plan for the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment on the D.H. case have failed to achieve their aims.

As a positive development, the Committee welcomes the amendment in 2015 of the education law which removed a provision allowing the placement of children without mental disabilities in schools for children with special needs. It also calls on the authorities to take all necessary measures to eliminate, without further delay, practices that lead to the segregation of Roma children at school and ensure that they enjoy equal opportunities for access to all levels of quality education.

In spite of governmental policies to promote interethnic tolerance in society, the committee highlights that there is a perceptible increase in xenophobia and intolerance in the Czech Republic. In addition, a strong anti-Roma and anti-immigrant discourse persists in some parts of society. The Committee is particularly concerned that this kind of speech, once limited to extreme right wing parties, has become commonplace and has entered the discourse of mainstream parties.

Recommendations to address these problems include monitoring manifestations of intolerance, racism, xenophobia and hate speech more effectively, and investigating and applying adequate sanctions when necessary.

Another matter of concern is the discrimination of the Roma in the housing market and their segregation in marginalised communities. An example of this is the existence of “residential hostels” in the outskirts of some towns, inhabited mostly by Roma, where families are crammed and suffer from very poor living conditions. The Committee recommends improving the living conditions of Roma, in particular by creating conditions which would allow moving residents of “residential hostels” to adequate social housing.

Contact : Jaime Rodriguez, Spokesperson/Media officer, Tel. +33 3 90 21 47 04