Covering events from January - December 2003

An investigation into reports that Romani women had been illegally sterilized was not independent and impartial. Many of the victims were subjected to harassment and intimidation. There were reports that the police ill-treated members of the Roma community in custody. People with mental disabilities in psychiatric hospitals and social care homes were restrained in "cage beds".

Alleged illegal sterilization

Allegations of illegal, and in some cases forcible, sterilization of Romani women were brought to public notice in a report in January by two non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the US-based Center for Reproductive Rights and Poradna pre obcianske a lucske prava, Center for Civil and Human Rights. Pál Csáky, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Human and Minority Rights, initiated a criminal investigation but also threatened the report's authors with prosecution for "spreading false rumours" or, should the allegations prove true, failing to report a criminal offence.

The criminal investigation did not comply with international standards. In February, 21 Romani women were taken from their homes without prior warning, for questioning at the police station in Krompachy. The names of 19 of them had apparently been given to the police by the Krompachy hospital. Most were not aware of their right not to comply with an orally presented summons. Some thought they were criminal suspects. The police conduct was perceived as threatening and degrading, and questioning by male police officers demonstrated insensitivity. At least two women who claimed that they had been forcibly sterilized said that officers threatened them and implied that they were induced to make the claim by promises of financial and other gain. The women were reportedly advised to sign criminal complaints of genocide, without advice on the significance of this charge, and told that they could be imprisoned for up to three years for "false accusation" if their complaint proved untrue. After a new investigative team was put in place, some victims were still questioned without prior notice or summons and threatened with prosecution.

Police investigators examined only the existence and authenticity of the women's signatures on the consent forms and whether the sterilization had been medically necessary according to Slovak professional standards. They did not ask whether the women had freely requested sterilization, received appropriate counselling about its risks and irreversibility, understood the information provided, or were given appropriate time to consider the information and include others in the decision. According to international human rights and professional standards, a signature alone is not sufficient evidence of full and informed consent, and sterilization should never be carried out without that consent.

In October the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the investigation had been closed for lack of evidence of any crime, noting also that there would be changes in regulations concerning certain medical procedures. The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, in a report in October, concluded that "it can reasonably be assumed that sterilizations have taken place, particularly in eastern Slovakia, without informed consent". He recommended that the government accept its responsibilities, offer swift and just redress to the victims, and enact new legislation on patients' consent to medical procedures and right of access to their medical files.

Cage beds as a method of restraint

Cage beds were still in use as a method of restraint in psychiatric hospitals and a number of social care homes for people with mental disabilities, according to a report in June by a regional NGO, the Mental Disability Advocacy Center. This method of restraint is cruel, inhuman and degrading, and violates international law and best professional practice. Cage beds appeared to remain widely in use despite recommendations to discontinue them by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, which described such confinement as "execrable" after a visit to Slovakia in 2000.

Discrimination against Roma

Government efforts failed to have a significant impact in reducing widespread prejudice and discrimination against the Roma. Measures aimed at improving their access to employment, health care, housing and education were largely ineffective. A Council of Europe study noted that the mortality rate among Romani children in eastern Slovakia was three times higher than the country's average and that Romani women in general died 17 years earlier than other women in Slovakia.

The ruling coalition failed to agree comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, reportedly because of opposition within the Christian Democratic Party to equal rights regardless of sexual identity.

In April the Slovak police said that 109 cases of racially and ethnically motivated crimes reported in 2002 were more than double the number of reported cases in 2001, attributing the rise to greater police awareness of racially motivated offences.

The official investigations into allegations that police officers ill-treated Roma in a number of instances were not independent and impartial as required by international law.

  • In May, three police officers stopped Juroslav Cipkes for an identity check in the town of Jelsava. After being handcuffed for allegedly raising his voice, he was reportedly beaten severely at the police station, lost consciousness and needed hospital treatment. In August the League of Human Rights Advocates, a local NGO, filed a complaint with the General Prosecutor, who initiated an investigation.

UN Human Rights Committee review

In August the Human Rights Committee, reviewing Slovakia's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, expressed concern at reports of high rates of domestic violence. The Committee noted positive legislative measures and recommended the establishment of "crisis centre hotlines and victim support centres equipped with medical, psychological, legal and emotional support". The Committee also expressed concern about the persistent allegations of ill-treatment during police investigations, particularly of the Roma minority, reports of forcible sterilization of Romani women and the continued use of cage beds as a measure of restraint in social care homes and psychiatric institutions.

Disclaimer: © Copyright Amnesty International

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.