Roma in the Czech Republic: Selected Issues

 

1. INTRODUCTION

This report on issues relating to Czech citizenship, internal flight alternatives, and alleged discrimination in the housing and employment sectors is one of several prepared by the Research Directorate on the situation of Roma in the Czech Republic. Previous reports include Issue Papers published in November and December 1997 entitled State Protection, Identity and Culture, and Education. This report follows two weeks of personal interviews conducted by the Research Directorate in September and October 1997 with Romani leaders, governmental and non-governmental representatives in the Czech Republic. Information on most of the persons and organizations cited in this paper is included in the Notes on Selected Sources section. The information contained in this report is taken largely from these interviews and from documentary information provided to the Research Directorate during these interviews. Because of the need to make the information from these interviews available as quickly as possible, other documentary sources generally consulted by the Research Directorate in preparing its reports have not been researched for this paper.

2. THE CZECH CITIZENSHIP LAW

For detailed information on the 1993 Czech Citizenship Law and its April 1996 amendment, please see pages six to nine of Extended Response to Information Request CZE26377.EX of 21 March 1997. The attachments to Responses to Information Requests CZE26661.E of 14 April 1997 and CZE26739.E of 17 April 1997 provide additional information on the Czech Citizenship Law and its impact on the country's Romani minority. The following section on citizenship issues should be read in conjunction with these Responses and their attachments.

The formal requirements for obtaining citizenship, which include having a clean criminal record for the past five years, proof of permanent residence in the Czech Republic and release from Slovak citizenship, are set out in the Law on Citizenship, which is available in English in the UNHCR's Refworld database in the Refleg section. According to Human Rights Watch, the Czech Republic's citizenship legislation has had particularly adverse effects on the Czech Republic's Romani minority, 95 per cent of whom immigrated to the Czech lands of Bohemia and Moravia from Slovakia after World War II and never updated their official state (i.e., Slovak or Czech) citizenship (HRW June 1996, 16). The children of these individuals, even if born in Czech lands, may also be considered Slovak by Czech authorities (ibid.). In response to sustained international protest over the alleged discriminatory effect the citizenship law has on the Romani minority, in April 1996 the Czech government amended the law to allow the Interior Minister to waive the clean criminal record requirement "on an individual basis, for ‘Slovaks' who had been resident in the Czech lands since before the 1993 split" (Country Reports 1996 1997, 921; CTK 26 Apr. 1996; HRW June 1996, 29; IPS 30 Apr. 1996).

                The information that follows details the steps individuals must take if they wish to acquire Czech Citizenship. It was provided by Ladislav Zamboj, who currently works with the Tolerance Foundation, a Prague-based non-profit NGO, and Citizenship Counseling Committee of the Czech Helsinki Committee.

·               Individuals must collect their birth certificate, marriage and divorce certificate, and, if one partner has died, his or her death certificate. If the individual is older than 15 she or he must produce a waiver that indicates that he or she has had a clean criminal record for the past five years in both the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. The individual must also fill out a special form for citizenship applications.

·               All documents must be submitted to the proper municipal office as indicated on the applicant's residence permit. According to Zamboj, the collection and submission of these documents is especially difficult as the individual must often pay a fee to obtain these documents and sometimes must ask Slovak officials to issue the documents. For instance, if the applicant was born in Slovakia she or he must personally go to the Slovak Embassy in Prague, no matter where she or he lives in the Czech Republic, and apply to obtain the proper documents. Zamboj believes that this is one reason why many people fail to acquire citizenship–they simply cannot obtain all the necessary documentation.

·               Identification must also be provided when applying for citizenship. Many individuals do not have identification as an individual cannot be issued Czech identity documents unless he or she has Czech citizenship and the individual cannot obtain Slovak identification without permanent residence in Slovakia. Approximately one year ago [1996] the Minister of the Interior issued instructions stipulating that if an applicant does not have identification, he or she can bring two witnesses who can confirm his or her identity. Municipal authorities, however, reportedly do not inform individuals of this option.

·               Municipal offices forward all materials to the Ministry of Interior in Prague. Before doing this, however, the municipal offices add to the application their own recommendation on whether the individual in question should receive citizenship. The municipal authorities state that they either do or do not recommend this individual for Czech citizenship. According to Zamboj, about 50 per cent do not recommend citizenship. Zamboj reports that the Ministry of Interior is ambiguous about the weight of this recommendation; the Ministry claims that they do not really care about this recommendation, but on the other hand they quote the municipality's recommendation when refusing an applicant.

·               The Ministry of Interior decides to either refuse the application, or it issues a "promise" of citizenship which is given to the applicant. Upon obtaining the "promise" of Czech citizenship, the applicant again collects all documents, including the clean criminal record waiver, and submits them to Slovak officials in order to obtain a "release" from Slovak citizenship. This package of information is sent to municipal authorities in Slovakia according to the applicant's last permanent residence in Slovakia. If the applicant never resided in Slovakia the application is forwarded to the municipal offices in Bratislava. According to Zamboj, many applicants do not understand this process and often do not send the correct documents to Slovak officials. It often takes months to clear up the problem and complete the process.

·               If all documents are in order the Slovak municipal authorities provide a release of Slovak citizenship which is submitted to the Slovak Embassy in Prague. The Slovak Embassy then sends a letter to the applicant and submits the release to the Czech Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior may require a new clean criminal record waiver as the original waiver is only good for six months and has likely expired by this point. If all documents are in order, the Ministry of Interior sends a certificate of citizenship to the municipal office where the original citizenship application was filed and the municipal authorities inform the applicant (Zamboj 22 Sept. 1997).

Zamboj reports that this is a lengthy and difficult process. At a minimum the process takes six months, although some applications have taken years and are still not complete. The financial cost of applying for citizenship hampers many applicants, and many others simply do not understand the bureaucratic process. Zamboj states that it is difficult to say exactly how much the application process would cost the applicant; under ideal circumstances and conditions, it may cost CTK1,000[1]1, but he is aware of cases where the application procedure cost more than CTK10,000. Zamboj stresses that these people usually do not have access to legal money or social assistance and this amount is substantial to them (Zamboj 22 Sept. 1997).

Mark Thieroff, Project Officer with the Tolerance Foundation's Article 8 Project and Fair Trial Project, also reports that the opinion of municipal authorities on whether an applicant should receive citizenship is solicited by the Ministry of Interior before they issue the "promise" of Czech citizenship (22 Sept. 1997). He states that this step is not found in the citizenship law but within an internal instruction implementing the citizenship law. The recommendation from the municipal authorities is not binding and the Ministry does not have to follow it. But, according to Thieroff, if the municipal authorities state that they do not believe the applicant should be awarded citizenship and the Ministry of Interior agrees, then the applicant does not receive the "promise" of Czech citizenship. Therefore the application is denied because the applicant cannot obtain the "promise" which is the responsibility of the applicant to acquire. Such a situation does not enter into statistics as a "refusal" because the applicant has not completed all of the requisite steps (ibid.).

In the fall of 1997 the Ministry of Interior agreed to review the cases of approximately 30 individuals whose citizenship applications had been refused based on criminality (UNHCR 9 Dec. 1997; also Thieroff 12 Dec. 1997). According to the UNHCR, those individuals who appeal a rejection will receive a waiver and those who have already lost their appeal can now reapply and receive the waiver (9 Dec. 1997). A representative of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after consulting with the Director General of the Civil-Administrative Section of the Ministry of Interior, provided the following information on the measures announced by the Ministry of Interior:

The Basic Law No. 40/1993 on the Acquisition and Loss of the Czech Citizenship was amended on 26.4.1996 by the Law No. 139/1996, in which the Ministry of Interior was given the right to waive the condition of Par. 7, Art1c), i.e. the requested clean criminal record. On the basis of this amendment only 34 of the total number of about 2,000 applications were rejected. All of [those rejected had] ... perpetrated and [been] convicted [of] serious crimes....

[According to] a recent decision of the Minister of Interior, all the originally refused 34 applicants have been contacted again in writing and proposed to send a new application, which will be honoured .... This procedure of a general waiver to the citizens or former citizens of the Slovak Republic, which have had a permanent stay in the Czech Republic at the latest from 31.12.1992, will be accepted for all pend[ing] or future applications as well (17 Dec. 1997).

Mark Thieroff notes that this internal Ministry of Interior directive has not been publicized in any way, stating that to the best of his knowledge, as of 8 December 1997 there have been no decrees or internal instructions in a public written form informing the public of this change (8 Dec. 1997; also ERRC 21 Nov. 1997).

According to Mark Thieroff, proving residence has been the most difficult problem facing people applying for Czech citizenship (12 Dec. 1997). Thieroff maintains that "there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who cannot get citizenship because the Ministry continues to refuse to consider informal means of proving factual residence–and does so despite the fact that the Constitutional Court has already ruled that it is factual residence that matters" (ibid. 8 Dec. 1997). A UNHCR representative indicates that Minister Henych of the Ministry of Interior has stated that he is willing to discuss "what evidence will be suitable to show factual residence" (9 Dec. 1997). On 8 December 1997 Thieroff stated that to date nothing regarding proving residence has, in fact, changed.

While acknowledging that the recent directives from the Ministry of Interior are positive, Thieroff is concerned with the "questionable use of discretionary power" (8 Dec. 1997). According to Thieroff, frequently the Ministry's approach to fixing problems is to create new discretionary powers rather than actually changing the current law. This tactic creates the possibility that individuals within the government may be able to use discretionary powers to reject applications from "undesirables." Furthermore, many current and potential applicants may be unsure of exactly where they stand and how to act (ibid.).

A report by Ladislav Zamboj, the full text of which is attached to this paper, categorizes persons lacking citizenship into groups according to the barriers they face:

1. Former citizens of the Federation who have neither applied for citizenship for various reasons nor managed to find an efficient and effective assistance [in making such an application],

2. People who were lucky to have been recorded and helped by organisations and institutions providing efficient and effective assistance in citizenship acquisition but whose applications still have not been lodged,

3. People who have lodged an application and where the application was rejected on various grounds,

4. People who have lodged citizenship applications ... [but have yet to be] administered (Zamboj 1997).

In August 1997 representatives of the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly visited the Czech Republic (Council of Europe 8 Sept. 1997). The Tolerance Foundation published a submission for the Monitoring Committee's representatives on aspects of the Czech Citizenship Law and Judicial Expulsion (Tolerance Foundation 27 Aug. 1997, 1). The Tolerance Foundation's submission details recent developments relating to:

·               implementation of the Czech citizenship law;

·               application of legal provisions governing judicial expulsion, and

·               current legislation governing the residence of foreigners on the
                territory of the Czech Republic (Tolerance Foundation 27 Aug.
                1997, 1).

According to the Tolerance Foundation,

In light of the facts presented [in this submission], there is sufficient cause to believe that the human rights conditions in the Czech Republic, and in particular the situation of Roma, require a continued effort aimed at narrowing the gap between current legislation and practice on the one hand and the standards established in the body of Council of Europe legal instruments on the other (27 Aug. 1997, 1).

Pages one to ten of the Tolerance Foundation's 27 August 1997 submission are attached to this paper. The entire submission is available in IRB Regional Documentation Centres.

On 21 August 1997 the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) sent a letter[2]2 to Czech prime minister Klaus urging the Prime Minister to repeal "exclusionary elements of the Czech citizenship law which have had a disproportionate impact on the Roma minority" (CSCE 22 Aug. 1997; see also RFE/RL Newsline 25 Aug. 1997; CEO 25 Aug. 1997). Prime Minister Klaus immediately rejected the criticisms and the call to further amend the citizenship law, stating that the "picture painted in this letter is simplistic and inaccurate" (CEO 25 Aug. 1997; BBC 27 Aug. 1997; RFE/RL Newsline 25 Aug. 1997). A September 1997 Council of Europe report states that "although the Czech Republic's current citizenship law has been substantially improved since last year, it still poses problems for ethnic minorities owing to an allegedly ‘discriminatory attitude' among some Czech bureaucrats" (RFE/RL Newsline 23 Sept. 1997). Deputy Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda reportedly told the visiting Council of Europe Monitoring Committee representatives that the government is not planning to change the citizenship law (CTK 28 Aug. 1997).

According to Mark Thieroff, most individuals who do not have Czech citizenship continue to live their lives as they had previously (22 Sept. 1997). The issue is forced when the individual commits a crime or an administrative misdemeanor (ibid.). Until such a development occurs, the individual has probably not come into contact with authorities and has not thereby been forced to solve the issue one way or another (ibid.).

People are frequently discovered not to have citizenship when they are charged with the administrative misdemeanor of lacking proper papers (Thieroff 22 Sept. 1997). According to Thieroff, individuals are subject to random identity spot checks, for example, in market places and while driving. An individual may be stopped and asked to show identity papers. It is then discovered that the person does not have citizenship and he or she is given 10 or 15 days to leave the country. Residence in the Czech Republic is then prohibited for between one and ten years. Thieroff states that at this time many individuals do not, in fact, leave the country, perhaps because they have family in the Czech Republic or because they have no ties to the country they are being expelled to, usually Slovakia. At some point the individual may again be discovered by authorities. She or he is then criminally prosecuted for violating an official order by not leaving the country when ordered. Once an individual is criminally prosecuted for an offence, he or she is eligible for expulsion from the country. Therefore, an individual originally charged with the administrative violation of lacking proper papers can eventually face criminal prosecution and be expelled from the country (ibid.). According to an August 1997 Tolerance Foundation report "every expulsion sentence has life-long effect, regardless of the seriousness of the criminal offence or the degree to which the offence constitutes a danger to society" (Tolerance Foundation 27 Aug. 1997, 4).

According to the Tolerance Foundation's Article 8 Project, the expulsion law

· ... establishes only a negative requirement for establishing the citizenship of the offender, i.e. the court must only determine that the individual is not Czech. This leads on the one hand to situations where stateless people are sentenced to expulsion and, on the other hand, to a situation where it is impossible for the court to ensure with any degree of certainty that an expulsion sentence will not result in an individual being forced to return to a state where s/he has grounds to fear for his or her health, life or liberty. (After the court imposes the punishment of expulsion the police is the authority which makes the determination of the country of destination.)

· There is no limitation on the possibility to impose expulsion if its execution would infringe the right of the convict to respect for his private and family life as set out in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

· The law is lacking any criminal threshold whatsoever: the commission of even the most minor of criminal offenses can lead–and has led–to the expulsion penalty.

· The length of the effect of the expulsion penalty is also lacking any differentiation: every expulsion sentence has life-long effect, regardless of the seriousness of the criminal offence or the degree to which the offence constitutes a danger to society (Tolerance Foundation 27 Aug. 1997, 4).

According to Mark Thieroff, lack of information is among the biggest obstacles preventing people from acquiring citizenship (22 Sept. 1997). Thieroff argues that the Czech government has been ineffective in providing information on citizenship matters to the public at large and especially to groups where education levels are low. Roma also have a difficult history with public administration and often a general mistrust of government offices. Thieroff indicates that there still has not been an information campaign launched in the wake of the April 1996 amendment to the citizenship law. The government has reportedly failed to find individuals who were refused citizenship before the amendment and failed to inform them of the amendment and the fact that they can now re-apply for citizenship (ibid; also Zamboj 22 Sept. 1997). In addition, there are countless individuals unaware of the amendment who believe they will not qualify because they committed an offence in the past five years (Thieroff 22 Sept. 1997).

3. EMPLOYMENT

In October 1997 the Czech national unemployment rate rose to a record 4.9 per cent (The Prague Post 26 Nov. 1997; CTK Business 7 Nov. 1997). Estimates of the Romani unemployment rate in the Czech Republic vary between 60 and 70 per cent (ERRC 24 Sept. 1997; Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs 1 Oct. 1997). The Ministry of Labour notes that it is difficult to produce an accurate estimate of the Romani unemployment rate because labour offices do not keep statistics based on ethnicity (ibid.). According to the ERRC researcher, the Romani unemployment figure primarily represents long-term unemployment (24 Sept. 1997). The reasons for the high figure include the fact that most Roma are seriously under qualified, many companies refuse to take on Romani employees and the fact that the communist regime created an artificial dependence on social assistance among the Romani population (ibid.; also Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997).

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs notes that the majority of Roma are not well- equipped with the skills and qualifications needed to integrate into the labour market (1 Oct. 1997). With the growth of technical skilled jobs in recent years, the need for unskilled labour has diminished and all individuals with low skill sets are encountering difficulties finding work (ibid.). According to the Ministry, many of these individuals have a low work discipline and morale and employers are reluctant to hire them. Ministry officials acknowledge that there is a mental barrier among employers when it comes to hiring Roma, but the officials maintain that this trend or "barrier" is beginning to change (ibid.).

The labour office director in the town of Usti nad Labem in northern Bohemia states that the combination of low skills, poor qualifications, low education and work discipline and frequently bad health among Roma, means that many employers are not eager to hire Roma (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997). According to the director, if a Rom has no skills or a low working morale, the labour office cannot force an employer to recruit the person. The employer may have had poor experiences with Roma in the past (ibid.).

The ERRC researcher believes that the problem of employers refusing to hire a worker simply because that person is a Rom is "very common and systemic" (24 Sept. 1997). This source is aware of "infinite" cases whereby a Rom has applied for an advertised job only to find the job is suddenly no longer available when the employer sees that the applicant is a Rom (ibid.). Ondrej Gina, a Rokycany-based Romani leader, states that in 80 per cent of cases the reasons why Roma are long-term unemployed is not because of a lack of jobs, but rather because when the Rom goes to an employer who has advertised a vacant position she or he is either told that the position has been filled by someone else, or that the opening is closed (26 Sept. 1997). According to Gina this situation is repetitive and largely explains why many individuals are unemployed for such long periods of time (ibid.).

According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, when a Romani individual is refused a job by an employer, it is often not for racial reasons, but because human resource staff in these private companies can hire whoever they feel is best suited for the job (1 Oct. 1997). The labour office director in Usti nad Labem also notes that employers are not discriminating when they do not hire Roma, they simply prefer not to hire underqualified people generally (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997). In cases of blatant discrimination there is judicial redress available, although the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs notes that discrimination is exceptionally difficult to prove (1 Oct. 1997). The Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms prohibits any type of discrimination (ibid.). The preamble to employment and labour legislation also includes anti-discrimination clauses and labour offices could act on discrimination cases based on this preamble. Ministry officials noted that up until this point they have not seen such a flagrant case of discrimination, although one official did note that it does happen, but it simply cannot be proven (ibid.).

A recent CTK article indicates that two employees of the Military Housing Administration were punished for refusing to employ Roma. According to the article, which quoted the Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes, the employees refused to hire Roma as boiler stokers, "citing the allegedly general bad reputation of the Romani community" (CTK 26 Nov. 1997). The case was investigated by the Defense Ministry Inspectorate and the two employees will no longer deal with personnel issues (ibid.). They will not be prosecuted for their statements, however, because "they were only registered in the Administration's internal documents and were not made publicly" (ibid.).

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs indicates that the state has offered many different types of skill-training programmes and societal reintegration programmes to Roma and others over the past seven years (1 Oct. 1997). The Ministry has a database of over 4,000 training providers with different specializations and the training itself is usually conducted on the premises of the training providers (ibid.).

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs indicates that there are 77 district and 162 branch labour offices throughout the Czech Republic (1 Oct. 1997). It is up to these offices to create and modify their own training and re-training programmes. Programmes are run according to the supply and demand in that particular region. Training programmes can be arranged for individuals, groups, or they can be held for groups within companies. In addition to training programmes, local labour offices offer a wide range of services, including performing negotiations with employers. The Ministry creates the methodology for the local offices, provides financing and some management assistance. It is also possible for labour offices to subsidize the salary of individuals who, because of a variety of handicaps, are unable to fulfill all aspects of their jobs. According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, labour offices communicate information through the media (ibid.).

All labour office clients are recorded based on their identity documentation (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs 1 Oct. 1997). If a suitable job cannot be found for an individual he or she is offered re-training possibilities and becomes eligible to receive unemployment benefits. According to Ministry officials, benefits are higher if the unemployed person takes re-training courses (ibid.). The director of the Usti nad Labem labour office also stated that an individual is eligible for unemployment benefits once he or she has registered with the labour office and is actively attempting to find work (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997).

The director of the Usti nad Labem labour office stated that his office offers many re-training programmes, noting that most programmes are aimed at the long-term unemployed (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997). This office has offered six-month-long training courses and training classes geared specifically at illiterate Roma. In Usti nad Labem, information about these re-training and training courses is disseminated through a local Information and Consultancy Centre. In addition, every labour office placement officer informs clients of re-training possibilities (ibid.).

The type of training offered is dependent upon individual circumstances (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997). Specific subjects commonly taught in training courses include basic computer skills, single and double entry accounting, mechanical skills, welding skills, auxiliary construction work, beauty skills such as hair care, skills for domestic positions such as cooks, maids, hotel help, waiters, etc. (ibid.).

The director of the Usti labour office notes that in addition to performing regular labour office consultancy tasks, the staff in the Usti labour office also assist Roma in filling out forms and in applying for citizenship; they also visit Romani families when necessary and directly offer assistance in the field (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997). Through this direct contact Roma are made aware of the services available to them in labour offices. In Usti nad Labem 53 people work in the district's labour office and 35 work in the district's social affairs office. Usti has a population of 118,000 and approximately 4,000 unemployed people. There are currently no Roma employed in either the Usti nad Labem labour or social affairs offices (ibid.).

The director of the Usti nad Labem labour office states that in this office the success rate of placing Romani clients into jobs is approximately 30 per cent (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997). Unfortunately, according to the director, the problem is that typically the Rom does not last long in the job (ibid.). The director also indicates that there is a "vicious circle" when dealing with Roma: the labour office may offer Roma an unskilled manual position, such as cleaning streets. Roma refuse the jobs saying they would be ashamed to be seen performing such a job. The director stressed that their qualifications are so low they are not qualified to do anything else (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997).

According to representatives of the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry, the success of training and job placement programmes across the country depends upon an understanding on the part of the Rom in question that they must do something to help themselves (1 Oct. 1997; also Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997). The Ministry also notes that due to the societal and cultural handicaps, the effectiveness of these programmes has not been high (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs 1 Oct. 1997).

The following information details the procedures individuals should follow if they wish to register themselves at local labour offices and officially begin a job search. This information was provided by the director of the labour office in Usti nad Labem.

· In most cases, a client comes into the labour office and completes an application form.

· Labour office staff try to find the individual a job within seven days and on the eighth day the individual is entitled to receive unemployment benefits.

· Labour office staff usually invite the individual to visit the office approximately once per week and if the labour office cannot place a person within one month, the individual is entitled to receive 60 per cent of his or her last net salary.

· If the client is interested in being re-trained, the labour office includes him or her in a course, which is paid for by the labour office. During the training course the individual is entitled to receive 70 per cent of his or her last net salary and is not limited to six months of entitlements because, according to the director, the labour office wishes to encourage the unemployed individual to improve his or her qualifications.

· If an individual is registered in the labour offices records, or in the record of the local social affairs office, the individual is automatically entitled to social and health insurance. The state pays for the insurance (Municipal Authorities 1 Oct. 1997).

According to an official at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs who visited Canadian employment offices on official business, the services provided at regional labour offices in the Czech Republic are similar to those in Canada (1 Oct. 1997). Labour offices have an electronic database of jobs currently available and clients can review the database at their leisure. Staff will provide assistance to those unfamiliar with computers; Ministry officials note that many Roma do not have the skills necessary to operate the database software. All offices have a number of advisors who supply job consultancy services. There are also individuals trained to offer legal, psychological and sociological advice and support to clients (ibid.).

When the labour office recommends a job to a client the unemployed individual obtains a recommendation letter from the labour office (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs 1 Oct. 1997). Prior to this, however, the labour office contacts the employer to ensure that the position is still available. According to the Ministry, every employer has the right to select an employee based on the results of an interview (ibid.).

The report of the Czech Council for National Minorities, which was accepted by the Czech government on 29 October 1997, includes a number of recommendations to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. In addition to asking the Ministry to cooperate with the Ministry of Education in qualifying Romani teaching assistants, the report includes recommendations

· to develop a system of incentives encouraging employers to employ persons who have problems in entering the work force and persons of Roma origin,

· at the level of District Offices in the regions with a higher concentration of unemployed persons of Roma origin, to create conditions for the appointment of persons belonging to the Roma community to the posts of social assistants who should assist in solving the relevant problems (Government of the Czech Republic 29 Oct. 1997).

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has been asked to "widen the support for projects designed to encourage employment of persons who have problems entering the work force within the framework of the Support for Small and Medium-Sized Firms ..." (ibid.).

The deputy prime minister and ministers of Agriculture and of the Environment are asked to "seek opportunities for the participation of firms employing Roma citizens in procurement within the competencies of their respective ministries" (ibid.). A complete list of the Council for National Minority's recommendations to various Ministries can be found in Response to Information Request CZE28476.E of 18 December 1997.

4. HOUSING

State-run and private housing are available in the Czech Republic (ERRC 24 Sept. 1997). The administration of state-run housing is handled by municipal governments (ibid.; Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs 1 Oct. 1997), but many houses and apartments in the Czech Republic are now privately owned (ERRC 9 Dec. 1997). Finding housing in the Czech Republic is problematic as there are long waiting lists–some people have waited years to receive state housing (ERRC 9 Dec. 1997; Gina 26 Sept. 1997).

According to Ondrej Gina, similar to the employment situation, Roma are frequently refused housing or apartments simply because they are Romani (26 Sept. 1997). Municipal governments have housing commissions that make recommendations to the Municipal board on who should be awarded housing (ibid.). Gina, who is a member of the Rokycany housing commission, has accused the Rokycany commission of racism (ibid.). According to Gina, Roma are not housed throughout towns, but rather there is a tendency to concentrate Roma in one particular area, an area where most ethnic Czechs would refuse to live. As a result of this high concentration of Roma, there are conflicts and neighbours in nearby areas complain about the Roma (ibid.).

Barbora Kvocekova, a lawyer who currently works for the Tolerance Foundation and previously worked for the Legal Advice Bureau of the Czech Helsinki Committee, states that when applying for a private apartment one must prove that one has a clean criminal record (23 Sept. 1997). Kvocekova states that many Roma have been convicted of petty crimes and therefore are frequently refused private accommodation (ibid.). According to the ERRC researcher, some Roma do not pay their rent and private landlords tend to generalize and assume that all Roma fail to pay rent (24 Sept. 1997). As a result of this generalization landlords often refuse Roma housing because they are Romani (ibid.). The researcher acknowledged that this type of discrimination is extremely difficult to prove (ibid.).

The ERRC researcher states that there is a perception that Roma tend to destroy their houses (ibid.). When housing is destroyed either through a natural disaster, such as the floods in the summer of 1997, or through vandalism, the ERRC researcher believes there is a reluctance and general failure to re-house Roma (ibid.).

The report of the Czech Council for National Minorities includes a number of recommendations to the Minister of Regional Development:

· to analyze the experience gained to date with various types of housing for the Roma community with respect to the suitability of such housing for the life of Roma citizens, their awareness of belonging to the environment and the subsequent care for the environment; to evaluate this experience from the social, technical and financial viewpoints with regard to the disposition and needs of the Roma community and submit the evaluation to the Inter-ministerial Commission for the Affairs of Roma Community,

· to support housing development projects; local Roma organizations and firms should participate in the implementation of the projects and in decisions on the allocation of new apartments,

· to prepare a methodical instruction on area planning at the municipal level with due regard to the social and cultural conditions of local population (Government of the Czech Republic 29 Oct. 1997).

5. ALLEGATIONS OF DISCRIMINATION

According to Brno-based Romani leader Karel Holomek, Romani journalist Jarmila Balazova and the ERRC researcher, Roma in the Czech Republic are "commonly" refused service in restaurants, pubs, discos, swimming pools and other public arenas throughout the country (Holomek 24 Sept. 1997; ERRC 24 Sept. 1997; Balazova 25 Sept. 1997; also Gina 26 Sept. 1997). The ERRC researcher reports of a colleague that visited 70 restaurants; 50 of these restaurants refused to serve Roma (24 Sept. 1997). Jarmila Balazova notes that this is not only a problem faced by Roma; foreign students studying in Prague have also been refused service in restaurants (25 Sept. 1997). According to Ondrej Gina, unless there is a vocal reaction from non-Roma, particularly from NGOs, everyday acts of discrimination, such as non-service in restaurants, are ignored (26 Sept. 1997).

According to the directors of the Usti nad Labem labour and social affairs offices, individuals are refused entry into restaurants and pubs when they have been drunk and disorderly in the pub or restaurant on a previous occasion (1 Oct. 1997). The directors state that it is easy for a Rom to complain that he was refused entrance into a restaurant because of the colour of his skin when, in fact, he had been involved in a fight the night before. The directors report that in Usti nad Labem there has never been a case where a sign barring Roma has been posted in a pub or restaurant. They believe that the media is only now picking up on these stories of discrimination because of the notoriety brought to the issue since the mass migration of Roma that began in August 1997. Prior to this development such cases were practically unheard of, according to the directors (ibid.).

On 8 December 1997 the Kladno district court found Kladno deputy mayor Slavomir Cirnfus guilty of inciting national and racial hatred and fined him Kc16,000 for banning Romani children from using a public swimming pool in the city in June 1996 (CTK 9 Dec. 1997). "The court confirmed that Cirnfus' behaviour violated the law. It also evaluated the ban Cirnfus had placed on the Romani children as socially dangerous" (ibid.). Cirnfus reportedly issued the ban on Romani children after a local health inspector discovered that many Romani children had contracted hepatitis. Cirnfus is appealing the court's decision (ibid.).

Extended Response to Information Request CZE26377.EX of 21 March 1997 provides further information on societal discrimination against Roma and refusal of service to Roma in Czech restaurants, pubs and stores.

6. INTERNAL FLIGHT ALTERNATIVES

According to the ERRC researcher, Roma face refusal of service in restaurants, general societal discrimination and other problems throughout the Czech Republic (24 Sept. 1997; ibid. 22 Sept. 1997). The ERRC researcher and Kvocekova report that areas where the treatment of Roma may be worse, or where Roma are in more danger of attack, include areas where there is a higher concentration of Roma living (ibid.; Kvocekova 23 Sept. 1997). The ERRC researcher believes that there are one or two areas in the Czech Republic where relations between the Roma community and the Czech majority are somewhat better (22 Sept. 1997). For example, Cesky Krumlov, in southern Bohemia, has a reasonably well integrated Romani community. The town itself is quite wealthy and the Roma that moved to Cesky Krumlov may have been socially stronger than the average Romani community (ibid.). Gina believes that there is "less tension" between Roma and non-Roma in southern Moravia, but notes that western and northern Bohemia, Ostrava and Brno are among the areas most dangerous for Roma in the Czech Republic (26 Sept. 1997).

Representatives of the Ministry of Justice state that judicial redress is consistent across the Czech Republic (30 Sept. 1997). According to Barbora Kvocekova, Roma are likely to receive more severe judicial sentences than are members of the white majority in areas with high concentrations of Roma, because there is likely more hatred of Roma in such places (23 Sept. 1997). Kvocekova notes that this also depends upon the individual judge (ibid.).

Regarding internal flight alternatives, the head of the UNHCR's Prague Liaison Office states that "no accurate statement [can] be provided in this respect ... in such a small country such a notion would be irrelevant" (UNHCR 9 Dec. 1997).

Barbora Kvocekova states that it is safe for individuals to move within the Czech Republic, noting that they can move freely and that they do not have to get permission from local authorities (23 Sept. 1997). According to representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, in order to receive social benefits in the Czech Republic one must be able to show proof of permanent residence in the new municipality to which an individual has moved (1 Oct. 1997; ibid. 1 Dec. 1997). When an individual moves to a new municipality, he or she must register with the appropriate local offices or Registry Service (ibid. 10 Dec. 1997). In some towns individuals may be able to register at police stations (ibid.). To be able to register, the applicant must have a local address (ibid.). If the applicant is staying at another person's home, he or she must provide consent of the home's owner that the applicant is allowed to live there (ibid.). In order to legally reside in a municipality one must have a permanent address (ibid.). A Ministry representative noted that the Ministry of Interior is the government body responsible for permanent residence (ibid.). Regarding the receipt of social benefits, an individual is not necessarily "tied" to his or her permanent address (ibid. 1 Dec. 1997). Once social assistance is approved there are a variety of methods in which the assistance can be provided to the individual in question, for example, through a money order, or it can be directly deposited into one's bank account (ibid.).

For information and updates on the situation of Roma please consult the documentary sources and IRB databases available at Regional Documentation Centres.

NOTES ON SELECTED SOURCES

Balazova, Jarmila

Jarmila Balazova is a Romani journalist. Jarmila Balazova currently works for Czech Radio where she is responsible for Romani radio transmissions. She is also a member of the Czech government's Council for National Minorities' Ad Hoc Working Group on Romani Affairs.

European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)

The ERRC is a Budapest-based international public interest law organization which monitors the human rights situation of Roma in Europe and provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse. The ERRC has a Prague-based researcher who monitors the situation of the Roma in the Czech Republic and reports to Budapest.

Gina, Ondrej

Ondrej Gina is a Romani leader and a member of the Council for National Minorities and a member of the Council's Ad Hoc Working Group on Romani Affairs. Ondrej Gina is the chairperson of the Rokycany-based (west Bohemia) Foundation for Mutual Hope and Understanding and the chairman of the Council of Rokycany Roma.

Holomek, Karel

Karel Holomek is an engineer and Romani leader based in Brno, Moravia. Karel Holomek is the chairman of the Brno-based Society of Professionals and Friends of the Museum of Romani Culture, a founding member of the Association of Roma in Moravia and the appointed President of the Helsinki Citizen's Assembly Roma Section. He is also a member of the Czech government's Council for National Minorities Ad Hoc Working Group on Romani Affairs.

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

The Research Directorate conducted an interview in Prague with three representatives of the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on 1 October 1997. This interview was conducted with the Director General of the Employment Service Administration, the Head of the Employment Services Division and with the director of the Social Prevention Department.

Kvocekova, Barbora

Barbora Kvocekova is a lawyer who wrote her thesis on the legal situation of the Romani minority in the Czech Republic. Barbora Kvocekova is currently pursuing her doctorate; her dissertation will be on Romani minority rights. Barbora Kvocekova currently works for the Tolerance Foundation and previously worked for the Legal Advice Bureau of the Czech Helsinki Committee. The views attributed to her in this report are her own.

Municipal Authorities Usti nad Labem

The city of Usti nad Labem is located 100 kilometres north of Prague in northern Bohemia. Interviews were conducted on 1 October 1997 with the head of the local municipal police, the local labour office and the local social affairs office.

Thieroff, Mark

Mark Thieroff is the Project Officer of the Tolerance Foundation's Article 8 Project (please see below) and Fair Trial Project.

Tolerance Foundation

Since 1992 the Tolerance Foundation has carried out a series of projects to analyse "the effects of the Czech citizenship law on the country's Slovak minority, with special emphasis on the disproportionate impact of the law on the Roma community" (Article 8 Nov. 1996, 3). This report cited in this paper was prepared by The Article 8 Project, a section of the Tolerance Foundation created in February 1996 "with the intention of examining the relevant legal provisions in the field of expulsion, monitoring individual cases and providing legal assistance to those who allege a violation of their right to respect for private and family life" (ibid.).

Zamboj, Ladislav

Ladislav Zamboj currently works for the Citizenship Counselling Service of the Czech Helsinki Committee and for the Tolerance Foundation.

REFERENCES

Balazova, Jarmila, Prague. 25 September 1997. Interview.

Central Europe Online (CEO) [Prague]. 25 August 1997. "U.S. Congressmen Call on Klaus to Change Citizenship Law." [Internet] (URL:http://www.centraleurope.com/ceo/news.01.html)[Accessed 25 Aug. 1997]

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) News Release. 21 August 1997. "Helsinki Commission Chairmen Urge Czechs to Amend Citizenship Law."

Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. 8 September 1997. Doc. 7898. Report on the Obligations and Commitments of the Czech Republic as a Member State.Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996.1997. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

CTK [Prague, in English]. 25 August 1997. "Premier Rejects US Criticisms on Czech Citizenship." [BBC Summary 27 Aug. 1997/NEXIS]

CTK [Prague, in English]. 26 April 1996. "Internal Affairs: Parliament Eases Conditions for Obtaining Czech Citizenship." (BBC Summary 26 Apr. 1996/NEXIS)

CTK Business News Wire. 7 November 1997. "Unemployment Rate Reaches Record 4.9% at End of Oct." (NEXIS)

CTK News Summary. 9 December 1997. "Deputy Mayor Found Guilty of Inciting Racial Hatred." [Internet] (URL:http://www.ctknews.com/tuectk.html)[Accessed 10 Dec. 1997]

CTK News Summary. 26 November 1997. "Men who Refused to Employ Romanies Punished–Press." [Internet] (URL://http:www.ctknews.com/thuctk.html)[Accessed 27 November 1997]

CTK News Summary. 28 August 1997. "No plans to Amend the Citizenship Law–Svoboda." [Internet] (URL:http://www.ctknews.com/thuctk.html)[Accessed 29 August 1997]

European Roma Rights Centre, (ERRC) Budapest. 9 December 1997. E-mail from Prague-based researcher.

European Roma Rights Centre, (ERRC) Budapest. 21 November 1997. "Roma and Sinti: Statement of the European Roma Rights Centre OSCE Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension Issues." (Electronic version e-mailed to the Research Directorate by the ERRC's Prague-based researcher)

European Roma Rights Centre, (ERRC) Budapest. 24 September 1997. Interview with Prague-based researcher.

European Roma Rights Centre, (ERRC) Budapest. 22 September 1997. Interview with Prague-based researcher.

Gina, Ondrej, Rokycany. 26 September 1997. Interview.

The Globe and Mail[Toronto]. 11 December 1997. "Foreign Exchange."

Government of the Czech Republic. Nd. Appendix to the Government Edict dated 11 May, 1994, no. 259: Statute Nationalities Council of the Czech Republic Government.

Government of the Czech Republic. 29 October 1997. Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic of 29 October 1997 No. 686 on the Report on the Situation of the Roma Community in the Czech Republic and on the Present Situation in the Roma Community. Unofficial translation provided to the IRB by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ottawa in November 1997.

Holomek, Karel, Brno. 24 September 1997. Interview.

Human Rights Watch/Helsinki (HRW/H). June 1996. Czech Republic: Roma in the Czech Republic: Foreigners in Their Own Land.New York: HRW.

Inter Press Service (IPS). 30 April 1996. David Rocks. "Czech Republic: Law Could Ease Pressure on Gypsy Minority." (NEXIS)

Kvocekova, Barbora, Prague. 23 September 1997. Interview.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). 17 December 1997. Fax sent to the Research Directorate by Vladimir Kotzy of the Second Territorial Department.

Ministry of Justice, Prague. 30 September 1997. Interview.

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Prague. 10 December 1997. Telephone interview with Representative of the Minister's office.

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Prague. 1 December 1997. Telephone interview with Representative of the Minister's office.

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Prague. 1 October 1997. Interview with the Director General of the Employment Service Administration, the Head of the Employment Services Division and with a representative of the Social Affairs Division.

Municipal Authorities Usti nad Labem, Usti nad Labem. 1 October 1997. Interview with the head of municipal police, local labour office and local social affairs office.

The Prague Post. 26 November 1997. Ron Orol. "Czech Jobless Rate on Steady Incline." (NEXIS)

RFE/RL Newsline on the Web [Prague]. 23 September 1997. "Council of Europe Criticises Czech Screening, Citizenship Law." [Internet] (URL:http://www.rferl.org/newsline/3-cee.html)[Accessed 23 September 1997]

RFE/RL Newsline on the Web [Prague]. 26 August 1997. "Czech Premier Rejects U.S. Criticism of Citizenship Law." [Internet] (URL:http://www.rferl.org/newsline/3-cee.html)[Accessed 26 August 1997]

RFE/RL Newsline on the Web [Prague]. 25 August 1997. "U.S. Helsinki Committee Sends Letter to Czech Premier." [Internet] (URL:http://www.rferl.org/newsline/3-cee.html)[Accessed 25 August 1997]

Thieroff, Mark, Prague. 12 December 1997. E-mail sent to the Research Directorate.

Thieroff, Mark, Prague. 8 December 1997. E-mail sent to Research Directorate.

Thieroff, Mark, Prague. 22 September 1997. Interview.

Tolerance Foundation. 27 August 1997. "Submission of the Tolerance Foundation to the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly." Prague: Tolerance Foundation.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Prague. 9 December 1997. E-mail received from representative of the UNHCR Prague office.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Prague. 23 September 1997. Interview with representatives of UNHCR Prague office.

Zamboj, Ladislav. 1997. "Causes of Unsolved (Untreated) Citizenship Cases of Former Citizens of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic who have Permanently Lived in the Czech Republic Since the Time Before the Dissolution." (The electronic version of this report was e-mailed to the Research Directorate by Mark Thieroff of the Tolerance Foundation)

Zamboj, Ladislav. 22 September 1997. Interview.

ATTACHMENTS

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) News Release. 21 August 1997. "Helsinki Commission Chairmen Urge Czechs to Amend Citizenship Law."

Roma Rights: Newsletter of the European Roma Rights Center[Budapest]. Summer 1997. Ina Zoon. "The Manufactured Troubles of L'udovit Gorej."

Tolerance Foundation. 27 August 1997. "Submission of the Tolerance Foundation to the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly." Prague: Tolerance Foundation, pp. 1-10.

Zamboj, Ladislav. 1997. "Causes of Unsolved (Untreated) Citizenship Cases of Former Citizens of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic who have Permanently Lived in the Czech Republic Since the Time Before the Dissolution." (The electronic version of this report was e-mailed to the Research Directorate by Mark Thieroff of the Tolerance Foundation)

---

[1]1.           According to the 11 December 1997 issue of the Globe and Mail, the Czech Crown is worth 0.0408 Canadian dollars (B23).

[2]2.           The full text of this letter is attached.