HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Eighty-ninth session

New York, 12-30 March 2007

LIST OF ISSUES TO BE TAKEN UP IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONSIDERATION OF THE SECOND PERIODIC REPORT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Constitutional and legal framework within which the Covenant is implemented (article 2)

Please indicate what actions the State party has taken to give effect to the Committee’s Views with regard to communications No. 823/1998, Czernin; No. 857/1999, Blazek et al.; No.945/2000, Marik; No. 946/2000, L.P.; No.1054/2002 Kříž. Please also provide an update on the follow-up to the following communications in terms of remedies provided to the victims: No.516/1992, Simunek et al; No.586/1994, Adam; No.765/1997, Fábryová; No. 747/1997, Des Fours Walderode; and No. 757/1997, Pezoldova.

Please comment on the information before the Committee about the existence of considerable delays for the judiciary in dealing with both civil and criminal cases. Please provide disaggregated statistics in this regard. What are the developments in relation to the judicial reform, in particular of the management of courts? At what stage is the reform of the administrative court mentioned in paragraph 431 of the report?

Counter -terrorism measures and respect of Covenant guarantees

Please provide information on the compatibility with the Covenant of existing or proposed counter-terrorism related laws in the State party. Information should include, inter alia, the definition of terrorism, as well as any derogation from ordinary law enacted in the existing or proposed counter-terrorism legislation.

GE.07-42613

Principles of gender equality and non-discrimination and freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (arts. 3 and 7)

Please provide information on the measures taken to improve the representation of women in senior governmental positions as well as in Parliament (previous concluding observations, para.12, and report, para.45-59)?

It is reported that there have been cases of women subjected to coercive sterilization without their consent. Has the State party conducted any impartial and effective investigations and with what results? Have the victims been compensated?Has the State party undertaken any measures to amend the existing laws and procedures in order to avoid that such practices recur?

Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; treatment of prisoners and other detainees, liberty and security of a person, expulsion of aliens and the right to a fair trail (arts. 7, 9, 10, 13, and 14)

Please provide information on the criminalization of domestic violence, including the number of complaints, inquiries, prosecutions and sentences imposed, as well as information on the assistance or remedies provided to the victims during the reporting period (previous concluding observations para.14, and report, paras.72-74).

Please provide comments on information to the effect that the investigation of allegations of police misconduct by the Inspectorate of the Interior Ministry is neither independent nor effective. What is the current status of the reform of the Law on Police Service?

Please provide information on the status of the amendment to the binding guidelines of the Police President on police cells,whereby a police officer must inform detained persons of their rights, including the right to submit a written communication to a State authority (report, para. 161).

Please give further information on the status and the implementation of the amendment to the Foreigners Act of September 2005, providing for a new set of regulations on the conditions and regimes applicable to detention facilities for foreigners, aimed at bringing them in line with international standards. Please provide statistics on incidents in asylum-related detentions.

Please explain whether the amendment of the rules of confinement has contributed to reducing the overcrowding of prisons (previous concluding observations, para.19, and report, para.179).

Please indicate whether the State party has abolished the use of cage-beds and net-beds as a means of managing patients in a state of agitation in psychiatric hospitals. What concrete actions have been taken or are proposed to address the problems identified in paragraph 86 of the report?

Please elaborate on measures to eliminate difficulties faced by victims of discrimination in obtaining legal aid (previous concluding observations, para. 21).

Elimination of slavery and servitude (arts. 8 and 24)

Has the Act on the Regulation of Prostitution entered into force? If so, please provide information on its legal scope and its impact in practice, including information with regard to its role in the identification of victims of trafficking (previous concluding observations, para.13, and report, paras. 99 and 106).

Please provide information on measures taken to combat sexual abuse of children, including child pornography and child trafficking, measures for the rehabilitation of abused children as well as, in general, measures aimed at ensuring the respect of the human rights of all victims of trafficking (see in part, previous concluding observations, para. 23)

Principle of equality and non-discrimination, rights of persons belonging to minorities, and rights of the child (arts. 2, 24, 26 and 27)

Please provide further information on the current status of the anti-discrimination law. What measures have been taken to ensure its effective implementation? (report, paras.517-523).

Has the National Strategy for Police Work with National and Ethnic Minorities proven effective in reducing cases of ill-treatment by the police of members of national and ethnic minorities, including those cases leading to death in custody? Were the perpetrators of such acts prosecuted, and was any compensation granted to the victims or their families (previous concluding observations, para.15, and report, paras. 92-95.)?

Please indicate what concrete measures the State party has taken to combat discrimination against the Roma, in particular in the fields of employment, education, health care and housing. Please elaborate further on the development, implementation and impact of recent and current awareness-raising campaigns aimed at reducing discriminatory practices against the Roma minority (previous concluding observations, para.8).

What steps has the State party taken to promote equality of non-citizens and citizens, including in the areas of housing, employment and social security? In general, what measures are in place to ensure that non-citizens are not discriminated against in their enjoyment of Covenant rights?

Please comment on the disparities between statistics on the number of Roma living in the State party provided by official sources and those provided by civil society sources.

Please provide information on the status and the situation of “non-national” minorities within the territory of the State party.

What measures has the State party taken to address the serious concern of the Committee with regard to the very high number of Roma children placed in special schools designed for children with mental disabilities (previous concluding observations, para.9)?

To what extent does the new Criminal Code contribute in practice to reducing racially motivated violence, incitement to hatred, or other forms of intolerance? (previous concluding observations, para. 11, and report, paras. 420-424).

Dissemination of information relating to the Covenant and the Optional Protocol (art.2)

Please provide information on training activities for public officials, including teachers, judges, lawyers and police officers, on the rights protected under the Covenant.

Please indicate what steps the State party has taken to disseminate information on the submission of the present periodic report. Please also indicate steps taken to increase awareness and understanding of the Covenant and the Optional Protocol procedure among the general public, and in particular, ethnic minorities (previous concluding observations, para.25).