Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Ninety-ninth session

5–29 August 2019

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

C onsideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention

List of themes in relation to the combined twelfth and thirteenth periodic reports of Czechia

Note by the Country Rapporteur

1.The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination decided at its seventy-sixth session (A/65/18, para. 85) that the Country Rapporteur would send to the State party concerned a short list of themes with a view to guiding and focusing the dialogue between the State party’s delegation and the Committee during the consideration of the State party’s report. The present document contains a list of such themes. It is not an exhaustive list; other issues may also be raised in the course of the dialogue. No written replies are required.

Statistics (arts. 1 and 5)

2.Improvement of data collection on the ethnic composition of the population (CERD/C/CZE/CO/10-11, para. 6) and on the socioeconomic situation of ethnic minorities and non-citizens, including asylum seekers and refugees. Statistics on the ethnic composition of the prison population.

The Convention in domestic law and the institutional and policy framework for its implementation (arts. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7)

3.Update on the application of the Anti-Discrimination Act (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, para. 99) and the articles of the Criminal Code pertaining to hate speech, incitement to hatred and hate crimes. Plans to amend the Anti-Discrimination Act to shift the burden of proof onto the defendant in cases of racial discrimination (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, para. 99).

4.Statistical data on victims of racially motivated crimes who have received assistance under the Victims of Crime Act (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, para. 38).

5.Compliance of the Ombudsperson’s mandate with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and steps taken for its accreditation by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, para. 19). Complaints related to racial discrimination addressed to the Ombudsperson and the outcomes.

Racist hate speech, incitement to racial hatred and hate crime (arts. 2, 4 and 6)

6.Impact of the measures to increase awareness of and combat prejudice and stereotypes against Roma and refugees and asylum seekers, in particular those of Muslim background, among the population, and additional measures planned (CERD/C/CZE/CO/10-11, paras. 13–14; CERD/C/CZE/12-13, para. 36).

7.Impact of the measures to combat hate speech and incitement to hatred, including in the media and on other public platforms, such as the Internet, and by politicians and public figures (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, paras. 31–32), and additional measures foreseen. Cases of hate speech, incitement to hatred and hate crime reported to the police, those brought to court and the outcome of such cases. Measures taken and envisaged to increase the rate of reporting of cases of racial discrimination and racially motivated crimes and to facilitate access by victims to complaint mechanisms for these crimes (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, para. 108). Progress made in the systemic improvement of data collection on hate crimes (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, para. 31).

Situation of Roma (arts. 2, 3 and 5)

8.Implementation, impact and evaluation, including the methods to assess effectiveness, of the Roma Integration Strategy up to 2020 and the Strategy to Combat Social Exclusion 2016–2019 and its action plans, including major achievements and challenges. Activities of the related monitoring mechanisms (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, paras. 16 and 22–26).

9.Measures to improve the access of Roma to adequate housing, including social housing, and strategies to reduce the number of people, including Roma, living in socially excluded communities.

10.Additional measures to reduce the high unemployment rate of Roma, particularly among women and youth. Impact of the “Guarantees for Youth” Programme on the employment of young Roma (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, paras. 55–57).

11.Measures to increase the participation rate of Roma children in education at the preschool, primary and secondary levels and to decrease the proportion of Roma children enrolled in ethnically segregated schools and in “practical” (special) schools (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, annex 7).

12.Measures taken to increase access to health care for Roma. Measures to establish an extrajudicial mechanism to provide effective reparation to Roma women who have been subjected to involuntary sterilization and to bring perpetrators of forced sterilization to justice, and the impact of the unlawful sterilization working party (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, paras. 65–67). Steps taken to guarantee that all procedures of sterilization are based on free and informed consent of women, particularly Roma women (CERD/C/CZE/CO/10-11, para. 22).

13.Progress made in the purchase of the former camp for Roma in Lety u Písku and the establishment of a memorial site for victims of the Roma holocaust (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, paras. 78–80).

Situation of other minorities (arts. 2 and 5)

14.Information on the situation of ethnic minority groups other than Roma. Measures to facilitate the use of minority languages in relation to local administrative authorities, particularly in municipalities where no minority councils have been established.

Non-citizens, including refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons (arts. 2 and 5)

15.Detention rate of asylum seekers over the past few years and measures to end the practice of detaining asylum seekers, in particular children, and offer them alternatives to detention (CERD/C/CZE/CO/10-11, para. 26).Measures to improve the living conditions in reception centres.

16.Measures to ensure that refugee status determination procedures are conducted in an independent manner.

17.Measures to improve the integration of foreigners into society, including beneficiaries of international protection (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, paras. 82–89).

18.Plans to adopt a mechanism to identify and grant protection to stateless persons. Impact of the new Citizenship Act on the reduction of statelessness (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, para. 47).

Trafficking in persons (arts. 2, 5 and 6)

19.Effective implementation of legislation against human trafficking, including the Criminal Code. Impact of the work of the Interministerial Group on Combating Human Trafficking (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, paras. 92–98). Protection measures and long-term support for victims of human trafficking, in particular victims of foreign origin.

Human rights education to combat prejudice and intolerance (art. 7)

20.Implementation, impact and evaluation of measures in the field of education and culture to promote human rights, foster tolerance for diversity and combat racial discrimination and stereotypes. Information on the representation of ethnic and national groups, including Roma, refugees and asylum seekers, in school textbooks and curricula (CERD/C/CZE/12-13, paras. 111–114).