Human rights in Slovakia
Encyclopedia
Human rights in Slovakia are guaranteed by the Constitution of Slovakia
from the year 1992 and by multiple international laws signed in Slovakia
since 1948 until 2006. In general, international NGOs and foreign institutions do have complaints about human rights
in Slovakia, but they tend to be minor in nature or scope. The United States Department of State
summarizes sthe state of affairs in mid-2000's "the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas". In general, Slovakia is a developed country with human rights implementation approximately on the average level in the European Union
.
and is bound by all its former international laws. The current Constitution of Slovakia
is from the year 1992, before 1989 Slovakia was totalitarian
. Slovakia has abolished the death penalty.
, although oficially counting only 90.000 in reality the number is approximately half million. Of this, 330.000 live in "unfavourable social conditions", an euphemism for being beyond the line of poverty, many of them living in Roma settlements . In the year 2000 there were 620 such settlements in Slovakia, by 2009 their number increased to 691. Here, people live in self-made houses constructed on land they do not own, settlements are often without electricity, waste disposal or sanitary water.
The situation of Roma in Slovakia is an issue where both local and foreign observers consistently agree on the magnitude of the problem as well as its urgency and importance. The key issues being stressed on both sides of the debate seem to differ quite radically, however, an example being various Slovak governmental proposal of taking the Roma children from their homes into boarding school
s, which is considered to be one of the best solutions to the education of the local Roma people in Slovakia, an idea that has been severely criticized from abroad.
Issues concerning the Roma minority
is divided between numerous government agencies and features a wide selection of actual law enforcement units, ranging from "ordinary" Police to Railway Police or Financial Police. Most of these units have wide-ranging authority, having the right to suspend most basic human rights
. There were never any purges within these units after the overthrow of the communist regime in 1989 and many working procedures were left intact.
Issues concerning Law enforcement
Constitution of Slovakia
The Constitution of Slovakia, officially Constitution of the Slovak Republic is the current constitution of Slovakia. It was passed by the Slovak National Council on 1 September 1992 and signed on 3 September 1992 in the Knights Hall of the Bratislava Castle...
from the year 1992 and by multiple international laws signed in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
since 1948 until 2006. In general, international NGOs and foreign institutions do have complaints about human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in Slovakia, but they tend to be minor in nature or scope. The United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
summarizes sthe state of affairs in mid-2000's "the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas". In general, Slovakia is a developed country with human rights implementation approximately on the average level in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Background
Today's Slovakia is a descendant of former CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and is bound by all its former international laws. The current Constitution of Slovakia
Constitution of Slovakia
The Constitution of Slovakia, officially Constitution of the Slovak Republic is the current constitution of Slovakia. It was passed by the Slovak National Council on 1 September 1992 and signed on 3 September 1992 in the Knights Hall of the Bratislava Castle...
is from the year 1992, before 1989 Slovakia was totalitarian
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
. Slovakia has abolished the death penalty.
Roma minority
The Roma form a sizeable minorty in SlovakiaSlovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, although oficially counting only 90.000 in reality the number is approximately half million. Of this, 330.000 live in "unfavourable social conditions", an euphemism for being beyond the line of poverty, many of them living in Roma settlements . In the year 2000 there were 620 such settlements in Slovakia, by 2009 their number increased to 691. Here, people live in self-made houses constructed on land they do not own, settlements are often without electricity, waste disposal or sanitary water.
The situation of Roma in Slovakia is an issue where both local and foreign observers consistently agree on the magnitude of the problem as well as its urgency and importance. The key issues being stressed on both sides of the debate seem to differ quite radically, however, an example being various Slovak governmental proposal of taking the Roma children from their homes into boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
s, which is considered to be one of the best solutions to the education of the local Roma people in Slovakia, an idea that has been severely criticized from abroad.
Issues concerning the Roma minority
- Segregation of the Roma minority
- Forced evictions
- Discrimination during hiring
- High percentage of Roma children ending up in special schools for the mentally handicapped
- High recreational drug use consisting primarily of tobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, alcoholAlcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and tolueneTolueneToluene, formerly known as toluol, is a clear, water-insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, i.e., one in which a single hydrogen atom from the benzene molecule has been replaced by a univalent group, in this case CH3.It is an aromatic...
Law enforcement issues
Law enforcement in SlovakiaLaw enforcement in Slovakia
Law enforcement in Slovakia is divided among various agencies under the Slovak ministries of Interior, Justice, Traffic, Defense, Finance and local governments within the Republic. The Slovak Secret Service also lists among its tasks those usually reserved for the police force, for example...
is divided between numerous government agencies and features a wide selection of actual law enforcement units, ranging from "ordinary" Police to Railway Police or Financial Police. Most of these units have wide-ranging authority, having the right to suspend most basic human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. There were never any purges within these units after the overthrow of the communist regime in 1989 and many working procedures were left intact.
Issues concerning Law enforcement
- Misuse of power in the Slovak police
- Physical abuse of both accused and witnesses
- Casual abuse of selected groups by the police, particularly Roma, prostitutes and recreational drug users
Other known issues
- Forcing the Hungarian minority to speak Slovak through language legislatureLanguage law of SlovakiaThe state language law of Slovakia fixes the status and regulates the use of the Slovak language. It took force in 1995 and underwent a major amendment in 2009....
- Poor LGBTLGBTLGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights implementation (as an illustration, the first Bratislava Rainbow Pride on May 22, 2010 ended with several attendees beat up) - Drug possession criminalisation (in most cases punishable by a stricter sentence than rapeRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
or assaultAssaultIn law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
) - Immigration issues (for example the expulsion of Mustapha Labsi in violation with international law)
- Various loopholes in legislature make Slovakia a target for international arms dealers (making shipments for example from Slovakia to LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
in 2001, in violation of a U.N. embargo) - Political surveillance use
- Corruption in the judiciary, lengthy pretrial detention, lengthy trials
- Domestic violenceDomestic violenceDomestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
against women and children
National human rights organisations
- Slovak National Centre for Human Rights - its aim is to implement and promote a modern human rights protection system in the Slovak Republic. It was established in 1993 under the UN Project (SLO/94/AH/2): Establishment of a National Institute for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, and under the International Agreement between the Government of the Slovak Republic and the United Nations Organization on Establishing the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights (published in the Collection of Laws under No 29/1995 Coll.). In the period 2004 to 2008 the Centre registered more than 1900 complaints objecting discrimination and over 2000 instigations pointing out to the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in various fields. According to the complainants the equal treatment principle has been violated most often in employment relations and similar legal relations as well as in supply of goods and services.
- Slovak Ombudsman - is an independent body aimed at the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms of natural persons and legal entities within the scope and in a way stated by law in proceedings before public administration bodies and other public authorities provided their acting, decision making or failure to act is in contrary to legal order. Ombudsman is a foreign word rarely used in Slovak languageSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
and the Office of the Ombudsman is virtually unknown in the country.
See also
- LGBT rights in Slovakia
- Life imprisonment in Slovakia
- Human trafficking in SlovakiaHuman trafficking in SlovakiaSlovak Republic is a source, transit, and limited destination country for women and girls from Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Balkans, the Baltics, and China trafficked to Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, and Slovenia for...