The Slovak Republic has created a specific and valuable legal and institutional framework to protect the rights of individuals affiliating to national minorities. Still, significant challenges persist in several fields, particularly regarding the segregation of Roma children in education and, more generally, access of Roma to housing, healthcare and employment, concludes the Council of Europe’s advisory committee on the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities in a newly published opinion.
Goral and Vietnamese minorities given recognition in Slovakia
The Slovak Republic continues to pursue an inclusive approach to the treaty's scope of application. In recent years, it has extended it to the Goral and Vietnamese minorities, joining another 13 national minorities who have access to the rights enshrined in the treaty (Bulgarian, Croat, Czech, German, Hungarian, Jewish, Moravian, Polish, Roma, Russian, Ruthenian, Serb and Ukrainian).
Although the 2021 census showed a decline in the number of individuals declaring an affiliation with a national minority, the advisory committee welcomes that, following a decision to lower the population threshold required from at least 20% to 15%, the number of municipalities where individuals affiliating with national minorities can access language rights has increased by 125, now reaching 763 throughout the country.
Instances of hate speech, especially online, persist, mostly targeting Roma. The advisory committee calls on the authorities to ensure that all cases of hate crime and hate speech reported to law enforcement, the judiciary, and other relevant bodies are effectively investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted and sanctioned.
State must ensure funding is adequate and accessible
The Slovak Republic has adopted a comprehensive anti-discrimination framework covering both the public and private sectors, with the Slovak National Centre for human rights and the Public Defender of Rights playing an important role in handling individual complaints. However, the advisory committee considers that the mandates of these two institutions should be reinforced, and their human and financial resources increased to perform their role effectively.
The Fund for the promotion of the culture of national minorities provides substantial financial support to promote national minorities’ languages and culture, including the production of publications. However, the distribution of funds faces significant administrative burdens and delays. Therefore, expanding the allocation mechanism to cover pluriannual activities has been recommended.
Education in national minority languages
Access to education in national minority languages varies greatly. Education in Hungarian is available in a wide network of schools, alongside bilingual teaching in German, Ruthenian and Ukrainian. However, education in other minority languages is either very limited or non-existent. In contrast, all national minority languages can be studied at university. The opinion calls on the authorities to ensure that education in and/or of minority languages is available in areas where national minority individuals live traditionally or in substantial numbers, if demand is sufficient.
School segregation remains a persistent obstacle for Roma pupils and students to have access to inclusive and quality education, particularly for those from Marginalised Roma Communities. The opinion expresses deep concern about the permanence of two-shift operations in primary schools, the low level of attendance and high dropout rate of Roma pupils and students and their over-representation in so-called “special schools” designed for “mentally disabled children”. The absence of daily school hot meals for many Roma pupils attending classes as a result of the two-shift system and spatial limitations is also an issue of serious concern.
Consequently, the advisory committee urges the Slovak authorities to intensify their efforts to fully implement the Law on education and urgently eliminate all forms of segregation affecting Roma pupils and students in education, and to include them into mainstream education.
Access to and quality of housing for Roma remain an issue
Despite the adoption of several strategies to improve the housing conditions and address the lack of infrastructure in Marginalised Roma Communities, significant challenges still need to be addressed, including access to clean water and sanitation. The advisory committee also urges the authorities to address the long-standing issue of land ownership of informal Roma settlements.
The advisory committee welcomes that the “Healthy Communities” project is running effectively and supporting access to healthcare, although it relies heavily on EU funding. On the other hand, it notes that Roma women and people in remote settlements face unequal access to healthcare. It also calls for the adoption of legislation to allow all women who have undergone forced sterilisation to be compensated and for campaigns to raise awareness among the women concerned.
The advisory committee issues ten priority recommendations to the Slovak authorities to improve compliance with the framework convention and address the shortcomings identified. The opinion has been published together with the authorities’ comments.
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The Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities is Europe’s most comprehensive treaty protecting the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. It is the first legally binding multilateral instrument devoted to the protection of national minorities worldwide, and its implementation is monitored by an advisory committee composed of independent experts. The treaty entered into force on 1 February 1998 and is now in force in 38 states.
Summary of the opinion in Slovak
The Council of Europe’s work with Slovakia on national minorities
