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Czech authorities should adopt broader measures to end school segregation of Roma children

The Commissioner published today her submission to the Committee of Ministers in the context of the supervision of the execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 2007 in the case of D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic.

This case relates to the violation of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 (right to education) on account of the fact that children were assigned to special education as a result of their Roma origin.

Commissioner Mijatović notes that the measures taken to improve the inclusion of Roma children in mainstream education have not provided the breakthrough necessary to solve the deep-rooted inequalities that underlie discrimination against Roma children in education. She emphasises the need for broader measures that look more widely at a whole range of issues including the impact of institutionalised anti-Gypsyism, poverty, social exclusion and territorial segregation; the protection of Roma children from hostility and violence; resistance to inclusion from professionals and the public at large; and the inclusion in the school curriculum of human rights, non-discrimination and awareness of Roma history and culture and the relevant teacher training.

The Commissioner also recommends several steps to ensure the sustainability of the inclusion of Roma children in mainstream, quality education, building on positive measures already in place. In this context, she also points to guidance provided in the Position Paper ‘Fighting school segregation in Europe through inclusive education’ (also available in Czech).

Strasbourg 09/11/2020
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