Annual Report Discrimination 2015

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95
Headway made in combating discrimination
1. Legislative progress and positive case
law across Europe and in Spain
The European Commission initiates an infrin-
gement procedure against the Czech Republic
and Slovakia for their school segregation poli-
cies affecting Roma students
In 2014 the European Commission initiated an infringe-
ment procedure against the Czech Republic for dis-
crimination against Roma children in schools, a practice
infringing European non-discrimination law.
Theoretically the affair could come before the Europe-
an Court of Justice this year (2016). The Czech Republic
is the first country to have an infringement procedure
initiated by the Commission for its discriminatory pol-
icies against the Roma ethnic group. These anti-Roma
segregation policies were already under attack by a
conviction delivered by the European Court of Human
Rights in 2007 (D.H. and others v. the Czech Republic
org/actualidad/archivo/24487.
html), but to date this country has simply ignored that
judgment.
“We are now in the final stage of our evaluation of the
Czech response; Roma children should have the oppor-
tunity to get the same education as any other child”
stressed the EU Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourová.
Furthermore, in 2015 the Community executive initiat-
ed an infringement procedure against Slovakia for the
same practice as that country also segregated Roma
students in “special” schools for the mentally challenged
where the academic level is very low thus seriously lim-
iting future opportunities for Roma children.
A recent Amnesty International report also pointed out
that Roma students continue to face widespread dis-
crimination in Slovakian schools despite the many suits
filed by human rights organisations and the judgment
handed down by the Slovakian regional court itself
(Presov).
It is essential for the European Commission to employ
existing instruments and mechanisms to demand that
Member States uphold European law regarding equality
and anti-discrimination. The European Union has a ro-
bust legal framework in this area but the main problem
today is the scant or weak practical enforcement of
the law.
Amnesty International Reports:
discrimination/roma/european-commission-takestough-
er-stance-on-member-states-discriminatingroma-0892/
16000/eur720012013en.pdf
Judgement from the Court of Justice of the region of
Presov:
slovak-court-rules-segregation-roma-schools-unlaw-
ful/