Non-discrimination

Participants in that session considered that diversity was not yet conceived as a positive value in Czech society. In that context, they felt that official data on discrimination was lacking and that effective protection against discrimination remained a challenge. Access to justice for victims of discrimination and vulnerable groups was problematic. It was felt that police lacked sufficient training in this area and that investigations by the general inspection of police forces did not lead to a truly visible outcome. Legal assistance was very formal, for example migrants would need to turn to private lawyers in the absence of sufficient funding for CSOs offering similar aid free of charge. The Czech authorities mentioned that data on hate crime were actually collected, although they did not cover all grounds for discrimination. They gave information on training programmes to better identify and protect victims.

Participants explained that several institutions were in place to deal with discrimination issues, but that their modality of work needed to be improved. The Government Council for Human Rights had not met regularly in the last few years and some participants felt that the Government Council for Gender Equality did not have enough influence. It was noted that the position of Minister for Human Rights and Equal Opportunities disappeared a few years ago, and that the Public Defender of Rights was not keen on working on issues concerning minorities, migrants and gender equality. Funding for CSOs dealing with discrimination, for example in migration and gender areas, mostly came from the EU rather than State level. The Czech authorities acknowledged that there had been a pause in the meetings of the Government Council for Human Rights, but that these had since resumed, including virtually during COVID times. An extension of the mandate of the Public Defender of Rights was under consideration.

CSO representatives explained that the Czech Diversity Charter was adopted by some big companies like multinationals, but they felt that employers in smaller companies approached migrants more as an opportunity for cheap labour rather than through the positive angle of diversity. A participant also considered that trade unions did not integrate enough migrants amongst their ranks, too often associating them with social dumping. Similarly, local municipalities in industrial areas did not know how to deal with the integration of migrant workers. Participants also explained that third country 
nationals did not have full access to health care – they could not benefit from public insurance and had to contract private ones, offering less protection and reimbursement.

Participants shared their feeling that there was little general awareness and very little political support for gender equality. The position of women in the political world was insufficient beyond a few exceptions at top level. There was a positive but slow trend towards more female candidates in the 
general election. Generally speaking, women benefited from a good level of education but this did not translate into more representation in top positions of public companies. Women could benefit from long maternity leave, which was positive but also challenging to regain access to the job market, especially in the absence of adapted part-time jobs.

It was explained that gender violence had increased during the COVID-19 crisis. Despite this worrying development, the State budget available for CSOs working on gender equality and gender violence was considered very low. Participants explained how some politicians led a disinformation campaign associating any activity in that area with a so-called "gender ideology" under foreign influence, and how they used this as an argument to limit financial and political support. Participants expressed their hope that the Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence would be on the parliament's agenda in the coming months. The Czech authorities called for a distinction between the issue of the ratification of the Istanbul Convention and actual concrete actions led by the government, and they considered that the Government Council for Gender Equality worked well.

CSO representatives explained that a registered partnership existed for gay and lesbians since 2006, but that since then no legislation was passed to protect the rights of LGBTIQ persons. They appreciated that a comfortable majority of the Czech population was in favour of equal marriage for all, but regretted that politicians were not more daring, having let a bill stall in Parliament since 2018. A bill on child foster care for unmarried couples was similarly blocked in the initial parliamentary stage. They also regretted that the strategy prepared by the committee on sexual minorities of the Government Council for Human Rights had not been transmitted to the government. Participants also mentioned that LGBTIQ persons did not report the majority of hate speech and hate crime to the police. They also pointed out that the country still had to adapt its legislation to implement a decision by the European Committee of Social Rights concerning transgender people. The decision stated that the Czech law violated the right to health of transgender people by imposing sterilisation before they changed identity on their personal documents. The Czech authorities said that a bill had been prepared to adapt the law and that it was ready for consideration by the next government.

CSO representatives explained that the situation of Roma people was generally approached by authorities as a social issue rather than an issue of discrimination. Roma people faced discrimination in access to housing, health, education and employment, despite the existence of programmes for inclusion through work. They considered that special schools for Roma children were actually segregated schools. A law was recently passed to compensate Roma women who were victims of forced sterilisation, but adequate implementation was uncertain due to the difficulty in presenting evidence to the compensation committee or in seeking legal remedy without an effective system of legal aid.