Amnesty international

amnesty international
Concerns in Europe and

Central Asia

January – June 2003
SLOVAKIA

This country entry has been extracted from a forthcoming Amnesty International report, CONCERNS IN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA: January - June 2003 (AI Index: EUR 01/013/2003), to be issued in October 2003. Anyone wishing further information on other Amnesty International concerns in Europe and Central Asia should consult the full document.

Forcible sterilization of Romani Women

In February Amnesty International wrote to Pál Csáky, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Human and Minority Rights, expressing concern about allegations of forced sterilization of Romani women in Slovakia The organization was also concerned that the investigation into these allegations appeared not to be conducted independently, thoroughly and impartially as required by international law, that some of the victims had been reportedly threatened and harassed by the investigators, and that the government, in breach of internationally recognized principles, had intimidated human rights defenders who reported on the alleged forced sterilization.
Following the publication of a report by the Center for Reproductive Rights and Poradna pre obcianske a lucske prava (Center for Civil and Human Rights), Body and Soul: Forced Sterilization and Other Assaults on Roma Reproductive Freedom in Slovakia, on 28 January, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister initiated a criminal investigation into the reported allegations. On 12 February, 21 women from Romani settlements in Richnava and Bistrany had been questioned at the Krompachy police station in connection with sterilization procedures to which they had been subjected. The names of 19 women had apparently been given to the police by the staff of the Krompachy hospital. All of the women were taken for questioning by police officers who had come to their homes unannounced. Most of the women did not understand in what capacity they were wanted for questioning nor were they aware of their right to refuse to comply with an orally presented summons. Some women thought that they were being treated as criminal suspects. In view of the poor relations between the police and the local Romani communities such police conduct was perceived, particularly by women, as threatening and degrading. Furthermore the questioning of Romani women concerning sterilization procedure to which they had been subjected had been conducted by male police officers who reportedly demonstrated no sensitivity to the intimate nature of the procedure, the circumstances in which it took place or its effects. At least two women who had claimed to have been forcefully sterilized stated that they were threatened by officers who questioned them. The officers reportedly implied that the women had been induced to claim that they had been forcefully sterilized with promises of financial and other gain. The women were reportedly told that they should sign a criminal complaint for the offence of genocide, although they had no knowledge of, nor had they been instructed about, the significance of the formulation of this charge. At the same time they were told that they would face imprisonment of up to three years for false accusation in case their complaint should prove to be false.
A press release issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 28 January 2003 implied that the co-authors of the report, should the allegations in the published report prove true, would be investigated for failing in their legal duty to report a criminal offence. Furthermore, if the allegations in the report are not corroborated, criminal proceedings would be initiated against the authors of the report for “spreading false rumours”.
In March the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to Amnesty International to assure the organization that the investigation into allegations of forcible sterilization of Romani women would be investigated thoroughly and impartially. Among a number of measures that had been put in place to ensure this the Minister of the Interior had appointed a special investigation team, comprising specialist on various issues involved in the case. The team would be based in Žilina, outside the region where the alleged offences had been perpetrated, with staff from departments from all parts of the country. A woman investigator had been appointed as chief of the investigation team. All investigation procedures would be videotaped. The Attorney General’s Office had taken over the monitoring of the investigation. The Deputy Prime Minister had invited Christine McCafferty, Vice-chairperson of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee for Social, Health and Family Affairs to conduct a fact-finding mission regarding the investigation.
On 23 June, the Slovak government reported to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on the criminal and administrative investigations being conducted into allegations of forced and coerced sterilization in Slovakia and stated the Slovak government’s assurance that it will not pursue criminal proceedings against the authors of Body and Soul.