Slovakia should give more support to the education of children from Roma ethnic communities, according to a report published by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance of the Council of Europe (ECRI) on Tuesday. It states that many Roma ethnics still live in conditions of segregation, discrimination and extreme poverty. ECRI drew particular attention to Roma children, who are often unable to attend pre-school facilities and learn Slovak before entering primary school. ECRI therefore calls on the competent authorities to build a sufficient number of kindergartens and to train and recruit the teaching staff needed to teach Slovak to Roma children. It also called on the authorities to end the segregation of Roma in specific schools and classes, which still affects too many Roma children. On the other hand, it welcomed initiatives to restore Roma confidence in the police, such as plans to recruit around 2,000 Roma as members of civilian patrols. However, according to the commission, more needs to be done in this area as well, especially as regards the investigation of police violence against the Roma.
Other recommended measures include strengthening the independence of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights, ending discrimination against Romani women in maternity wards in hospitals, and setting up an independent committee of inquiry to investigate the current practice of sterilizing Romani women and introducing a system of compensation. Roma ethnics represent about 10% of Slovakia's population.
