Slovak RepublicCountry Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 6, 2007
The Slovak Republic, with a population of approximately 5.4 million, is
a multiparty parliamentary democracy led by a prime minister and a 150
member Narodna Rada (National Council). The head of government, Prime
Minister Robert Fico of the Smer (Direction-Social Democracy) Party, was
elected for a four year term in June. President Ivan Gasparovic serves as
head of state and was elected for a five year term in 2004. Both elections
were free and fair. Six political parties, three of which comprise the
governing coalition, sit in the National Council. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces. The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens;
however, there were problems in some areas. Notable human rights problems
included lengthy pretrial detention; restrictions on freedom of religion;
corruption in the judiciary, local government, and the health sector;
violence against women and children; trafficking in persons; and societal
discrimination and violence against Roma. The overall human rights
situation did not significantly change during the year; however, a report
was released that noted mistreatment of persons, particularly Roma, by
police that occurred in recent years. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From: a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life There were no reports that the government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings. In the case of seven police officers charged with inhuman and degrading
treatment in connection with the 2001 death of a Romani man in police
custody, a new regional court judge reviewed the proceedings when the
original judge in the case departed for another position in May 2005. The
trial had not begun by year's end. The accused, who were dismissed from
the police force, were not in detention. b. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment The constitution and the law prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman,
and degrading treatment or punishment, and the government generally
respected these provisions in practice. In February-March 2005, the European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visited the
country, inspecting police stations, prisons, social services homes and,
for the first time, psychiatric establishments. The CPT's report on the
visit, which was publicly released on February 2, noted that the committee
received a significant amount of information indicating mistreatment of
detainees by law enforcement agencies. The types of mistreatment alleged
consisted mainly of slaps, punches and kicks, or blows with hard objects
such as batons. Some persons claimed they had been struck with pistol
butts, flashlights, or plastic bottles filled with water. In a notable
proportion of these cases the victims were Roma. In one example, a prisoner alleged that, at the time of his
apprehension in 2004, police in Kosice punched him in the face and struck
him on the back with a flashlight after he obeyed a police order to stand
with his hands pressed against a wall. He also alleged he was beaten
during his transport to the police station and thereafter. The prisoner's
medical file at the Kosice Prison, recording his examination four days
later, noted that he displayed "a hematoma above the left scapula the size
of the whole shoulder blade and hematoma under the lower right eyelid."
Published at the same time as the CPT's report, the government response
noted that an internal investigation into the complaint was dismissed as
unsubstantiated and the detainee did not file an appeal upon notification
of the dismissal. In its response to the report, the government listed
extensive internal control procedures as safeguards against mistreatment
and in investigating such allegations. The response disagreed with CPT
observations that, in practice, not all safeguards were implemented in all
cases. Nongovernmental organization (NGO) sources and members of the Romani
community cited a continuing, though lessening, trend of mistreatment of
Romani suspects by police officers during arrest and while in police
custody. The CPT report noted that a significant proportion of cases of
alleged police mistreatment examined involved Roma. The government refuted
the committee's assertion with the explanation that, "to prevent
discrimination," authorities did not ascertain the ethnic origin of
alleged victims of police abuse. While the law prevents the recording of
an individual's ethnicity in official documents, observers with experience
in Romani issues agreed that it was disingenuous of the government to
imply that police officers were unaware of the ethnicity of a suspect at
the time of arrest or during subsequent detainment. During the year police implemented a pilot project to provide special
training on Romani culture and language to 118 police officers who worked
in districts covering Romani communities in the Kosice and Presov regions.
Additionally, the Bratislava branch of post-secondary schooling for police
offered an elective course in Romani language and culture. Prison and Detention Center Conditions Prison conditions generally met international standards; however,
overcrowding continued to be a problem. Six out of 10 prisoners worked in
prisons; the average wage was $0.57 (16.97 korunas) per hour, based on a
national standard set by the director general of the Prison and Justice
Police Corps. The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers. The February 2 CPT report indicated widespread overcrowding in prisons
and pretrial detention (remand) centers, noting an overall occupancy rate
of 102 percent with the larger burden falling on the pretrial detention
centers. Since the time of the CPT visit, the government enacted
legislative changes to address prison conditions, in force since January.
As a result, the overcrowding situation improved, although a prison
official acknowledged that more time and funding will be required to
implement all of the necessary modifications. During the year the number
of prisoners and detainees totaled 8,249, a decrease from the 9,500 at the
time of the CPT visit. The change in legislation mandated that
institutional capacity be measured at four square meters of cell space per
prisoner for women and juveniles, a CPT-recommended increase from the
previous three-and-a-half square meters, although this lower area remained
the standard for male prisoners. Overall usage of prison and pretrial
detention center capacity was 79 percent during the year, although one of
the 18 facilities continued to have a usage rate over 100 percent
capacity. The CPT made a number of recommendations, to which the government
responded in a published report. According to the government's published
response, the government implemented some CPT recommendations but deemed
others unnecessary. Regarding allegations of police mistreatment, the
government acknowledged that "isolated incidents of human failure" have
occurred, but denied any generalized trends of mistreatment and of all the
specific cases cited by the CPT. d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention The constitution and the law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention,
and the government generally observed these prohibitions. Role of the Police and Security Apparatus The national police has sole responsibility for internal and border
security and reports to the Ministry of Interior. The head of the police
force reports directly to the minister of interior, who has the authority
to recall any member of the police. Human rights observers charged that
police investigators were occasionally reluctant to take the testimony of
witnesses, particularly Roma, women, and the homeless. They also contended
that, on occasion, police failed to promptly and thoroughly investigate
cases involving Roma. Instances of police corruption and misconduct were reported, primarily
in the form of extorting bribes during traffic stops. Headed by a director
who reports directly to the minister of interior, the Bureau for the
Inspection Service of the Police Corps at police headquarters is
responsible for investigating police abuses. Cases may be initiated by,
among others, the inspection service, the Police Corps, the police
antiorganized crime unit, and individual citizens. In November police
arrested two active police officers, at least one of whom served in a
commando unit, and a former police officer on charges of murder. The
investigation was pending at year's end. In 2005 charges were brought
against 195 police officers, fewer than the previous year. The most common
charge was abuse of power. Other charges included battery, assault and
battery, and illegal intrusion into private homes. There were some indications that impunity was a problem. In its
February 2 report, the CPT reviewed official actions in two cases of
alleged police abuse. The cases involved the 2004 death of Radoslav Puky,
whose body was found in a Trebisov canal 10 days after he disappeared
during a police operation in the area, and "J.H.," a 17-year-old male who
alleged that police beat and injured him after he was taken into custody
in Trebisov in 2004. In the Puky case, the report noted that investigators
looking into police actions made no attempt to examine a five- to
eight-day discrepancy between the first and second expert opinions on the
probable date of Puky's death, took only perfunctory action to investigate
the report that police beat Puky before he disappeared, and did not
interview any of the officers that participated in the police operation.
In its review of the allegations by J.H., the CPT identified inaction by
police, prosecutors, and judicial authorities with regards to allegations
and medical evidence that indicated possible police mistreatment or the
failure of police officers to respect J.H.'s legal rights. The government
response to the CPT observations noted that several investigations into
the Puky case resulted in the same conclusion of drowning without the
involvement of another person and the final complaint filed on behalf of
Puky's family members was dismissed in July 2005. The government asserted
that in its review of the J.H. case procedures were appropriately
followed, including during the investigation of his allegation of
mistreatment. During the year a local NGO concluded its program to train police
officers in human rights. The program included a train-the-trainers
component, giving police training facilities the capability to provide
training in-house. An instructor at a police training facility verified
that human rights training remained on the curriculum. Arrest and Detention The constitution and the law stipulate that a person can only be taken
into custody for explicit reasons and must be immediately informed of the
reasons for detainment. A written court warrant is required for arrest.
The court must grant a hearing to a person accused of a crime within 48
hours (or a maximum of 72 hours for "serious cases," defined as violent
crimes, treason, or other crimes in which the expected charges could bring
a minimum sentence of at least eight years) and either release or remand
the individual. Detainees have the right to consult with an attorney
immediately and must be notified of this right. The government provides
free counsel to indigent detainees. If remanded by a court, the accused is
entitled to an additional hearing within 48 hours, at which time the judge
must either release the accused or issue a written order placing the
accused in custody. The authorities respected these provisions in
practice. Attorney visits were allowed as frequently as necessary. The law allows
monthly family visits upon request. There was a bail system in place that
functioned effectively. Effective January, a new law on criminal court procedures mandates that
the total time of detention (pretrial plus trial) can not exceed 12 months
in the case of minor offenses, 24 months for regular crimes, 36 months for
severe crimes, and four years for crimes in which the expected sentence is
more than 25 years and that pretrial detention can not account for more
than one-half of that total. In cases with extenuating circumstances, the
Supreme Court may extend pretrial detention to four years. According to
2005 statistics, the average length of pretrial detention was 127 days at
the district court level and 227 days at the regional court level. These
figures represent an increase in the average length of pretrial detention
at the district court level and decrease in length at the regional level.
Pretrial detainees accounted for approximately one third of the total
prison population. Delays in court procedures and investigations frequently led to lengthy
pretrial detentions. During the year judges released four defendants
involved in two criminal murder cases from detention because of maximum
pretrial detention regulations, even as the cases continued in the courts.
Implemented on January 1, a new criminal procedures law introduced the
possibility of plea bargaining. Judges and the prosecutor's office noted
that plea bargaining, which precludes the appeal process, started to
reduce the backlog of court cases. The number of criminal cases that
concluded with plea bargaining was low in the first six months, but
increased rapidly in the second half of the year. Of the 27,470 cases
submitted to court, 2,914 cases were completed with plea bargains. e. Denial of Fair Public Trial The law provides for an independent judiciary; however, problems with
corruption and inefficiency in the judiciary continued, despite a series
of reforms implemented in 2005 and 2006 by the Ministry of Justice to
decrease corruption and improve efficiency within the court system. There are eight regional courts. The Supreme Court, consisting of 70
active judges, is the highest court of appeals. The Constitutional Court,
with 13 judges serving 12 year terms, is independent of the Ministry of
Justice and rules on cases regarding the constitution and international
treaties, considers cases in which constitutional provisions are in
conflict, and hears complaints about violations of basic rights and
freedoms. At year's end, three Constitutional Court seats remained vacant.
The Judicial Council, a constitutionally recognized independent body of
lawyers and judges, made decisions regarding disciplinary actions,
administrative issues, and appointments of judges. In September 2005 a special court for corruption cases opened and
within approximately one year issued 57 verdicts. In addition to cases of
official corruption, the court hears cases related to high-ranking
government and political figures and organized crime. The court's
decisions may be appealed to the Supreme Court. Cases are generally first heard in the district courts; appeals are
made to the eight regional courts. The Constitutional Court hears cases
involving constitutional or human rights issues; the Supreme Court is the
court of last resort in all legal cases. During the year the disciplinary court took action against 18 judges,
none of which were initiated by the Minister of Justice. In 2005 the
disciplinary court, on the initiation of the ministry, took action against
five judges suspected of corruption and in 2004 disciplined 25 judges,
nine of whom were removed from the bench and two resigned. Other possible
penalties included a reduction in salary and reassignment to lower courts.
A computerized system for random case assignment functioned at almost
every level of the courts to increase transparency. Transparency
International reported in 2004 that 59 percent of citizens viewed the
courts as corrupt. In a similar study during the year, 47 percent of the
public considered the courts corrupt. Trial Procedures Persons charged with criminal offenses are entitled to fair and open
public trials and have the right to be informed of the charges against
them. However, NGO observers stated that in practice corruption among
judges infringed on a person's right to a fair trial. Defendants enjoy a
presumption of innocence, have the right to refuse self incrimination, and
may appeal adverse judgments. They are also presumed innocent during the
appeals process, meaning that a person found guilty by a court does not
serve their imposed sentence nor pay any fine until the final decision on
appeal is reached. The law does not provide for jury trials. A panel of
three judges is obligatory in criminal cases and in civil cases at the
regional court and Supreme Court levels. Defendants have the right to be
present, consult in a timely manner with an attorney at government
expense, have access to government held evidence, confront witnesses
against them, and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Military courts hear cases concerning civilians suspected of war
treason and provide the same rights as the regular court system. Political Prisoners and Detainees There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees. Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies Citizens have unrestricted access to an independent judiciary to bring
lawsuits in civil matters including human rights violations. Courts that
hear civil cases are subject to the same delays as criminal courts and are
also perceived as being corrupt. Administrative remedies are available in
certain cases. The National Center for Human Rights has the authority to
provide mediation for cases of discrimination and to act as legal
representation for claimants in court. From January through September, the ombudsman's office determined that,
of the thousands of complaints received, 117 delays in court proceedings
constituted violations of the rights of the claimants. The majority of
those violations involved delays of five or more years. In September the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) awarded a woman
$7,470 (5,700 euros) for significant delays in her civil court case. Property Restitution The 2003 law on property restitution provides citizens a second
opportunity to apply for the return of land confiscated by the state
between 1948 and 1990. Under this law 48,173 cases were filed. Through
June 11,197 of these claims had been resolved and the lands returned; in
4,747 other cases, the land was unavailable or impossible to return, and
financial reimbursement was made instead. These figures represent a
doubling in the number of resolved claims over the course of a year. A
lack of historical documentation prolonged the process and prevented many
cases from being resolved. In August the Constitutional Court ruled that the law providing for the
transfer to the state of land without an identifiable owner is against the
right to own property as guaranteed in the constitution. This decision
negates a deadline specified in the law, with the effect that there is no
time limit for claimants to file for return of their property, for which
ownership records were destroyed or obfuscated during the Communist
era. f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence The constitution and the law prohibit such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. Police must present a warrant before conducting a search or within 24
hours afterwards. Unlike in previous years, there were no documented cases
of police entering Romani homes without search warrants, although
observers believed such practices continued to occur. In 2005 provisions of a law went into effect, requiring that
sterilizations be performed only at the request of the patient and only
after 30 days had passed since the initial request. The law was prompted
by NGO charges in previous years that doctors performed coerced or forced
sterilization on Romani women. No victims of sterilization without informed consent received financial
redress for the sterilization itself, although the government acknowledged
in a 2003 report that the procedures had taken place. In September 2005
the general prosecutor's office announced that no criminal charges would
be filed. The government stated that any woman who believed she was a
victim of forced sterilization had the right to sue. According to the
government, one court case against the hospital in Gelnica concluded in
2003 with a finding that unlawful sterilization did not occur. While exact
numbers were not available, a handful of civil suits, filed with the help
of a local NGO, were ongoing at year's end. On December 13, the Constitutional Court ruled that regional-level
prosecutors had violated the constitution and European Convention on Human
Rights by improperly closing the investigation of a claim by three Romani
women that they had been sterilized without informed consent. While the
Constitutional Court did not rule on whether sterilization without
informed consent had occurred, it awarded the claimants $1,850 (50,000
korunas) each due to procedural violations committed by prosecutors during
the case. The court instructed the prosecution to reopen its investigation
into the alleged sterilizations, and further proceedings were pending at
year's end. In 2004 with the help of NGOs, eight Romani women who suspected they
had been sterilized without their knowledge filed a case with the ECHR
when hospitals allegedly denied them access to their own medical records.
Four of the women subsequently received access to their medical files and
at least one discovered she had been sterilized during a caesarean
section. The remaining four women continued to be denied access to their
medical records despite a government decree ordering hospitals to give
women access to these records; the case was ongoing at year's end. Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including: a. Freedom of Speech and Press The constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech and of the
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
The law prohibits the defamation of nationalities, punishable by up to
three years in prison, and denying the Holocaust, which carries a sentence
of six months' to three years' imprisonment. During the year police
investigated 163 cases under the four articles in the criminal code that
cover propagating an ideology that suppresses the right of others, public
display of emblems or other signs or slogans supporting movements which
suppress the basic rights of others including denial of the Holocaust,
defamation of an ethnicity or race, and agitation is support of ethnic or
racial hatred. Additionally, police investigated 25 cases of racially
motivated violence or injury. Of these 188 investigations, 107 were
prosecuted. There was no information available n the number of persons
convicted and imprisoned during the year under these provisions. The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views
without restriction. The Constitutional Court continued to examine the
constitutional merits of the law governing the state funded news agency,
which was allegedly subject to political influence and noncompetitive
practices; the case was ongoing at year's end In February the court ruled in favor of a former Supreme Court chairman
in a civil libel case. The court ordered a daily newspaper to apologize
and pay damages of $100,000 (three million korunas) to the former judge
for news stories and cartoons concerning the salary bonuses for judges and
lack of use of the random electronic system to assign court cases to
judges. The newspaper indicated that it would appeal the decision. The
Slovak Syndicate of Journalists stated that the decision set a dangerous
precedent which could deter the independence of the media. In July the
plaintiff in the case became the minister of justice. In 2004 the former
prime minister filed libel suits against the daily newspaper Pravda for
$166,000 (five million korunas) and a second suit against newspaper SME
for libel. Both cases were ongoing at year's end. Internet Freedom There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or
reports that the government monitored e-mails; however, police monitored
Internet sites hosting hate speech and attempted to arrest or fine the
authors. The law defines hate speech as speech that publicly threatens an
individual or group based on nationality, ethnicity, race, skin color, or
that publicly incites the restriction of rights and freedoms of such an
individual or group. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. Based
on 2005 data from the International Telecommunications Union, 46 percent
of the population uses the Internet. Internet access was generally
available across the country. Academic Freedom and Cultural Events There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural
events. b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association Freedom of Assembly The constitution and the law provide for freedom of assembly, and the
government generally respected this right in practice. In September police broke up a neo Nazi rally in Turecka, temporarily
detaining 17 persons and then later charging six with propagating an
ideology that suppresses the rights of others and riotous conduct. The
investigation was ongoing at year's end. Freedom of Association The constitution and the law provide for freedom of association and the
government generally respected this right in practice. However, the law
requires organizations to pay a nominal registration fee, and stipulates
that those registering as foundations have "substantial" financial
resources of approximately $6,000 (180,000 korunas) to operate. During the
year no organization was denied registration or faced any other
limitations on its operations. c. Freedom of Religion The constitution and the law provide for freedom of religion, and the
government generally respected this right in practice. Religious groups must have 20,000 permanent resident supporters in
order to register with the government. Registered groups received state
subsidies for clergy and office expenses and the right to visit and
proselytize in prisons and hospitals. Unregistered religious groups are
prohibited from conducting legal marriage ceremonies. There were 16
registered religious groups, with a 17th receiving registration approval
in October. Catholicism was the dominant religion due to the number of
adherents and so received larger subsidies; however, there is no official
state religion. On September 22, during a petition drive to gather signatures, local
police in Trnava told 12 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to stop collecting signatures and leave the
city. The signature collectors departed peacefully and did not file an
official complaint. Trnava city officials stated that the police
instruction stemmed from citizens' complaints of harassment. Members of
the LDS Church did not experience police or any other official
intimidation in the approximately 30 other cities where they conducted
their petition drive. There were isolated incidents of locals protesting
against the signature collectors, which included shoving. On September 26, the LDS Church presented a petition with over 20,000
supporting signatures to the Ministry of Culture in order to register as a
religious group. On October 18, the government officially recognized the
LDS Church. Church leaders stated that they did not face any obstacles
once the registration application was submitted. In previous years leaders of a number of minority religious communities
in particular Muslims, smaller Protestant churches, the Hare Krishna
community, and the Church of Scientology complained that the large
membership requirement effectively barred them from obtaining official
status, although these smaller religions experienced no restrictions on
assembly and worship. The government monitored but did not interfere with the peaceful
practices of religious sects. A 2004 law requires public elementary school students to take either a
religion or an ethics class. Critics of the law claimed students may be
denied the choice in poorer rural schools or socially pressured to choose
religious classes. The law also allows government funded religious schools
to remove material inconsistent with church beliefs from the curricula.
In 2005 a law permitted religious organizations to claim property taken
between May 8, 1945 (November 2, 1938 for the Jewish community) and
January 1, 1990, and established April 30, 2006 as the filing deadline.
With the exception of the Reformed Christian Church, religious groups had
few remaining claims for unreturned property. Several religious
institutions noted that they could not provide precise data on the few
claims outstanding since many of their branches operated more-or-less
independently. The Reformed Christian Church had outstanding claims for
approximately 70 church premises (church schools, teachers' facilities,
etc.) that were owned by individual parishes and nationalized by the
Communist government after 1948. Societal Abuses and Discrimination Jewish community leaders and 2001 census data estimated that the Jewish
community numbered approximately 3,000 persons. Anti Semitism persisted
among organized neo Nazi groups, estimated to have 500 active members and
from 3,000 to 5,000 sympathizers. In April vandals desecrated a monument to Jewish Holocaust victims in
Rimavska Sobota with posters showing Hitler's picture, a red eagle holding
a swastika, and racist text. An investigation turned up no suspects as of
year's end. In June police charged a 21-year-old man for disorderly
conduct in connection with the vandalism of the monument. He was convicted
and sentenced to one year in prison, plus two years' probation. In August unknown perpetrators overturned gravestones in a Jewish
cemetery in Ruzomberok. That same month, vandals painted swastikas on
graves at a Jewish cemetery in Rajec. In these cases, police opened
investigations but did not find the culprits. As of year's end, both
investigations were shelved. In January 2005 juveniles vandalized 19 tombstones in a Jewish cemetery
in Ruzemberok. A court trial for the juvenile suspects was pending at
year's end. The law prohibits the defamation of nationalities and denying the
Holocaust. In 2005 a publication by the cultural organization Matica
Slovenska questioned the scope and nature of the Holocaust, suggesting
that the deportation of the country's Jewish population to concentration
camps was simply part of a "resettlement program." The Ministry of Interior actively pursued violent extremist groups, and
police monitored Internet web pages hosting hate speech and attempted to
arrest or fine the authors. The government continued implementing its action plan to fight
discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and anti Semitism. During the year the
government organized educational programs on minority and human rights
issues. High school and university curricula promoted tolerance, and
students could also compete in annual essay contests that focused on human
rights issues. The Jewish community expressed concern that some media
coverage in the country exhibited anti Semitic undertones. On December 27, the archbishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of
Bratislava-Trnava stated during a television interview that he respected
Father Jozef Tiso, the World War II-era leader of the Slovak fascist state
which deported tens of thousands of Slovak Jews, Roma, and others to their
deaths in German concentration camps. He added that the country enjoyed a
period of well-being during Tiso's leadership. Jewish and Romani groups
strongly criticized the statements. On August 4, a memorial to Romani victims of the Holocaust (Porrajmos)
was inaugurated in Dunajska Streda. Government officials, including the
prime minister, and media were well represented at the inaugural ceremony.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International
Religious Freedom Report. d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration,
and Repatriation The constitution and the law provide for these rights, and the
government generally respected them in practice. The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ it.
Protection of Refugees The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in
accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
and its 1967 protocol, and the government had an established system for
providing some protection to refugees. In practice the government provided
protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country where
they feared persecution. However, the government did not routinely grant
refugee status or asylum. The government also provided temporary protection to individuals who
may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention and the 1967
protocol. The law provides for temporary protection, classified as
"tolerated residence," which is granted if asylum is denied and the
individual is not eligible for deportation to his or her country of origin
due to administrative problems or fear for the person's safety. In
December the National Council passed a law that widens the categories for
which an asylum seeker can claim protection. The amended law allows for
asylum to be granted in cases where the individual would otherwise face
the death penalty or cruel or humiliating treatment if denied asylum. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting
refugees and asylum seekers. During the year four refugees received citizenship. According to
national migration office statistics, 2,871 new cases were opened, eight
persons received asylum, 861 were denied refugee status, and 1,940 cases
were terminated. As in 2005 the number of persons seeking asylum in the
country continued on a significant downward trend, according to the
UNHCR. In March the UNHCR investigated alleged claims of mistreatment in
asylum centers based on reports from an Austrian organization that aids
refugees. The majority of the allegations were found to be untrue, with
exceptions such as a dog bite suffered by an asylum seeker. On April 13, several dozen asylum seekers went on a brief hunger strike
at the refugee center in Medvedov. The UNHCR monitored the situation. In
June the Ministry of Interior launched a project to improve care for
asylum seekers in the areas of social, legal, and psychological support
and to increase leisure activities. In 2004 the director of one of the country's alien detention facilities
in Adamov was arrested on suspicion of illegal migrant smuggling. He was
released and transferred to a different assignment pending the completion
of the investigation, which was ongoing at year's end. Interpol
participated in the investigation. Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change
Their Government The constitution and the law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage. Elections and Political Participation On June 17, citizens voted six political parties into the National
Council in free and fair elections. Three of the six parties then formed
the governing coalition The party of the new Prime Minister Robert Fico
received 29 percent of the national vote. A political party must receive
at least five percent of the ballots cast to enter the National Council.
In the June elections, voters had the option to mark a preferential vote
for an individual candidate on a political party list, in addition to
voting for a party. While election observers reported instances of vote buying in the
eastern part of the country, they noted that it had no impact on the final
election results for the National Council. Vote buying appeared to be
organized at the local level and aimed at Romani voters. There were 29 women in the 150 seat National Council, 36 women on the
70 seat Supreme Court, and one woman in the 16 member cabinet. The law prohibits collecting information on ethnicity, and it was not
possible to determine the number of members of minorities in government.
No member of the cabinet claimed minority status. The party of the
Hungarian coalition holds 20 seats in the National Council. Some ethnic
Romani individuals and parties were successful at winning representation
at the local level; however, Roma were consistently underrepresented in
government service, and no Roma were in the National Council. There was no
unified Romani minority party, and several Romani activists reported that
this hampered political participation. NGOs provided political campaign
training to several Romani candidates running in the December local
elections. Government Corruption and Transparency Corruption in the legislative and executive branches was reported and
publicly perceived as a problem. The health care, judiciary, and education
sectors were perceived to be the most corrupt. During the year the country
received a score of 4.7 (on a scale of 10) on Transparency International's
index of public perceptions of corruption, an improvement from 4.3 in
2005. The score indicated a perception that the country has a serious
corruption problem. The government and police cooperated on several
related arrests during the year. Several NGOs and government officials
noted that, in the first half of the year before the change of government
administration, more corruption cases came to light because individuals
were more willing to report bribery cases to the police. In December police released the results of the investigation of the
fatal car crash in June in eastern Slovakia of the director of the
Institute for National Memory, which had custody of and published the
official records of the secret police from the country's wartime fascist
and subsequent communist governments. Observers noted that the
investigation, which concluded that the director was solely at fault,
lacked completeness and transparency and did not fully explore the
possibility that the crash was not accidental. During the year the Special Court issued numerous sentences against
health care workers for taking bribes. Health care is socialized and
primarily run by state institutions. In January the Special Court sentenced the mayor of Velky Meder to two
years and eight months in prison and fined him $9,500 (300,000 korunas);
the equivalent of the bribe he received in April 2005. The mayor appealed
the verdict to the Supreme Court. He remained free, and the law provides
that he does not have to pay the fine until his final appeal is exhausted.
On December 2, the town of Velky Meder re-elected him as mayor. In February a gynecologist was sentenced to 15 months in jail and a
$950 (30,000 korunas) fine for attempting to bribe a family $160 (5,000
korunas) to deliver a baby and $64 (2,000 korunas) for continuing care of
the mother. In March the Special Court sentenced Ladislav Gal, the former director
of a regional land office to seven years in prison and a $5,000 (150,000
korunas) fine for bribery, a case that was initiated in May 2005. In
December the Supreme Court upheld the sentence, the highest imposed on a
state official for bribery. In December 2005 the anticorruption unit of the national police charged
three former officials of the national agency for the support of small and
medium enterprise with fraud following their transfer of nearly $48
million (1.5 billion korunas) to a private company. The company returned
the money to the government after the media exposed the transfer. In June
the police passed the file of one of the accused to the prosecutor's
office in preparation for trial. In August 2005 the minister of economy stepped down because of
allegations of misconduct based on a promissory note worth $3.3 million
(100 million korunas) that he signed while in office. No charges were
brought against him. The special court trial of the mayor of Bratislava Raca for corruption
was postponed because the accused was unable to appear in person; the
trial was ongoing at year's end. Bribery charges were initially filed in
2004. A September trial date for the bribery case of the deputy mayor of
Kosice was postponed because the accused was unable to appear in person.
In December 2005 the special prosecutor for corruption submitted official
charges against the deputy mayor, who was first charged in 2004. He was
held for eight months in pretrial detention before being released, at
which point he appealed his lengthy detention to the ECHR. He has since
resumed the position of deputy mayor. In May 2005 a member of the National Council charged in 2003 with
accepting bribes was found guilty of corruption and sentenced by a
district court to one year in prison. He immediately appealed to the
regional court. While he did not resign from his elected positions in the
National Council and regional parliament, his political party did not
place him on its candidate list for the national elections in June nor the
regional elections in November 2005, thus removing him from office. His
appeal process was ongoing at year's end. The law provides public access to government information; however, NGOs
cited a need for greater public awareness of the responsibility of
government to provide information. A few local government offices denied
information requests without justification or left them unanswered. During
the year the ombudsman's office reported two cases of violation of the
freedom of information as guaranteed by the constitution. Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights A variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials were generally
cooperative and responsive to their views. On June 9, the Slovak National Party (SNS), which was not in the
National Council or government at the time, called for the banning of the
NGO Civic Association for a "Nicer Zilina." The SNS chairman was mayor of
the town of Zilina for 16 years. On June 17, SNS was voted into the
National Council and joined the governing coalition a few weeks later.
Since becoming a part of the National Council and government, SNS has not
repeated its public call to ban the NGO. In June a group of NGOs, including ones that are concerned with human
rights issues, sent an open letter to several European Union commissioners
asking them to rectify the problem of excessive administrative delays in
receiving promised grants from the government, including the distribution
of EU funds. In some cases, the promised funds were more than a year
overdue, causing financial difficulties for some NGOs. Since the new
government took office in July, an NGO representative noted that small
amounts of the backlogged funds had been distributed but remarked that the
administrative delays remained for a significant portion of the funds.
International NGOs generally continued to operate and interact positively
with the government on substantive issues. Domestic NGOs experienced generally positive interaction with the
government until September, when the government announced a proposed
change in the funding mechanism for NGOs. NGOs publicly criticized the
change, which would no longer allow tax payers to designate up to 2
percent of their annual taxes to the central government to be directed to
nonprofit organizations. In December a compromise solution was reached and
approved by the National Council to keep the current funding mechanism for
another year, then to limit the types of NGOs that receive funds through
the mechanism. Relations between domestic NGOs and the government showed
signs of returning to the status quo ante at year's end. Members of the NGO community noted improved communication during the
year with the public defender of rights, commonly known as the ombudsman,
as staffing increased in that office. The ombudsman has cooperation
agreements with several NGOs. The ombudsman provides legal advice to
citizens regarding their rights with respect to public administration
bodies, but cannot represent citizens in their claims. The majority of
verified violations of legal rights received by the ombudsman concerned
delays in court or administrative proceedings. In February the National
Council granted authority to the ombudsman to forward claims directly to
the Constitutional Court. NGOs generally operated without harassment, although the organization
People Against Racism continued to receive occasional threats from
skinhead groups. Intergovernmental international organizations have expressed generally
good cooperation with government entities. Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in
Persons The constitution and the law prohibit discrimination based upon race,
gender, disability, language, or social status; the government effectively
enforced these prohibitions in practice. However, violence against women
and children, trafficking in persons, and discrimination against minority
groups were problems. Women Violence against women continued to be a problem. The law prohibits
domestic violence; however, it was pervasive, and activists claimed that
the government did not enforce the law effectively. During the year there
were 609 incidents of domestic violence reported involving a total of 453
female victims and 58 male victims, some of whom were involved in more
than one incident. Of these cases 357 went to prosecution. The law
provides stricter sentences for violence directed toward members of the
same household, and allows for continued criminal prosecution even when a
spouse drops charges. Domestic violence was punishable by two to 12 years
of imprisonment, depending on the nature of the crime. Domestic violence was often underreported because of the social stigma
associated with being a victim, and statistics did not adequately reflect
the extent of the problem. Official statistics showed a decrease in the
number of reported cases compared to the previous year, which had 694
cases. During the year police provided a training course to its officers on
domestic violence within the framework of a community policing seminar.
The training was complemented by printed reference material. Citing the
lengthy court procedures and increasing caseloads that prevented cases
from being prosecuted efficiently, victims' advocates demanded a better
network of services for abused women, including government funded
treatment centers. In August 2005 the government adopted an action plan to
address some of these problems. The government and NGOs had shelters and
counseling available to victims of domestic abuse. The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape. Although the government
enforced the law effectively, rape was a problem. The sentence for rape is
two to eight years in prison and can be increased to five to 12 years,
depending on the age of the victim and whether brutal force was used. The
sentence may be further increased to 10 to 15 years if the victim died as
a result of the rape. During the year the police investigated 174 cases of
rape, which specialists considered was underreported, and 103 cases were
prosecuted. Rape victims also have access to the shelters and counseling
offered by NGOs and government funded programs. After incidents of coerced sterilization were reported in 2003, the
government implemented several reforms, including amending the laws to
require that sterilizations be performed only at the request of a patient
and only 30 days after such request is made. Alleged victims were able to
pursue claims for damages in civil courts, and NGOs took several cases to
the ECHR (see section 1.f.). Prostitution is legal; however, the law prohibits related activities
such as operating brothels, knowingly spreading sexually transmitted
diseases, or trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
It was unclear to what extent prostitution occurred. There were reports
that women were trafficked into the country for prostitution (see section
5, Trafficking). The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, and there were no
statistics available to measure the frequency or severity of its
occurrence. The government took no action during the year to combat sexual
harassment. Women and men are equal under the law, including family law, property
law, and in the judicial system; however, discrimination against women
remained a problem in practice. The equal opportunity office in the
Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family worked in an advisory
capacity to ensure the legal rights of women. Women, particularly those
aged 35 to 39, typically earned 25 30 percent less than men. Experts
believed that the wage difference was due to large numbers of women
working in low paid occupations, such as the education or social services
sectors. NGOs continued to push for increased opportunities for the
political participation of women. Children The government was committed to children's rights and welfare; the
Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family and the Minsitry of
Education oversaw implementation of the government's programs for
children. Education was universal and free through the postsecondary level
and was compulsory for 10 years, or until the age of 16. The UN Children's
Fund (UNICEF) reported that the rate for primary and secondary school
attendance was approximately 85 percent. Most ethnic Slovak and Hungarian children attended school on a regular
basis, but Romani children exhibited a lower attendance rate. Although
Romani children comprised nearly one fourth of the total number of
children under the age of 16, they were disproportionately enrolled in
schools for the mentally handicapped, despite diagnostic scores that were
often within the normal range of intellectual capacity. In certain
remedial schools in the eastern part of the country, registered students
were nearly 100 percent Roma. In general, the completion of education from
a special school did not give Romani children the necessary knowledge nor
the eligibility to continue on to university and other higher education
institutions, which do not accept special school certificates as entry
criteria. Since 2005, as part of an experimental project initiated by the League
of Human Rights Activists, approximately 150 Romani children from special
schools for children with mental disabilities received extra training to
help the children prepare to enter regular classes. Over the course of the
project 20 students were integrated into regular schools. Government provided healthcare for children was adequate and equal for
both girls and boys. Child abuse remained an underreported problem. One NGO expressed
concern that the family law passed in March 2005 did not afford children
the same rights and protections as it did their parents. The legislation
provides for programs and training to reduce the instance of child abuse;
the government also implemented a publicity campaign to raise awareness of
the issue. A number of children's foundations operated several programs for abused
or disabled children. UNICEF continued to operate a hotline for children;
during the first half of the year, it opened 4,519 cases based on the
20,542 calls it received. Three hundred of the calls were from abused
children or children with disabilities. Child prostitution is prohibited. Community workers reported it was a
problem in Romani settlements with the worst living conditions. There were approximately 7,000 children in institutional care, and Roma
constituted the majority of this population. Most government orphanages
were long term care facilities rather than short term residences.
Activists claimed that orphans had difficulty integrating into society at
age 18 and were at increased risk of falling victim to trafficking. Trafficking in Persons The law prohibits trafficking in persons; however, there were reports
that persons were trafficked from, within, and through the country. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that
between 100 and 200 persons are trafficked annually from or through the
country, mainly for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The IOM reported
expanded usage of victims' assistance programs during the year, most
likely due to increased awareness of these programs. Most of the victims
trafficked through the country came from the former Soviet republics
(particularly Moldova and Ukraine) and Balkan countries. Victims were
typically trafficked through the Czech Republic or Austria to Western
Europe and Japan. Victims were typically between the ages of 18 and 25,
from various social backgrounds, but particularly from areas with high
unemployment. Some experts alleged that Romani women and persons raised in
state institutions, because of their socioeconomic situation and less
freedom of mobility, were more vulnerable to being trafficked by organized
criminal gangs. Romani women were reportedly more at risk of being
trafficked by known and trusted people from their communities. Another
high risk group included men and women looking, sometimes illegally, for
seasonal work abroad and were ill informed of the potential dangers. Traffickers lured women with offers of employment, often relying on
personal connections with women. Activists who worked with the few victims
forced to work while transiting the country reported that most were placed
as prostitutes or as exotic dancers in nightclubs. Such activity was
concentrated on the border with Austria and close to Ukraine and along
trucking routes with a prevalence of nightclubs. Traffickers closely
monitored victims, withheld their documents, and used violence to ensure
their compliance. Some victims allegedly were threatened with violence or
even death if they attempted to escape. Under the law, traffickers may be sentenced to three to 10 years in
prison. The sentence may be increased to eight to 15 years if bodily harm
resulted, if the trafficker gained extensive profit, or if the offense was
committed as a member of a group operating in several countries. If the
offender is a member of a crime syndicate, the sentence is increased to
between 12 and 15 years. Victims may also file civil suits against
traffickers. During the year police investigated 19 cases of trafficking, resulting
in charges against six suspects. Courts convicted and sentenced 24
traffickers, eight of whom were involved in child trafficking. In 2005
courts convicted and sentenced four traffickers. In January a court in the town of Martin sentenced eight traffickers
with prison terms from three to eight years for trafficking 12 women to
the Czech Republic, where they were forced into prostitution. The
traffickers were arrested in 2003. In 2003 police arrested seven members of a trafficking gang who had
sent at least 60 women to Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and France over an
eight year period, with the suspected involvement of a low level
government employee. The case was awaiting trial at year's end. In January the government approved the country's first National Action
Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The action plan consists of 19
initiatives, designates lead ministries, and assigns deadlines. The first
national coordinator to combat trafficking in persons was appointed in
October 2005 but left the post after the change in government. Momentum
stalled for several months midyear while the seat for the national
coordinator remained vacant. In October new State Secretary of the
Ministry of Interior Jozef Bucek was appointed by the government as the
new national coordinator, raising the political profile of the issue. An
existing interministerial working group to combat trafficking, formed in
2005, was redirected to focus solely on prevention issues. A new expert
group, whose members carry more political weight than the working group,
was formed to analyze and implement wider-ranging strategies. During the
year the government started cooperation with the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime on a project aimed at strengthening the legislative, investigative,
prosecutorial, and technical capability to combat trafficking while
providing protection and support to victims. The government agencies
responsible for combating trafficking include the national coordinator to
combat trafficking in persons; the police antitrafficking unit; the
ministries of interior, finance, justice, and education; the prosecutor's
office; the border police; and the equal opportunity office at the
Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family; and the plenipotentiary for
Romani communities. The police participated in international investigations on a limited
basis. There were no requests for the extradition of human traffickers
during the year. Corruption among border officials, police, and asylum officials
allegedly hampered efforts to combat trafficking. The government did not detain, prosecute, fine, or deport persons
identified as trafficking victims. Although no formal screening or
referral process was in place for most of the year, the law required
police to provide a list of victim's assistance programs to suspected
victims. Toward the end of the year, the Ministry of Interior reached an
agreement with an NGO, Dotyk, to provide secure, private lodgings and
other services for trafficking victims on a case-by-case basis. The
government has cooperated with additional NGOs on victims' assistance.
NGOs reported increased cooperation and communication with police
investigators. The Ministry of Education continued to support discussion
groups and distributed handbooks in schools about legally working abroad.
There was no shelter dedicated exclusively to trafficking victims. Persons with Disabilities The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other
state services. In practice, however, experts reported that access to
buildings and higher education remained a problem. There were reports that
persons with severe physical handicaps received less than the minimum wage
in some instances. NGOs reported that a better network of organizations was needed to
improve psychiatric care of patients with mental disorders and to monitor
human rights violations against them. Cage beds continued to be used in psychiatric institutions and
hospitals, which fall under the purview of the Ministry of Health. The law
prohibits both physical and nonphysical restraints in social care homes,
which are managed by the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family.
According to NGOs, a lack of funds prevented full implementation of the
law to provide assistance to handicapped students. Regulations ensuring
access to premises and services for physically handicapped persons, for
example, wheelchair access in buildings and Web sites enabled for use by
the blind, were not fully implemented across the country, although the
situation was improving. A working group, the Council for Citizens with Disabilities, served as
a governmental advisory body regarding persons with disabilities. The
minister of labor, social affairs, and family chaired the council. Several
NGOs conducted public education campaigns on mental illness and worked
cooperatively with the health ministry on the national health program. The
government sponsored a contest for the local government most accessible to
persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities were able to vote and
participate in civic affairs. However, they continued to experience
problems with access to information and education caused by physical
barriers limiting their ability to enter educational facilities. National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities Widespread discrimination against Roma continued in the areas of
employment, education, housing, and health services. Roma constituted the
second largest ethnic minority, reported by the 2001 census to number
90,000, although experts estimated the population to be between 350,000
and 400,000. The discrepancy was attributed to Roma identifying themselves
as Hungarian or Slovak. During the year the CPT reported on police mistreatment of Roma (see
section 1.c.). There were several reports that Roma suffered discrimination with
respect to health care. In November 2005 the Ministry of Health began to
train 40 health care assistants who speak Romani as part of a pilot
program to improve Roma access to health services. This program continued
during the year. In previous years the government reported that usury, the illegal
charging of high interest rates on small loans, was one of the main causes
of the deepening poverty of Roma in settlements. While it is believed that
usury continued, statistics fell markedly during the year. Police
investigated four usury cases, two of which moved forward to prosecution.
Skinhead violence against Roma continued to be a serious problem. The
NGO People Against Racism reported that although police were increasingly
responsive in their efforts to monitor and control the skinhead movement,
the problem persisted. The organization also reported receiving e mail and
telephone threats from skinheads. Throughout the year police charged numerous individuals with attacks
against Roma motivated by racial hatred. In April several youths attacked
two Romani women and the brother of the women who attempted to stop the
attack in Spisska Stara Ves. Police arrested six suspects, completed the
investigation, and the case moved to prosecution. In September three masked attackers broke into the home of a Romani
family in Sered and beat several family members. The police arrested the
attackers and stated that racial and ethnic intolerance motivated the
attack. The accused were released from pretrial detention, while the
police continued the investigation to build the case. The investigation
was ongoing at year's end. In September neo-Nazis attacked several Roma at a train station in
Humenne, seriously injuring two of the persons. After the attack, the
perpetrators shouted "sieg heil." Police arrested three suspects, aged 16
to 18, on charges of assault and riotous conduct but the prosecutor's
office rejected an additional charge of propagation of an ideology that
suppresses the rights of others. The case was still being investigated at
year's end. During the summer of 2005 three attacks on Romani families in Sered
occurred. The police initially charged one suspect with causing bodily
harm. Prosecution was dropped during the year because, according to the
police, key witnesses changed their testimony and the case was no longer
prosecutable. The trial of three Zahorska Ves men arrested for allegedly breaking
into and setting fire to Romani residences on three occasions in 2004 was
ongoing at year's end. Two of the men were also charged with assault. The
government punitively revoked the license of the private security firm
that employed several of the alleged attackers. Activists frequently alleged that employers refused to hire Roma, whose
unemployment rate exceeded 95 percent in many settlements. Many NGOs reported that segregation of Romani students in schools
continued (see section 5, Children). NGOs alleged that Roma were more likely to encounter housing
discrimination. On a few occasions during the year, local authorities and
groups forced evictions of Romani inhabitants or blocked construction
permits or the purchase of land. Many Romani settlements lacked formal
infrastructure, access to clean water, and proper sewage systems. In March the mayor of Puchov attempted to force several Romani families
to relocate to the nearby town of Nimnica by purchasing a house for them
there. The plan was enacted without the consent the town of Nimnica. The
Romani families faced eviction from their housing in Puchov for failure to
pay rent. The relocation of the Romani families has not taken place, as
the town of Nimnica caused delays in the preparation of the house. In August the mayor and town council of the village of Vysny Kazimir
prohibited Roma from swimming in the local public pond. After the
plenipotentiary for Romani communities and several NGOs voiced their
concern, the town rescinded the prohibition and passed a resolution to
fine anyone who caused damage to the pond. In August in the village of Letanovce, an unknown person left a death
threat instructing the local mayor to stop construction at the site of a
future housing complex for apartments to be occupied by Roma. In June 2005 the mayor of Presov announced the construction of a wall
or fence to separate Roma from non Romani citizens in the Stara Tehelna
neighborhood; the plan received media criticism and sparked international
concern before the city decided to reevaluate the plan. The
plenipotentiary for Romani communities negotiated with community leaders,
eventually reaching an agreement to focus on other projects. In a sign of greater political recognition of the problems faced by
Roma, all six political parties that were elected to the National Council
in June included plans in their party platforms to address issues faced by
the Romani communities. This represented an improvement over the 2002
elections when several parties failed to mention Romani issues in their
platforms. The new government's program plan, approved by the National
Council in early August, addressed concerns of the Romani community.
Romani activists issued a press release in August noting their positive
discussions with the new deputy prime minister for human rights and
minorities. In August the district court of Michalovce issued an ambiguous decision
in one of the first civil court cases based on the new antidiscrimination
law of 2004. The court ruled that three Roma who were refused service at a
cafe in Michalovce in April 2005 had been discriminated against, but not
because of their ethnicity. No damages were awarded. NGOs and the National
Center for Human Rights cite only approximately three to five
discrimination cases which have gone to trial. One NGO activist remarked
that no court has yet ruled unambiguously in a discrimination case in
favor of the claimants. The National Center for Human Rights has mediated
several discrimination cases and provided official legal opinions in
dozens more. A few mayors were reported to use hate speech against Roma during the
year, although none were prosecuted. During the year a number of
politicians at the national and regional level used disparaging language
about the Roma during closed-door meetings. Tensions between ethnic Hungarians and ethnic Slovaks rose after the
nationalist SNS became a member of government in July. Prior to and since
being elected to a National Council seat in June, SNS Chairman Jan Slota
made several public statements that were derogatory towards ethnic
Hungarians. The SNS and the party of the Hungarian coalition accused each
other of propagating hate or the disintegration of the country. All of the
criminal investigations stemming from these accusations have concluded
with a finding that no laws were broken. Public hate speech against ethnic Hungarians increased after the new
government took office. There were allegations of attacks against ethnic
Hungarians for speaking Hungarian. By year's end, ethnic tensions and
allegations of attacks had lessened. On August 7, police were alerted to an Internet video clip which showed
several masked people shouting statements in Slovak inciting violence
against Hungarians while burning the Hungarian flag and holding up a
Slovak flag. By August 8, the video had been removed from the
foreign-based Internet site where it had been posted. No arrests had been
made by year's end. On August 26, police arrested three men for waiving banners with the
phrase "death to Hungarians" at a soccer match in Banska Bystrica. Police
charged the men, who remained in custody as of year end, with agitation to
ethnic or racial hatred. One of them received an additional charge of
propagation of an ideology which suppresses the rights of others. A nationalist organization known as Slovenska Pospolitost (Slovak
Community) continued to hold events designed to intimidate minority
groups. Dressed in uniforms similar to those of the Hlinka Guards (the
country's fascist wartime civic guard responsible, among other things, for
the country's concentration camps), the group's members held marches and
rallies to commemorate the wartime fascist state and to spread messages of
intolerance against ethnic and religious minorities. In March the Supreme
Court stripped the group of its political party status on the basis that
it promoted a nondemocratic form of government that suppressed the rights
and freedoms of others. The group then registered as an NGO. In April police arrested two extremists with ties to two foreign
groups, the World Church of the Creator and the National Alliance, for
violent crimes. In May police charged seven neo Nazis in Kosice with possession of
illegal weapons and propagating an ideology that suppresses the rights of
others. The case had been moved to the prosecutor's office but a trial had
not yet started at year's end. On August 29, police detained more than 10 members of the Slovenska
Pospolitost that tried to disrupt the commemoration of the Slovak National
Uprising, an event the prime minister attended. In September the regional
prosecutor's office determined that no crime had been committed and
dismissed the case. The government's plenipotentiary for Romani communities maintained five
regional offices to supervise the implementation of governmental policy on
Romani issues, support infrastructure development, and cooperate with
municipalities and villages to improve interaction between Roma and non
Roma. The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family funded Roma
Terrain Social Workers, which assigned specially trained social workers to
Romani settlements to provide assistance such as helping Roma to fill out
paperwork and building awareness of the importance of education and
preventative healthcare. The government continued to implement its action plan against
xenophobia and intolerance. A special police unit monitored extremist
activities, and a commission consisting of NGOs, police, and government
officials advised the police on minority issues. The Slovak National Center for Human Rights reported that 217
complaints of discrimination were filed during 2005. The most frequent
claim (cited in 54 of the 217 cases) regarded discrimination in labor
related issues, including access to work. One NGO criticized the length of
time it took for the center to issue required legal opinions on claims of
discrimination. Section 6 Worker Rights a. The Right of Association The law provides for the right to form and join unions, except in the
armed forces, and workers exercised this right in practice. Approximately
17 percent of the work force was unionized. In October and December 2005 the police labor union held two protests
against low wages and benefits. There was widespread criticism when the
minister of interior demoted the officer heading the labor union. b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively The law provides for unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the government generally protected this right in
practice. The law provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively,
and workers exercised these rights in practice. The law provides for the legal right to strike, except for civil
servants in essential services and members of the military, in two
instances: when collective bargaining fails to reach an agreement, or to
support other striking employees' demands (solidarity strike). The unions
generally exercised these rights in practice without restrictions. Strikes
must be announced in advance. The law prohibits dismissing workers legally
participating in strikes; however, strikers are not ensured protection if
a strike is considered illegal or unofficial. There are no export processing zones. c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
however, there were reports that such practices occurred (see sections 5
and 6.d.). d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment The law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in
the workplace, and the government effectively implemented and enforced
these policies. The minimum age for employment is 15, although children under 15 may
perform light work in cultural or artistic performances, sports events, or
advertising activities if it does not affect their health, safety, or
schooling. The National Labor Inspectorate and Public Health Office must
approve, determine the maximum hours for, and set conditions for child
labor under age 15. Children under age 16 may not work more than 30 hours
per week, and children aged 16 to 17 are limited to 37.5 hours per week.
Children under age 18 are not allowed to work underground, work overtime,
or perform work that is inappropriate for their age or health. District inspection units received and investigated child labor
complaints. If a unit determined that a child labor law or regulation had
been broken, it turned the case over to the national inspection unit of
the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family. Child labor, primarily in the form of begging, was a problem in some
communities; there were also isolated reports of forced prostitution (see
section 5). e. Acceptable Conditions of Work As of October 1, the minimum wage increased to $253 (7,600 korunas) per
month. The minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a worker
and family in rural areas of the country but not in urban areas. The law
mandates a maximum workweek of 48 hours (including overtime), with 30
minute breaks after six hours of work (after four hours for employees
younger than 18), and rest periods of at least 12 hours between shifts.
The trade unions; the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family; and
local employment offices monitored observance of these laws, and
authorities effectively enforced them. The law establishes health and safety standards that the office of
labor safety generally enforced. Workers have the right to refuse to work
in situations that endanger their health and safety and may file
complaints against employers in such situations; whether they did so in
practice was not clear. Employees working under conditions endangering
their health and safety for a certain period of time are entitled to be
paid "relaxation" leave in addition to their standard leave. |