Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Slovakia (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Discrimination against the Roma. For a number of years, the Committee has been referring to the discrimination in education and employment against members of the Roma Community and the difficulties they face in integration into the labour market. In this respect, the Committee notes the concern expressed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) regarding the continued stigmatization of, and discrimination against Roma and their ongoing precarious socio-economic situation, as well as the continued de facto segregation of Roma children in education, including their over representation in “special” classes and “special” schools for children with intellectual disabilities (CERD/C/SVK/CO/9-10, 17 April 2013, paragraphs 10 and 11). The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) also refers in its 2014 report to the limited access of Roma to employment due to inter alia poor access to education resulting in lower qualifications, poor support in job search by labour offices, the non-suitability of vocational training programmes and the lack of regular access to microcredit (CRI(2014)37, 19 June 2014, paragraphs 92–94). The Committee welcomes the adoption in January 2012 of the Strategy for the Integration of Roma up to 2020, which addresses the challenges associated with the social inclusion of Roma in the fields of education, employment, non-discrimination, health, housing and financial inclusion, with particular focus on marginalized Roma communities. The Committee notes the Government’s acknowledgment in the strategy that more attention should be paid to the issue of non-discrimination. The Government also states that “public opinion polls suggest that Roma are subjected to discrimination more frequently than the majority population and cases of suspected discrimination are not reported and addressed by the respective authorities”. The Committee further notes that the strategy aims to improve access to quality education, including pre-school facilities, and to remove school segregation of Roma children, as well as to improve access to work opportunities, including through the improvement of occupational qualifications and relations between the Roma community and labour offices. The Committee considers that it is difficult to assess the progress made in the employment and education situation of Roma in employment and education because of the absence in the Government’s report of relevant data and of an assessment of the results of past policies on Roma, such as the Medium-term Concept of the Development of the Roma National Minority in the Slovak Republic (2008–13). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to assess the extent of and to effectively address school segregation with respect to Roma children, including their placement in “special” schools for children with mental disabilities, and to promote their participation in education and training at the various levels, including pre-school facilities. The Committee also requests the Government to provide specific information on the practical measures taken to implement the Strategy for the Integration of Roma up to 2020, including measures to provide effective and targeted assistance to the victims of discrimination due to their ethnicity. Please provide information on the impact of these measures on the situation of Roma in education, training and employment, as well as recent statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the socio-economic situation of Roma.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.