Protection of Children’s Rights
Czech Republic
Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman)
Marie Lukasová, Warsaw 2014
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Public Defender of Rights
 Established by Act No. 349/1999 Sb., on the Public Defender of
Rights
 Candidates are proposed by the President and the Senate
 Elected by the Chamber of Deputies for a six-year term (max. for
two consecutive terms) and accountable to the Chamber of
Deputies
 First Defenders: JUDr. Otakar Motejl (2000-2010), JUDr. Pavel
Varvařovský (2010-2013)
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Present Defender and her Deputy
 Mgr. Anna Šabatová, Ph.D.
the first woman, elected in February 2014 the Czech
Defender (in 2001-2007 Deputy of the first Defender)
 JUDr. Stanislav Křeček
Deputy of the Public Defender of Rights, elected in
April 2013
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Mandate of the Defender
1. Public
Administration
protection against unlawful
or incorrect conduct or
inactivity
3. Discrimination
promotion of the right to
equal treatment and
protection against
discrimination
since 2009
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2. Protection of Persons
Restricted in their
Freedom
preventive systematic visits
since 2006
4. Monitoring of Forced
Returns
exercise of administrative expulsion,
penalty of expulsion, surrender and
transit of foreigners.
since 2011
National preventive mechanism
 Systematic visits of facilities where persons are
resctricted in their freedom
• prisons, police cells, facilities for detention of
foreigners
• social care institutions, health care institutions
• facilities of institutional and protective education
 OPCAT
 To strengthen the protection of persons placed
in various facilities against ill-treatment
 Recommendations, standards of treatment
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Ill-treatment
 NPM 2011-2014: 47 visits facilities for children
• children’s homes
• institutions with strict regime
• diagnostic institutions, centres for pedagogy help
• psychiatric hospitals (units) for children
 summary reports, legislative proposals
 Standards of the Protection of Children and Their
Families
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Family life v. institutions
 ”…undertake measures to ensure that families
in vulnerable socio-economic situations are
provided with the financial resources and
social support necessary so that all parents
may realize their primary responsibility for
their children in order for all children to enjoy
the fulfilment of their rights to the greatest
extent possible” (CRC)
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Family life
 EU funds for deinstitutionalization
 increasing rates of foster care
 mandatory drafting of case assessments and individual
strategies for each family
but…
 de facto accepting institutional care as a primary
alternative to the family environment
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Challenges in institutional care
 lack of services of prevention
 still large numbers of children, especially children with
disabilities and/or of Roma origin, being placed in care
outside their home, particularly in institutional care, and
in the majority of such cases the material and financial
situation of the family has been the main basis for such
removal
 inadequate community-based family-type services and
foster care to avoid institutionalization of children
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Findings of Defender

11 % children (in visited institutions) placed by court for
social
reasons
(inadequate
housing,
debts,
unempoyment)

95 % cases: inadequate housing mentioned by court

often attachment between children and parents exists

to much children < 3 years in institutional care

social housing, prevention
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Challenges in institutional care
 inconsistent standards of care
 numbers of personnel and level of his training
 long duration for which children remain in institutional
care (the majority of them leave after attaining 18)
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Improvements
 Criteria for placement into institutional care
•
•
subsidiarity of institutional care stipulated by law,
regular court revisions
 Standards of care/treatment
•
•
•
•
prepared to become a ministry provision,
inspiration in ombudsman’s standards of children protection,
after wide discussion,
child-friendly
 Contact with parents
•
to maintain contact with their parents is finally accepted
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Segregation of children of Roma
origin from mainstream education
 D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic
 “serious and widespread issues of discrimination”, “systemic
and unlawful segregation of children of Roma origin from
mainstream education” (CRC)
 Anti-Discrimination Act (European Community Directives
2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC)
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Data collection
 “Data compiled by the various ministries, not for
all areas covered by the Convention, particularly
for children with disabilities, children of ethnic
minorities, and children in vulnerable and
disadvantaged situations.” (CRC)
 “Data not used in a manner that is effective in
assessing progress as a basis for policymaking in
the field of ensuring children’s rights.” (CRC)
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Research of Defender

Survey into the Ethnic Composition of Pupils of
Former Special Schools (2012)
focused on the ethnic composition of pupils of former
special schools, or pupils educated with plan for
children with light mental disability

Methodology and results of the survey on
http://www.ochrance.cz/en/discrimination/research/
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Research of ombudsman

“The proportion of Romany pupils at the
ratio of 32%, or 35% in the monitored
schools is proof of the persistent indirect
discrimination against them in terms of
access to education.”

The proportion of Romany people in the Czech
Republic is approx. 1.4 – 2.8 %.
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Inclusive education
 National Action Plan for Inclusive Education (2010)
 Strategic litigation with support of Defender
children with autism
the asistent for the teacher
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Life in the community
 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(2009)
 Institutional care because of the lack of community
based services
story of Daniel – boy with autism living in psychiatric hospital
no claim for social services
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One responsible body
 Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health Care,
Ministry of Education
 National Action Plan to Transform and Unify the System
for the Care of Vulnerable Children
 …to have an effective mechanism for coordinating the
implementation of child rights policy amongst all the relevant
bodies and institutions and at all levels
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Ombudsman for Children?

Czech Rep and 3 EU members do not have children’s ombudsman

Mrs. Šabatová
„Children deserve a defender of their rights. Such an institution would be of a great use.“

Defender
web for children
special (urgent) procedure for complaints from children
informal communication with children
programmes for schools
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Thank you!
www.ochrance.cz
[email protected]
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