The Czech Republic is aware of the criticisms addressed to it by the international organization for the protection of human rights Amnesty International (AI) due to hate speech towards Ukrainian refugees. They are trying to solve the problem of pre-trial violence, as well as other challenges, said the government commissioner for human rights, Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková. This is how she reacted to the annual report AI. She pointed out that refugees faced expressions of hatred in the Czech Republic, the rights of people from sexual minorities were not equalized, and the segregation of Roma schoolchildren continues.
“The report describes the challenges we are aware of… We recognize the importance of the issue of prejudicial hate violence targeting Ukrainian refugees. It’s a topic we’re working on,” said the representative. She added that she has created an expert team in the government office, which deals with the preparation of proposals and the setting of measures. The steps relate to prevention, legislative changes or education and awareness. “At the moment, there is an interdepartmental comment procedure for an amendment to the Criminal Code, where we are trying to solve the protection against prejudicial hatred against groups that today, like other vulnerable groups, are not protected. This applies to people with disabilities, minority sexual orientation, or women active in public space,” said Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková. She mentioned a possible campaign against prejudicial violence or the training of workers from various professions.
The In Iustitia organization has been striving for legal changes for a long time. According to its head, Klára Kalibová, the criminal code does not protect people with a different orientation and identity or with a handicap from prejudicial violence, and it is necessary to amend the legislation and tighten the penalties. The rate is now higher for acts of hatred because of nationality, skin color, religion, political belief or ethnicity.
The number of incidents reflects the resistance of part of society to help and the influence of misinformation
According to In Iustitia’s analysis, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there was an increase in anti-Ukrainian and anti-Russian incidents in the Czech Republic. Last year, they accounted for 22 percent of the cases of prejudicial violence recorded by the organization. In the years before the war, it was five percent at most. In 2022 there were 16 anti-Ukrainian and 14 anti-Russian cases, last year 27 attacks against Ukrainian nationality and none against Russian. The authors of the analysis stated that the results do not represent a complete set of all cases, but only a sample of them. They pointed out that pretrial incidents are often not reported to the police. According to the organization, the number reflects the opposition of a part of society to helping refugees and the influence of disinformation in support of Russia.
According to the representative, it is positive that over 120,000 refugees from Ukraine with temporary protection are working in the Czech Republic. However, he considers it problematic that the majority perform less qualified jobs and that their education and experience are not used. The need is therefore to strengthen the teaching of the Czech language, the representative added.
She has already stated that the best step towards the complete equalization of gays and lesbians in the Czech Republic would be the adoption of marriage for all. She described the recently adopted amendment with the addition of some rights as just a step in the necessary direction. According to the proposals, it would no longer be necessary to undergo castration to officially change gender.
Source: ČTK
Photo: canva.com
Tags: Plenipotentiary Czech Republic aware accusations hatred refugees World Law
