COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD REVIEWS THE REPORT OF SLOVAKIA

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the combined third to fifth periodic report of Slovakia on its implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Fedor Rosocha, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that Slovakia’s National Action Plan for Children 2013-2017 was drafted with the participation of children and young people, and its implementation was monitored by the Committee for Children and Young People. In addition, the first commissioner for children had been elected by the National Council of Slovakia in November 2015. The National Strategy for the Protection of Children against Violence was adopted in 2014 and the amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure had raised the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 18 years. Slovakia introduced in its legal framework the general principle of the interest of the child and the principle of non-discrimination. The Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Persons, due to enter into force on 1 July 2016, introduced direct criminal liability of legal persons for specific criminal offences, including the crime of the production, distribution and possession of child pornography.

In the discussion that followed, Committee Experts took positive note of the high priority accorded to human rights in Slovakia and wondered why the position of the Vice-Prime Minister for Human Rights and National Minorities was abolished. Experts stressed that discrimination was an underlying cause of many issues they were concerned about, such as the general atmosphere of intolerance towards minority children and Muslim refugees and violence against them, and the discriminatory treatment of Roma who were targets of police brutality, suffered segregation in school, and were sent to special schools just for being Roma. Roma children were also the most numerous in institutions, and in juvenile detention. In Slovakia, corporal punishment in all settings was not banned and reasonable physical punishment of children was still tolerated. Drug abuse by children was another issue of concern, considering that 59 per cent of those who engaged in glue sniffing were children. With regard to children in institutions and the care system, Experts inquired about measures to promote positive parenting and to support families in hardship to avoid them having to abandon their children.

In concluding remarks, Renate Winter, Committee Vice-Chairperson and the Country Rapporteur for the report of Slovakia, recognized the new challenges Slovakia faced in the context of Europe today, saying that they added to the existing challenges, in particular discrimination.

In his closing remarks, Branislav Ondruš, State Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of Slovakia, welcomed the Committee’s recommendations, which he said would provide guidance for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols in Slovakia.

The delegation of Slovakia consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities, and the Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. today, 25 May, to consider the fifth periodic report of Pakistan under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/PAK/5).

The country reviews can be watched via live webcast at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org.

Report

The combined third to fifth periodic report of Slovakia under the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be read via the following link: CRC/C/SVK/3-5.

Presentation of the Report

FEDOR ROSOCHA, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, introducing the report, said that in Slovakia, the crucial interdepartmental tool for fulfilling obligations stemming from the Convention and its Optional Protocols was the National Action Plan for Children 2013-2017, drafted with the participation of children and young people. Its monitoring was carried out by the Committee for Children and Young People, one of the advisory committees to the Government Council for Human Rights, National Minorities and Gender Equality. In order to tackle violations of children’s rights, Slovakia had adopted in 2014 the National Strategy for the Protection of Children against Violence and established the National Coordination Centre for Resolving the Issue of Violence against Children. The general principle of the interest of the child as the primary consideration in decision-making in all matters had been introduced in the legislative framework, and the Code of Criminal Procedure had been amended raising the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 18 years of age. Slovakia continued to pursue the policy of deinstitutionalization, and considered the family as the most appropriate environment for the comprehensive and harmonious development of a child. Legislation had been amended to include the principle of non-discrimination in education and ensure the distinction between the special educational needs based on health disability and those arising solely from a socially disadvantaged background. The Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Persons, due to enter into force on 1 July 2016, introduced direct criminal liability of legal persons for specific criminal offences, including the crime of the production, distribution and possession of child pornography.

With regard to the independent monitoring of the implementation of children’s rights, Slovakia had adopted the act on the commissioner for children and the commissioner on persons with disabilities, and had established a distinct entity for monitoring the implementation of children’s rights and for receiving and investigating complaints. The first commissioner for children had been elected by the National Council of Slovakia in November 2015. Non-governmental organizations with long-standing expertise in the field of children’s rights were stakeholders in advocacy, provision of services for children and young people, and education of children and adults on specific topics pertaining to children’s rights, and they were also actively involved in policy-making. It was important to say that Slovakia had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on a communications procedure, and the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, which would enter into force in Slovakia on 1 July 2016. In conclusion, Mr. Rosocha recognized that more progress was needed in integrated data collection and the tracking of resources allocated from the State budget for the implementation of children’s rights, and said that in the meantime, Slovakia was flexibly responding to the needs, as evidenced by the progress achieved in the implementation of the rights of the child to date.

Questions by the Country Rapporteurs and Committee Experts

AMAL SALMAN ALDOSERI, Committee Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur for the report of Slovakia, noted the high priority that Slovakia accorded to human rights and inquired about the reasons for which the position of the Vice-Prime Minister for Human Rights and National Minorities had been abolished. The delegation was asked about the institutional arrangements in place to ensure the monitoring and reporting on children’s rights, including on updating of the National Action Plan for Children 2013-2017, about the decision not to track the allocation of resources for children’s rights, and the role of civil society in the protection of the rights of the child in the country. With regard to the treatment of the Roma by the police, the Rapporteur asked about preventive measures that had been put in place to avoid the reoccurrence of police brutality against Roma children, ensure impartiality in the investigation of cases, foster cooperation between Roma communities and the police, and punish perpetrators of forced sterilization of Roma girls. Reasonable physical punishment was still tolerated in Slovakia and the delegation was asked when the law would be amended to ensure a ban on corporal punishment. How were children victims of violence treated in the criminal system and which crisis centres were available for them? There was a general atmosphere of intolerance towards minority children, such as Romani and children of other faiths, as evidenced by a statement by a high-level official who at the beginning of the refugee crisis in Europe had declared that Muslim refugees would not be allowed into the country. This intolerance led to all forms of violence against those groups, said Ms. Aldoseri and inquired if steps were in place to prevent such violence and deal with its consequences.

RENATE WINTER, Committee Vice-Chairperson and Co-Rapporteur for the report of Slovakia, asked about measures in place to foster the links between the car industry and car factories and communities.

Discrimination was an underlying cause of many of the issues of concern and the delegation was asked about the results and outcomes of the legislation against all forms of discrimination, and of national policies to combat discrimination, racism and xenophobia. The society considered that just being a Roma was a disability and many Roma children were sent to special education schools, thus effectively fostering segregation in schools. Sometimes, Roma in hospitals and health centres were not allowed to share bathrooms, or tables in cafeterias; they were often unable to access and enjoy benefits on an equal footing with others. What concrete steps were in place to eliminate the discrimination in the country, particularly against Roma?

A Committee Expert noted that the principle of the best interest of the child was not appropriately understood; the rhetoric was widely used, but its application in practice was problematic. One such example was an understanding and the prevailing concept of a “stable family”, which was seen as a two-parent family only, and as such did not take into consideration the child’s best interest.

The delegation was also asked about steps to fill gaps in data collection, measures to improve the living conditions of Roma, and the enjoyment of political rights and freedoms by children, especially children with disabilities.

Replies by the Delegation

In response to these questions and comments, the delegation said Slovakia was one of the few countries in Europe which explicitly included in its legislation the principle of the best interest of the child, modelled after the Austrian legislation. The principle was specifically incorporated in the Family Act, which had been motivated by the Committee’s General Comment N°14 in which the Committee recommended that States parties specifically included the principle in legislation. The psychological aspects, and the concept of indirect violence, in which violence against one of the parents was regarded as violence relevant to the child, had also been incorporated in the law.

Slovakia recognized and enshrined in the legislation the prohibition of corporal punishment in the domestic environment; even if the Family Act did not specifically prohibit the use of corporal punishment, other laws prohibited its use by parents.

A Committee Expert remarked that all it took for a country to abolish corporal punishment was one line in the Penal Code, banning corporal punishment in all settings. A delegate said that any violation of a child’s physical integrity or a child’s dignity was considered a crime, and that this provision was included in the latest amendment to the Misdemeanours Act.

Turning to the definition of the stable family contained in the Family Act, which implied a two parent family composed of a mother or a father, a delegate said that there was no intention to discriminate against other kinds of families, such as a mother and a child, or a father and a child.

Answering an Expert’s follow-up question about the legal purpose behind the use of the concept of “stable family” as a family of a mother, a father and children, a delegate explained that the State did not want to immediately intervene in family matters, but at the same time it wanted to ensure a stable and secure environment for children. That meant that the first measure was not the removal of the child from the family, but to help the family. The idea was not to have the State versus the family, but to jointly work with courts, social workers and the family to identify problems and work toward solutions.

Slovakia realized the importance of human rights protection and had introduced a mechanism for the monitoring of the implementation of the obligations arising from international human rights treaties, namely the Committee for Children and Young People of the Government Council for Human Rights, National Minorities and Gender Equality, which was in charge of monitoring the situation of children’s rights. Other mechanisms included the National Strategy and Action Plan for the Protection of Children against Violence. With the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund, children’s ambassadors had been established in order to promote awareness of children’s rights.

Several important measures and activities had been undertaken to tackle violence against children, including the adoption of the National Strategy for the Protection of Children against Violence, which focused on all forms of violence against children in various settings, and had introduced a mechanism of multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary cooperation. Legislative amendments to protect violence against children had been quite extensive, and procedural rights of victims had been strengthened in order to prevent secondary victimization. In addition to legal and policy measures, a wide range of professionals in the field had undergone various forms of training and professional development, several campaigns had been undertaken to sensitize the public and inform the children of the options they had if they ever became victims of violence, and hot lines had been established which children could use to report violence. Furthermore, Slovakia had ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention), which would be useful in protecting children against sexual abuse. Recently, legislative amendments had been introduced for the education of social practitioners, for procedures for the interviewing the children in processes, and for the identification of the best interest of children.

The Healthy Communities Project had been launched in 2014, which supported 300 health assistants of Roma origins to improve health awareness of Roma. The project had resulted in the increased willingness of Roma to undergo the needed medical tests and examinations.

Police officers were regularly trained in human rights, which was part of the curricula in the police secondary schools and the police academy. One of the measures to improve the collaboration between the police and Roma communities was the setting up of positions of senior officers for community work in the police force; so far, 267 such jobs had been established, with the main task of developing cooperation and collaboration with Roma, patrolling the areas with Roma majority, being involved in public campaigns and collaborating with non-governmental organizations.

With regard to segregation in schools and the disproportionate number of Roma children attending special schools, a delegate explained that a legislative amendment was being drafted to prevent segregation and discrimination in schools, in order to come up with a law on schools which would not confound the educational needs of children based on their disability with educational needs arising from a socially disadvantaged background. The explicit prohibition of segregation contained in this amendment was achieved by prohibiting the admittance of children without disability into special education school and kindergartens.

In addition to legislative provisions, there were projects on inclusive education which aimed to increase the number of Roma children in schools and kindergartens, such as the establishment of the position of a teaching assistant of Roma origin in schools, or the setting up of inclusive teams in 125 kindergartens and 75 primary schools which ensured that Roma children were not unfairly sent to special schools. This inclusive model of education of children from marginalized communities was to be further developed. The State Pedagogical Institute provided methodological support to schools which decided to teach Roma language; at the moment, it was taught in two primary and five secondary schools, and in one high school. Teaching Roma language was still a challenge and there was a need for additional training of teachers, including through the establishment of the university department in Roma Studies.

Questions by the Committee Experts

Turning to the area of family environment and alternative care system, an Expert asked about the status of the practice of baby boxes, and about the procedure of reception of children in institutions such as crisis centres, education and re-education centres, and others. How were foster or host families selected and which follow-up and monitoring mechanisms were in place? The Committee Expert asked how Slovakia implemented the United Nations Guidance on Alternative Care and the removal of children from their families because of poverty; what was the average time children spent in institutions and what mechanisms were in place for children’s participation in those institutions and their participation in decisions that affected them?

Roma children were the most numerous children in care institutions, and the delegation was asked about the measures in place to strengthen their identity and how it affected the staffing of the institutions. What was the process of deinstitutionalization and how were teenagers prepared for independent living? What was being done to promote positive parenting and to support families through tough time and avoid child abandonment?

AMAL SALMAN ALDOSERI, Committee Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur for the report of Slovakia, noted that children under the age of six were still discriminated against in the care system, and they were still placed in institutions rather than with families. Ms. Aldoseri asked about measures in place to stop the spread of tuberculosis and syphilis in Roma communities, improve housing and sanitation conditions in settlements, and combat malnutrition among Roma children. She also inquired whether the integration of Roma in mainstream schools was in fact a part of the National Roma Integration Strategy 2020, about actions to reduce drop-out rates of Roma children from schools, and why Roma children from disadvantaged communities were required to do the zero year, which delayed the completion of their schooling, and why they were not allowed to complete the final year of compulsory education. The Rapporteur also asked for an explanation on the decline of television and radio programmes for children in Slovakia.

RENATE WINTER, Committee Vice-Chairperson and Co-Rapporteur for the report of Slovakia, asked about measures to ensure that children of incarcerated parents were not discriminated against in any way, that the contact between children and parents was assured, including with parents incarcerated outside the country, and what was being done to ensure that children could visit their parents in prison in dignity and safety. There were reports of unaccompanied minor children disappearing from shelters, said Ms. Winter, who also asked about the accommodation and support for children who were victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, and about legal safeguards for child victims and witnesses appearing before courts.

Another Committee Expert asked about the number of hospitals that were baby friendly certified and whether they were located in urban and rural areas. He further noted that Slovakia implemented only a part of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, and asked about the public policies that promoted breastfeeding under optimal conditions.

With regard to drug and alcohol abuse, the delegation was asked to inform the Committee about the Anti-Drug Strategy for Children and Adolescents; whether any of the resocialization and drug-abuse treatment centres were set up exclusively for children, and if not, whether there was separation between children and adults, if children could receive children-specific treatments, and about plans to increase the current capacity of 500 places which might be insufficient for a population of five million. According to data, 59 per cent of glue sniffing users were children, particularly Roma, and Experts asked about measures in place to address the phenomena, particularly in eastern Slovakia.

The Criminal Code was heavily focused on criminalizing the trafficking of children, and did not take into account other offences against children, such as pimping, sexual exploitation and sale of children. What was being done to ensure that the Criminal Code appropriately criminalized all acts included in the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography? Concerning the recruitment and use of children in hostilities, and other offences under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the delegation was asked whether those acts were criminalized. The Committee was slightly concerned about ultraconservative military activities, and military training courses carried out in 2015 in secondary and primary schools.

Replies by the Delegation

The situation of Roma was a challenge for the whole of Europe and despite efforts and strategies so far, progress in the improvement in their lives was scant. Turning to the education of Roma children, a delegate reiterated the commitment to the integration of Roma children in mainstream schools and explained that container schools were being built only in places where there was a need to quickly expand the capacity of schools. The aim was to ensure that all Roma children were enrolled in primary schools, and challenges in this regard were lack of school places and the need to strengthen the relationship between school authorities and families.

The Roma Integration Strategy had been approved in 2012 and had been one of four such strategies put forward by the European Commission; it was focused on seven key sectors: education, housing, employment, health, and cross-cutting areas such as financial integration, non-discrimination and influencing public opinion. The National Action Plan 2012-2015 had been developed for the implementation of the Strategy; the monitoring report was being drafted and would be soon presented to the authorities and published. An independent report had been carried out and it had found that the National Action Plan had not been fully aligned with the Strategy; as a result, the Strategy had been revised in 2015, and sector specific action plans had been developed for the period 2015-2017.

There were several options available to children to report violations and breaches of their rights. They could approach institutions which had an obligation to help and protect children. The Government was continuously expanding the ways and means of reporting the violations, for example through the establishment of the Children Commissioner’s Office, and most importantly through making children aware about their rights and the ways to report and lodge complaints. A website had been established which disseminated information about the Convention in child-friendly terms; the information was offered in the Slovak language, minority languages and in English.

The Criminal Code was being amended to align it with the obligations arising from the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and from the Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), which Slovakia had ratified.

The law clearly specified that a child with special education needs which arose from a disadvantaged or marginalized social circumstances could not be admitted to special school or kindergarten, and this measure ensured that there was no segregation in schools. The inclusive education project was being drafted and the Government believed that the project, coupled with the allocation of necessary resources, would be a key tool to ensure that inclusive education was put in place. The plan was to hire more teachers and more psychological and social assistants.

Last year, several measures had been put in place to prepare children for school entry, including through the construction and reconstruction of kindergartens. The plan was to also further expand the capacity of kindergartens and remove barriers in access of children to pre-school education, especially for low-income families. The plan was to ensure 100 per cent enrolment in kindergarten of children aged four. The subject of parenting and marriage had been approved as part of the school curricula in 2010, and was being taught as an interdisciplinary subject through several classes, including language, biology, religion, and others. The teaching of the subject complied with the World Health Organisation standards in the matter.

On the obligation to attend the zero year, the delegation explained that this instrument had been in place since 1991 and it was successful in preparing Roma children for school. Its aim was to prepare for primary school those children who were of a school age but whose tests had not shown the required maturity to actually start school. Instead of keeping them home for a year, the Government had put in place zero year to support their development, and this instrument was used for all children and not only those from marginalized communities.

Slovakia had adopted the National Programme for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS 2013-2016. It was important to say that the number of people living with HIV was on the increase, mainly among gay men, while the incidence of HIV among drug users was decreasing. At the moment, there were 20 baby boxes in the country; since they had been introduced, 55 infants had been saved and there was evidence of a direct link between baby boxes and the number of infanticides. The number of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their children was on the rise, also due to educational campaigns on the benefits of breastfeeding and the increased number of health promoters in Roma communities within the Healthy C Communities Project.

In follow-up questions, Experts noted that the justification for the continued use of baby boxes was insufficient and asked the delegation to inform about prevention programmes and positive paternity programmes, especially for struggling families and couples, and also asked what happened once the babies were found. Was the zero year applied to all children, regardless of whether they came from marginalized communities? What was the result of the breastfeeding policies and activities jointly implemented with the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the percentage of hospitals that were baby friendly certified?

Responding, a delegate explained that baby boxes had first been installed by a non-governmental organization and that today, public baby boxes could be found in every region. They were placed in hospitals, could be accessed from outside and were equipped with a bell to summon someone to pick up the baby. Criminology experts claimed that since the establishment of baby boxes, the number of cases of baby abandonment and infanticide had been reduced and the Government believed this was one useful way to fulfil its obligation under the Convention to guarantee the child’s right to life. Several measures were available to protect life at birth, including a consent for adoption at birth, given by a parent, unanimous birth, and baby boxes. Of the 55 children placed in baby boxes, three had been returned to the biological families, and others had been either placed in foster families, or remained in care institutions.

An Expert stressed that although baby boxes saved lives, they also created situations where a child would never know his or her identity, and that a better way to prevent infanticide was to provide support and counselling for pregnant women, and to certify hospitals as baby friendly and allow more time for mother-to-baby attachment. Experience from other countries demonstrated that sometimes women were forced to leave their babies in boxes, and sometimes it was men who left the babies, and those elements must be taken into account.

The deinstitutionalization strategy in the area of social services and care had been adopted in 2001 and was one of the priorities for the Government. The focus of the new Family Act was to support children to remain with their biological family, and on setting up alternative family or personal care by a relative when a child was unable to stay with the biological family. Courts could place an obligation on parents to actively participate in eliminating adverse circumstances.

The amended Social Services Act introduced various measures to promote housing and improve the conditions in various social service facilities, and it also expanded the possibilities of independent accommodation for older children in the care system and for children with disabilities. Professional families, a concept close to foster families, were used to improve care provided to children, and they received professional support from psychologists, social workers and others in order to care properly for the children. In 2015, a total of 1,453 children had been placed with professional families, more than one third of the children in care. In 2015, there were also 1,400 children placed in community-based care, where they were supported by professionals and lived with a relatively high degree of independence.

The Government was preparing the call for projects to support resocialization, with the financial support of the European Union, and would allow Slovakia to develop new and innovative approaches. The average stay in children’s homes in 2015 was four years and one month, and the Government aimed to drastically reduce this time. The maximum stay with a professional family was not fixed and it depended on the circumstances; sometimes a child would soon be returned with his or her family, or failing this, would be placed in alternative care. If neither of those options were feasible, the child could stay with the professional family up to the age of 25.

Slovakia believed that the love of an incarcerated parent could not stop at the gates of the prison, and that legislative, policy and administrative authorities had an obligation to apply the principle of the best interest of the child. A strategy to 2020 had been prepared following the conference that had taken place last year on this very delicate issue, and it was hard to decide what was in the best interest of the child – seeing the parent or avoiding exposure to the environment of prisons. The Code of Criminal Procedure allowed the suspension of sentencing of a pregnant woman or a mother of an infant, for one year.

Slovakia was a huge car maker and had the highest car production per capita in Europe. The European Union environmental standards applied throughout the territory, and there were no other environmental standards in use.

Since 2013, Slovakia had been dealing with the problem of illegal migration, organized people smuggling and human trafficking. It had adopted the national programme to combat human trafficking, and illegal migration, which was an international crime. The judges were trained in Judicial Academies which also ran programmes for police and investigators dealing with human trafficking. There was a national Coordinator for the Fight against Human Trafficking, an expert group on international cooperation and cooperation with Interpol, information centres on activities to combat trafficking in persons, while two foreigner detention units had been set up in the police.

Concluding Remarks

RENATE WINTER, Committee Vice-Chairperson and Co-Rapporteur for the report of Slovakia, said that more detailed responses, particularly in terms of data and statistics, would have been helpful. Ms. Winter recognized the new challenges Slovakia faced in the context of contemporary Europe, and that they added to the existing challenges, in particular discrimination.

BRANISLAV ONDRUŠ, State Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of Slovakia, welcomed the Committee’s recommendations, which he said would provide guidance for the implementation of the Convention and its Optional Protocols in Slovakia.

BENYAM DAWIT MEZMUR, Committee Chairperson, thanked Slovakia for the responses and for the attention they would give to the Committee’s concluding observations.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CRC16/025E