The work of the Group of Friends of National Minorities in the National Council of the Slovak Republic
The Group of Friends of National Minorities in the National Council of the Slovak Republic (GFNM in NC SR), the renowned flagship of the Matthias Bel Institute from Bratislava, had three meetings on September 10, October 18 and November 27, 2024, with parliament members on the premises of the Committee on Culture and Media.
National Council of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava, Slovakia.
The expert group has reviewed dozens of draft laws with different levels of impact on various minorities such as national, sexual and vulnerable communities. This Fall, the most attention was brought to drafts of the law concerning schools and education, since they included changes in definitions of national education and segregation, a ban on double-shift operation in schools and inclusion of Ukrainian children in the Slovak educational system.
The group recommended to MPs to vote for the draft of the law on the Fund for the Support of Culture of National Minorities which suggested increasing its budget to accommodate support for cultural matters of the Vietnamese community, which is the new official national minority in Slovakia.
Further, it was advocated for amending the law concerning the residence of foreigners in Slovakia to enable same-sex couples who have entered a marriage or registered partnership abroad to live together in Slovakia.
As well, the group endorsed the Report on the activities of the Public Defender of Rights for 2023 submitted to NC SR and the bill proposal seeking compensation for victims of forced sterilization of Roma women among others.
Many laws supported by the GFMN in NC SR were adopted in the Slovak parliament and experts were able to directly influence legislation in various areas, such as housing, education and language rights in favour of minorities.
The Group of Friends of National Minorities in the National Council of the Slovak Republic (GFNM in NC SR) during Fall meetings with MPs in Bratislava, Slovakia.
History of the GFNM in NC SR
The Group of Friends of National Minorities in the National Council of the Slovak Republic (GFNM in NC SR) as a meeting platform for experts and legislators was established in 2021 by Ábel Ravasz, President Emeritus of the Matthias Bel Institute and Miroslav Kollár former MP.
The core expert group includes five internal analysts from the institute and experts outside this organization, such as former and current government officials, senior civil servants, leaders of non-profit organizations, and researchers. This group has a contact group in parliament composed of MPs who have an interest in minority issues.
Our President and Senior Research the Minority Issues Research Institute (MIRI) Dr Svetluša Surová is an expert member of the GFNM in NC SR and we at MIRI are very appreciative of the opportunity of having a representative in this important forum for minorities.
More information about GFNM in NC SR can be found here.
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