The Group of Friends of Minorities in the National Council of Slovak Republic had a meeting with the members of the Slovak parliament on April 17, 2024, where experts were presenting statements on the draft laws to be debated in the current legislature session. The group has scrutinized twelve draft bills that could influence minority communities in Slovakia.
President and Senior Researcher of MIRI, Dr Svetluša Surová has been an expert member of this group in the area of minority policies and minority rights since 2022.
In this particular meeting, was discussed also the Report on the activities of the Public Defender of Rights (PDR) for 2023. In the report, the ombudsman presented his observations on the respect of fundamental rights and freedoms of natural and legal persons by public authorities and his proposals and recommendations to remedy the shortcomings identified.
One of the scrutinized cases by PDR was the quarantine of the Roma settlement Glejovka in Pezinok during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, which is in great detail described in the report (pp. 28-30). The PDR has concluded there had been a violation of the right to freedom of movement and residence of the inhabitants of the quarantined locality of Glejovka in Pezinok.
It was Dr Surová who filed a petition to the PDR and objected to the closure of the Roma settlement Glejovka in the town of Pezinok. Therefore, she has informed the MPs of her petition, PDR statement as well as her research findings, which show that in the second wave of the pandemic, the Regional Offices of Public Health (ROPH) have in the same or similar way as in Glejovka quarantining dozens of MRCs. Dr Surova raised concerns about violation of fundamental rights and freedoms of the most marginalized and socially excluded segments of Slovakia society.
The Group of Friends of Minorities in the National Council of Slovak Republic was established in September 2021, and since then it has prepared expert analysis of approximately 70 laws that directly or indirectly concern minorities. Thanks to the cooperation with the members of the National Council of Slovak Republic, experts were able to directly influence legislation in various areas, such as housing, education and language rights in favour of minorities.
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