Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Slovakia (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Discrimination on the basis of race or national extraction. Roma. For more than 15 years now, the Committee has been referring to the discrimination faced by the members of the Roma Community and their difficulties in integrating into the labour market. In its previous comment, the Committee noted the adoption of the Strategy for the Integration of Roma until 2030 (“the 2030 Strategy”) and particularly that “employment” is one of the four priority areas of the 2030 Strategy, and that sub-objective 4 aims to “reduce discrimination in the labour market and other forms of anti-Roma racism”. The Committee notes with concern that, despite its numerous requests over the years to assess the results of the existing programmes and to communicate the results of this assessment, once again the Government does not provide this information. The Committee also notes with concern the Government’s repeated statement that statistical information as well as data on discrimination cases are not available. In that regard, the Committee refers the Government to paragraphs 858 and 891 of its 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions. The Committee reminds the Government of the possibility to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard. The Committee further notes that, in April 2023, the European Commission brought Slovakia to the European Court of Justice for not sufficiently addressing discrimination against Roma children at school, in violation of the European Union Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. The European Commission acknowledges that since the initiation of an infringement procedure against Slovakia in 2015, the country has implemented a series of legislative reforms and adopted multiple strategies and action plans to promote the inclusion of Roma in education. However, after carefully assessing those measures and monitoring the situation on the ground, the European Commission concluded that (i) the reforms undertaken so far are insufficient; (ii) the discrimination of Roma children in education in Slovakia continues to persist; (iii) Roma children are often placed in special schools for pupils with mild mental disabilities; (iv) many Roma children who attend mainstream education are also segregated, in separate classes or schools; and (v) in Slovakia, 65 per cent of 6–15 years old Roma pupils attend schools where all or most pupils are Roma, which is a 5 percentage-point increase compared to 2016. Finally, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) observed that discrimination against Roma persists in Slovakia and reiterated its recommendation that the country take all necessary measures to address the root causes of discrimination and segregation of Roma children in the education system and intensify its efforts to ensure that they enjoy equal opportunities in access to quality education (CERD/C/SVK/CO/13, 16 September 2022, paragraph 33). The Committee urges the Government: (i) to take the necessary steps to ensure that the results and impact of the actions and programmes implemented, including within the framework of the action plans derived from the Strategy for the Integration of Roma until 2030 and the Recovery and Resilience Plan, are assessed and asks the Government to communicate the results of this assessment; and (ii) to report on any proactive measures implemented to effectively prevent and penalize acts of discrimination against Roma individuals in employment and occupation (these measures should include awareness-raising efforts aimed at addressing stereotypes and prejudices). Given the lack of information provided on this matter, the Committee reiterates its request for: (i) details on actions taken to end the segregation of Roma pupils in schools, along with any resulting outcomes; (ii) updates on steps taken or planned to gather statistical data on the labour market situation of Roma individuals, disaggregated by sex; and (iii) information on any discrimination cases addressed by the Labour Inspectorate, the Ombudsperson, courts, or other competent authorities, as well as details of any penalties imposed and remedies granted.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.