CCPR/CO/78/SVK
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children assigned to special schools designed for mentally disabled children, which causes a
discriminatory effect, in contravention of article 26 of the Covenant.
The State party should take immediate and decisive steps to eradicate the segregation of
Roma children in its educational system by ensuring that any differentiation within education
is aimed at securing attendance in non-segregated schools and classes. Where needed, the
State party should also provide special training to Roma children to secure, through positive
measures, their access to education without segregation.
19.
The Committee has taken note of the position of the delegation as to the reasons for the lack
of statistical data with regard to the situation of Roma as well as women. However, the Committee
emphasizes the importance of data to assess the situation in the State party and to address possible
inequalities and patterns of discrimination. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned at the large
discrepancy between official census figures and data provided by NGOs as to the size of the Roma
population in the State party. Such underreporting may have a significant impact on the position of
Roma in public life, including the exercise of certain rights, for instance under the Minority
Language Law (arts. 2, 3 and 26).
While appreciating the complex nature of gathering such data, the Committee urges the State
party to take steps to gather, through methods compatible with principles of data protection,
statistical data reflecting the current size of the Roma population, as well as the position of
minorities and women in society, including in the workplace, both in the public and the
private sector.
20.
The State party should disseminate widely the text of its second periodic report the replies
provided to the Committee's list of issues, and the present concluding observations.
21.
In accordance with article 70, paragraph 5, of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the State
party should provide within one year relevant information on the implementation of the Committee’s
recommendations regarding police harassment and ill-treatment during police investigations
(para.11), forced or coerced sterilization (para.12), results of policies adopted to eradicate
discrimination and to combat racial violence and incitement (para. 16 to 19). The Committee
requests the State party to provide information on the other recommendations made and on the
implementation of the Covenant as a whole in its final periodic report to be submitted by 1 August
2007.
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