October 17, 2024
A three-day working summit of ombudsmen from the Visegrad Group countries is held in Smolenice, Slovakia. This time it is the 20th anniversary of the summit, and thus a joint cooperation of ombudsman institutions in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and the Slovak Republic.
August 2, 2024
On 2 August, we commemorate the last 4,300 Roma and Sinti in the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, who were murdered by the SS on that night in 1944 despite their fierce resistance. In memory of all 500,000 Roma and Sinti murdered in Nazi-occupied Europe, the European Parliament declared this date the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Roma and Sinti in 2015. On August 2, 2024, we will commemorate the 80th anniversary with the last survivors of the Holocaust of Roma and Sinti.
July 8, 2024
At its meeting in June, the Advisory Body on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities called for the Deputy Ombudsman to discuss with the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs key issues related to the transformation of social services. In particular, the need to enshrine the definition of community-based social services directly in law. The legislators could add it, for example, to the currently discussed regulation of the so-called social and health borderline.
June 3, 2024
Stanislav Křeček and Vít Alexander Schorm have presented the Annual Report of their office for the year 2023. They welcomed the fact that ministries and authorities had successfully used the Ombudsman’s findings to correct maladministration in individual cases and to change inappropriate practices. On the other hand, they also drew attention to some topics that remained open, such as the transformation of large institutions for people with disabilities and, above all, the upcoming establishment of a children’s ombudsman.
May 13, 2024
The Ombudsman helps EU citizens in various areas and situations, for example when they are disadvantaged at work, when they are claiming parental allowance or pensions or if their children have not received enough language support at school. EU citizens or their family members can ask the Ombudsman for help when they experienced unequal treatment due to their nationality. For more information about the Ombudsman's assistance to EU citizens, see the Ombudsman's website.
April 29, 2024
Two surveys of the Public Defender of Rights assessed the accessibility of public buildings in terms of construction law as well as in practice with the help of people with various disabilities. It turned out that construction authorities of municipalities with extended competence approve the vast majority of applications for exemptions from the decree on barrier-free use. This can hinder the accessibility of buildings for people with disabilities. Testers in the field have found that the level of accessibility and the number of barriers in public institutions differ depending on the type of disability. Buildings are most easily accessible for people with physical disabilities, while people with hearing impairments face the greatest barriers.
April 11, 2024
Following the Government's meeting on the amendment to the Ombudsman Act, the Public Defender of Rights Stanislav Křeček welcomed the Minister for Legislation's position on the institution of a Children's Ombudsman. The establishment of the Children's Ombudsman along with the expansion of the Ombudsman's mandate in the protection of human rights was approved by the Government on Wednesday April 10th.
March 18, 2024
The Defender, Stanislav Křeček, and his deputy, Vít Alexander Schorm, introduced today the preparations made by their office with regard to the possible further expansion of their competence in the field of human rights protection. Over the past four years, the Defender has utilised 38.25 million Czech crowns under the Norway Grants project [1] to enhance his activities in the area of human rights with a number of surveys, reports and recommendations, as well as other activities aimed at experts and the general public. Thanks, among others, to the partnership with the Norwegian National Human Rights Institution, the staff of the Defender’s Office have gained experience in working methods typical of institutions with a broad human rights protection mandate. They already put the experience to use in their current work, and will benefit from it especially if the Public Defender of Rights assumes the role of a national human rights institution (NHRI) and a children’s ombudsman. Both are envisaged by the forthcoming amendment to the Public Defender of Rights Act, discussed by the Legislative Council of the Government on Thursday, 29 February.
December 3, 2023
The stories of two men with mental disabilities recorded by employees of the Defender’s Office during their visits illustrate a phenomenon which has been mostly overlook so far: some people with mental disabilities, especially those with challenging behaviour, receive high doses of tranquilisers. According to the Deputy Defender, this practice has to change. Behaviour is often the only possible form of communication for people who cannot otherwise make contact with others. It is therefore necessary that the latter understand the unmet needs behind the patient’s challenging behaviour and be able to respond accordingly. Tranquillisers must not be the first, let alone the only and permanent “solution”.
November 6, 2023
As in previous years, current data from the Czech Ministry of Education show that Romani pupils are roughly 10 times more likely to leave psychological counseling centres with a diagnosis of mild mental disability than their non-Romani classmates. According to the Ombudsman, in the three years when he has been monitoring this topic, the situation in Romani education has not improved much. On average 3.5% of primary school pupils are of Roma origin. However, over a quarter (26.2%) of pupils educated according to the rules with reduced requirements, designed specifically for children with mild mental disabilities, are Roma. Such a disproportion raises questions about whether equal treatment of Roma in access to and provision of education is ensured.
October 24, 2023
Before the start of the The Second Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform held in Prague, ombuds and representatives of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) from more than sixty countries around the world met at an online conference entitled "The Battle for Crimea — The Battle for Human Rights". The Ukrainian Ombudsman — Commissioner for Human Rights of the Ukrainian Parliament — Dmytro Lubynets asked his Czech counterpart, Ombudsman Stanislav Křecek, to co-organize the conference. Together with the participants, they discussed current problems and human rights violations in occupied Crimea.
October 23, 2023
The joint declaration was initiated by Polish Ombudsman Marcin Wiącek as this year's host of the annual meeting of V4 ombudsmen. Ombuds institutions in all four countries have experienced the gradual broadening of their mandate and competences. For example, the Slovak Ombudsman is currently beginning to oversee the rights of people restricted in their personal freedom. In the Czech Republic, the forthcoming amendment to the Ombudsman Act includes the establishment of a children's ombudsman and foresees that the ombudsman would also exercise the mandate of the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI).
October 20, 2023
According to the Ombudsman's findings, the Ministry of Health does not process requests for compensation for unlawful sterilizations within the legal deadline. In some cases, it has exceeded the prescribed 60 days three times. Moreover, it has not been helpful in communication with the applicants, neither it has sufficiently informed them about their rights. The Ombudsman informed the Minister of Health of his conclusions and recommended the Ministry to make several adjustments to the instructions to the applicants for compensation.
July 18, 2023
The Ombudsman has sent his comments on the draft law amending the Ombudsman Act to the Minister for Legislation. The Government's proposal aims to establish a Children's Ombudsman and a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) under the Office of the Ombudsman. This will entail many new responsibilities and tasks. The Ombudsman therefore advises the Government that adequate funding and staffing are needed to carry out the new mandates with dignity.
July 3, 2023
The Ombudsman's Advisory Body for people with disabilities is alarmed about the large number of people with disabilities in the Czech Republic restricted in their legal capacity. Members of the advisory body expressed their concern during their June session. As Ombudsman's research shows, the courts in the Czech Republic still prefer restrictions of legal capacity to other forms of support. People with restricted legal capacity cannot make independent decisions in important areas of their lives. For example, they cannot freely manage their own property, make decisions about their health, marry or vote. This is contrary to Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The UN Committee has previously criticized the new Czech legislation which continues to allow for restrictions of legal capacity.
January 6, 2023
Dorota Šandorova experienced many years of abuse by caregivers in a social services facility. Two years ago, one of them killed her on the night of 6-7 January. He straddled her, brutally twisted her arms behind her back and pushed her full force against her chest until she fell unconscious and suffocated. The court convicted the perpetrator of murder, then reclassified it as negligent homicide. The incident did not become public until last November and did not appear in professional case reports. Today, we at the Office of the Public Defender of Rights, along with people in other places across the Czech Republic, remembered Dorota Šandorová.
November 28, 2022
"People with severe mental and combined disabilities are very vulnerable. They are often completely dependent on the care of those around them. It is all the more serious to find that they are exposed to mistreatment in what should be a safe home for them. This is unacceptable," says Ombudsman Stanislav Křeček, referring to a recent article published in the weekly magazine Respekt about cases of abused and even killed clients of several social services institutions.
October 21, 2022
At the end of their meeting in Kroměříž, the three ombudsmen from the Visegrad Four countries stressed the importance of an active relationship between the state and ombudsman institutions. The importance of the ombudsman's mission, according to them, is particularly clear at a time of social change, such as the epidemic of covid and the war in Ukraine.
October 20, 2022
The Visegrad Four countries, as neighbours or as linguistically and culturally close countries, have become destinations and new homes for millions of people affected by the war in Ukraine. The experience and assistance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia in the face of such a huge movement of people seeking a safe haven is being discussed today by representatives of the four Visegrad ombudsman institutions. Each year, their offices take turns to organise a conference focused on issues related to their work. This year's two-day meeting is hosted by the Czech Ombudsman Stanislav Křeček, who has invited his foreign ombudsman colleagues and experts from their offices to the moravian town of Kroměříž.