Segregated education, inadequate protection against discrimination and barriers in everyday life remain a problem in Slovakia. That is according to a report prepared by disability rights organisations for the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The UN committee will assess Slovakia’s progress in meeting its obligations next week. It will consider both the Slovak government’s report and submissions from civil-society organisations. The assessment will result in recommendations aimed at improving the protection of the rights of people with disabilities.
Kristína Medlová from the Human Rights Coalition, an alliance of 12 non-governmental organisations and cultural groups, says changes are particularly needed when it comes to protection from violence. She says all services supporting victims and survivors of violence should be fully accessible to people with disabilities, including women and girls. Justice Minister Boris Susko (SMER-SD), however, says that in criminal proceedings involving victims of domestic violence, people with disabilities are covered by the same rules as anyone else.
The organisations behind the report argue that the rights of people with disabilities often exist only on paper. The Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Slovakia says long-standing problems include inaccessible elections, architectural barriers and a lack of accessible teaching materials.
The Education Ministry says creating a fully inclusive education system is a long-term process, but is already taking steps to improve inclusion. The Health Ministry, meanwhile, says it is systematically working to protect the rights of psychiatric patients as the report also points to continuing shortcomings in protecting people with disabilities from torture or humiliating treatment in psychiatric facilities.
Source: STVR
