ČR criticised in UN for not compensating sterilised women

Geneve/Switzerland, Oct 12 (CTK) - Several Czech NGOs have criticised the Czech Republic in the U.N. in Geneve for not having removed discrimination against women, particularly, for not having compensated women sterilised against their will, Human Rights League's lawyer Katerina Cervena has told CTK.

She submitted the criticism to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that opened its regular session in Geneve this week.

The NGOs claim that the Czech state does not help women return to work after maternity leave and restricts their personal right to choose the place where they want to give birth to their babies.

The Human Rights League blames the Czech government for not having investigated the cases of (Romany) women who were sterilised against their will and not having secured their compensation, Cervena said.

She pointed out that Czech women who refuse to give birth in maternity hospitals do not officially have a possibility to give birth at home or in special "birthing homes" with the assistance of midwives only. These women are left without health care and forced to undergo unnecessary risks, Cervena said.

Along with the Human Rights League, the criticism was voiced by representatives of the Czech Women's Lobby who criticised the nil representation of women in the current Czech government and the shortage of nursery schools and kindergartens in the Czech Republic.

They also pointed to the insufficient offer of flexible working hours, for instance, part-time jobs for women looking after small kids, which leads to the low employment of women with children in the Czech Republic.

Another critical document was issued by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) saying the Czech Republic refused to compensate Romany women who became victims of forced sterilisations.

Moreover, the Czech government has not yet taken steps to prevent this practice in the future, the ERRC claims.

The Czech government has a possibility to set a very needed example to other countries in which Romany women were forcedly sterilised, ERRC executive director Robert Kushen stressed in the statement.

The Czech government's official delegation will have a hearing in the U.N. committee on October 14. It will defend its steps taken to remove women's discrimination in the country.

"After hearing the reports of both sides, that is independent organisations and the official delegation, the committee will work out recommendations for the next period that the government should fulfil," Cervena told CTK.

She, however, admitted that the U.N. committee usually used more diplomatic formulations in its recommendations than the NGOs.

So far only two women have been compensated for forced sterilisation in the Czech Republic though there are many such cases, Cervena recalled.

Lower-level courts approved compensation to other women as well but the Constitutional Court ruled that their cases were subject to the statute of limitations. Some of the victims received only an apology.

International organisations have also criticised the Czech Republic for a low share of women in politics in the long run. Four years ago, the CEDAW recommended that the Czech government take measures to facilitate women's involvement in the decision-making on public affairs.