Czech Republic: Update to Information Request CZE23663.E of 25 April 1996 on whether a government policy encourages Romani women to have themselves sterilized
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CZE24943.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Czech Republic: Update to Information Request CZE23663.E of 25 April 1996 on whether a government policy encourages Romani women to have themselves sterilized, 1 October 1996, CZE24943.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac1b88.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to an August 1992 Helsinki Watch report entitled Struggling for Identity: Czechoslovakia's Endangered Gypsies, throughout its regime the communist government encouraged the sterilization of a "disproportionately high number" of Romani women through monetary incentives and pressure from social and health workers (19). The government continued to offer Romani women money to be sterilized until late 1990 (ibid., 32). Helsinki Watch in 1991 and 1992 did not receive any reports of Romani women being sterilized following pressure from social workers or offers of monetary incentives (ibid.). A June 1996 report by HRW/Helsinki states that during the communist regime "sterilization procedures were conducted on some Slovak Roma to lower what was considered the high, unhealthy birthrate," but makes no mention of sterilizations of Romani women further to their August 1992 report (4).
A representative of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (HCA) in Brno, which monitors the situation of Roma in particular and human rights in general in the Czech Republic, stated during a 23 October 1996 telephone interview that to his knowledge no forced or "encouraged" sterilizations of Romani women had occurred in the Czech Republic since the 1989 revolution.
For detailed information on the government policy that encouraged the sterilization of Romani women, please consult the attached excerpt from Struggling for Ethnic Identity: Czechoslovakia's Endangered Gypsies. The 1972 Decree on Sterilization and the public notice Financial Grants for Sterilization are also contained in this attachment.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (HCA), Brno, Czech Republic. 23 October 1996. Telephone interview with representative.
Helsinki Watch. August 1992. Struggling for Ethnic Identity: Czechoslovakia's Endangered Gypsies. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch (HRW)/Helsinki. June 1996. Vol. 3, No. 11 (D). Czech Republic: Roma in the Czech Republic: Foreigners in Their Own Land. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Attachments
Helsinki Watch. August 1992. Struggling for Ethnic Identity: Czechoslovakia's Endangered Gypsies. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 19-35, 139-46.
Human Rights Watch (HRW)/Helsinki. June 1996. Vol. 3, No. 11 (D). Czech Republic: Roma in the Czech Republic: Foreigners in Their Own Land. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 4-5.
