Council of Europe commissioner: Czech authorities should extend law on compensation for victims of forced sterilisations

Michael O’Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, on Wednesday published letters to the Czech Prime Minister, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and President of the Senate, which call for the urgent extension of the law on compensation for victims of forced sterilisations in Czechia. Conducted between 1966 and 2012, most of the victims of force sterilisation are Roma women.

The current law entered into force in 2022 and is due to expire on January 1st 2025. However, many victims have not been able to obtain compensation, due to problems in the procedure. Of the almost 1,500 compensation claims processed, only 688 were granted, and the rest were rejected. The Commissioner asks the Czech authorities to urgently initiate and adopt legislative changes to extend the law for a sufficient period of time, to ensure access to compensation for all victims.