LIGA compiled the following shadow report for the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). This report aims to provide the CERD with specific information which will complement the Czech government’s 6th and 7th Periodical Report, on Performance of the Obligations Arising from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
In their report, LIGA has included extensive information on human rights violations against Roma people in the Czech Republic. LIGA claims that due to “deeply-rooted, negative sentiments from the majority Czech population,” the Roma minority is “susceptible to discrimination in almost all areas of life.” The report specifically addresses the following topics: racial prejudices among law-enforcement officials, the lack of an independent body to investigate complaints against the police, activities of extremist groups, racially-motivated violence, the right to work, education and housing, as well as the sterilisation of Roma women.
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The League of Human Rights (LIGA) is a non-governmental organisation based in the Czech Republic, and a corresponding member of FIDH. LIGA strives for systematic changes in order to achieve human rights compliance by State authorities, providing free legal aid to victims of gross human rights violations.