The Czech authorities have taken several legislative and policy steps to prevent and combat hate speech and hate crime. However, several issues, including frequent hate speech against Roma and LGBTI individuals - including in schools -, as well as the persistent segregation of Roma children in education, give rise to concern, according to the European Commission against racism and intolerance (ECRI).
Police and schools lead efforts to fight hate
In its latest monitoring report on Czechia, ECRI welcomes the creation in 2022 of the Government Commissioner for Roma minority affairs to fight antigypsyism, among other tasks; the adoption of a strategy to combat antisemitism from 2025 to 2030; and several action plans developed in cooperation with civil society to combat extremism and prejudicial hatred. The country's president has regularly acted to counter hate speech incidents whenever they occurred.
The authorities have also made considerable efforts in training police officers on hate crime, antigypsyism and intercultural competencies. The national police expanded the number of minority liaison officers to 300 across the country and every prosecution-service office now has a hate crime focal point.
Legislation against hate crime has been strengthened by amending the Criminal Code to include sexual orientation among the bias motivations. ECRI also notes that in several schools where Roma mediators and assistants were recruited, school dropout rates among Roma children have fallen, and praises the authorities' efforts to integrate Ukrainian children under temporary protection in the education system.
Hate speech also targeting Ukrainians and Jews
Despite these positive developments, ECRI expresses concern about several issues.
Hate speech often occurs in the country, in particular on social media and during electoral campaigns, mostly affecting Roma and LGBTI individuals, but increasingly targeting Ukrainians and Jewish people as well.
ECRI expresses particular concern about the reported frequency of hate speech and bullying against LGBTI and Roma pupils, both from other pupils and occasionally from teachers and non-Roma parents. Hate speech and bullying against Ukrainian children have also been reported.
The report underlines that Roma children continue to be disproportionately placed in special education - in 2022, 15% of Roma pupils were in special education compared to 2.5% in the overall population. Roma children are also often placed in schools with a disproportionately high proportion of Roma pupils.
Two priority recommendations to address racism
ECRI has issued 15 recommendations to the Czech authorities to address the problems identified. Two recommendations should be implemented as a matter of priority: implementing further measures to combat racist and anti-LGBTI hate speech and bullying in schools, including specific strategies for LGBTI, Roma and Ukrainian children; and ensuring an adequate number of Roma teaching assistants in schools.
Resolute action is also needed to review the methodology used by schools in psychological assessments of pupils to remedy the problem of a disproportionately high number of Roma children being placed in special education, taking into consideration the European Court of Human Rights judgment in the case D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic.
ECRI calls for providing sufficient funding for schools that are taking initiatives to tackle Roma segregation and supporting Roma pupils at risk of dropping out. It also recommends taking specific measures to prevent discrimination against Roma in the private housing market.
Regarding LGBTI equality, ECRI regrets that the national strategy for LGBTI people, developed together with civil society organisations, has not yet been adopted, and calls on the authorities to adopt it with no further delay so it can be used to combat hate speech and hate crime against LGBTI individuals.
To strengthen action against hate crime, ECRI recommends an independent evaluation of the impact of hate crime training of police officers and prosecutors, as well as of the introduction of police minority liaison officers and specialised hate crime staff in the prosecution service.
Finally, it calls on the authorities to ensure that medical professionals are provided with a clear legal and ethical framework concerning intersex children; and that Roma women's requests for compensation for unlawful sterilisation are reviewed in a way that ensures effective redress for all victims.
