MINELRES: Joint Statement on Coercive Sterilizations of Romani Women

[European Roma Rights Center]

April 9, 2003

Joint Statement of the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), the
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Slovak
Helsinki Committee (SHC) on the Issue of Coercive Sterilizations of
Romani Women, on the Occasion of the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension
Meeting on Roma and Sinti

On April 10, 2003, The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), the 
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Slovak 
Helsinki Committee (SHC) will address a meeting on Roma and Sinti Issues 
organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) 
with their concerns about evidence that Romani women in Slovakia, the Czech 
Republic and Hungary have been sterilized in the absence of full and 
informed consent. The text of the Joint Statement of the ERRC, IHF and SHC 
follows:


Early 2003 has been marked by widespread public debate surrounding the
issue of coercive sterilizations and other extreme human rights abuses
in relation to Romani women's health, following the publication of Body
and Soul: Forced Sterilization and Other Assaults on Roma Reproductive
Freedom in Slovakia, a report by the New York-based non-governmental
organisation Center for Reproductive Rights and the Kosice-based Centre
for Civil and Human Rights. In recent weeks, U.S government officials
have stated that they have raised the issue "at the highest levels" with
the Slovak government. In response to questions by the members of the
European Parliament on the issue, European Union Commissioner
responsible for the Enlargement of the European Union Mr. Gunter
Verheugen stated, on behalf of the European Commission:

"The Member of the Commission responsible for Enlargement has
immediately addressed this issue in a letter to Slovak Prime Minister
Dzurinda, underlining that these allegations are a matter of serious
concern and if proved to be true, would constitute a serious breach of
human rights. He has asked the Slovak authorities to vigorously carry
out the necessary investigations, remedy possible discriminatory
measures and keep the Commission informed about the proceedings."

Slovak officials have stated that they have opened criminal
investigation into the matter.

Field research by the European Roma Rights Center conducted in 2002 and
2003 indicates that there is serious cause for concern with respect to
allegations that sterilizations have in the recent past been performed
on Romani women in Slovakia absent full and informed consent, as well as
in relation to a number of other issues related to Romani women's health
in Slovakia. Preliminary research undertaken with respect to Romani
women's health issues in the Czech Republic and Hungary indicate that a
number of the concerns raised in recent weeks with respect to Slovakia
appear to be prevalent also in those countries. In a number of cases, we
have established a failure to secure full and informed consent where
sterilization or other invasive gynaecological procedure has been at
issue. In some cases, women were simply told, after the operation, that
they had been sterilized.

- With respect to Slovakia, on the basis of research conducted
throughout Autumn 2002 and in the early months of 2003, the ERRC
believes that sterilizations absent full and informed consent continue
to be performed on Romani women. The majority of the approximately 200
women whom ERRC interviewed have not been provided with key information
of relevance to sterilization procedures to which they have been
subjected. In most cases, some form of consent to sterilisation has
been registered, but consent has not been to the standard of "informed":
misinformation, manipulative information, and pressure have been applied
by medical authorities. In many cases, no effort has been made to
present clear and understandable explanation to patients referred for
sterilization. The high levels of racist animosity documented generally
in Slovakia -- and in particular anti-Romani sentiment -- appear to have
played a role in the abusive or negligent treatment of women by doctors
and nurses. On the basis of independent research, the ERRC believes that
dozens of Romani women have in the recent past been victims of
violations of their reproductive rights and their rights in the field of
women's health. One Romani woman in Slovakia told the ERRC: "While I was
on the operating table and under anesthesia, the doctor gave me some
papers to sign. I asked what it was and he told me that it was
'something about the child'. I was not able to read what was on the
paper because I was not fully conscious at the time. I only found out
later that I had signed consent to be sterilised and now I cannot have
any more children." ERRC documented dozens of similar statements in
Slovakia.

- With respect to the Czech Republic, on the basis of preliminary
research conducted in early 2003 in some localities, the ERRC can
discern no qualitative difference between issues raised with respect to
Slovakia and preliminary results in the Czech Republic, with the
possible exception being that public discourse on the necessity of
curbing Romani birth rates appears to be less pronounced. During
preliminary field research, ERRC interviewed thirty-six Romani women and
documented twenty-seven cases of sterilisation, out of which,
twenty-four cases seem to be cases of sterilisation conducted without
proper, full and informed consent. Most of the women interviewed were
sterilised in 1990s. The ERRC pilot research indicates further that
there is significant cause for concern in the Czech Republic regarding
other forms of abusive treatment of women by doctors and nurses on
grounds of race.

- ERRC field research in Hungary in recent weeks has documented a range
of issues including sterilizations of Romani women absent full and
informed consent, racial segregation in hospitals, and racially
motivated physical and verbal abuse of Romani women in health care. In
March alone, the ERRC interviewed forty-four Romani women and documented
nine cases of sterilisation, out of which, four such operations appear
to have been performed absent proper, full and informed consent. The
ERRC, together with the Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic
Minorities (NEKI), is currently involved in litigation on behalf of one
Romani woman who was sterilized after having been provided with
misleading and/or incomplete information.

At the 1999 Istanbul Summit, the OSCE Heads of State declared that: "We
deplore violence and other manifestations of racism and discrimination
against minorities, including Roma and Sinti. We commit ourselves to
ensure that laws and policies fully respect the rights of Roma and Sinti
and, where necessary, to promote anti-discrimination legislation to this
effect." In addition, in the Charter for European Security adopted at
the same Istanbul Summit the OSCE participating States declared: "We
recognise the particular difficulties faced by Roma and Sinti and the
need to undertake effective measures in order to achieve full equality
of opportunity, consistent with OSCE commitments, for persons belonging
to Roma and Sinti. We will enforce our efforts to ensure that Roma and
Sinti are able to play a full and equal part in our societies, and to
eradicate discrimination against them." In the 1992 Helsinki Document
the CSCE participating States "express[ed] their concern over recent and
flagrant manifestations of intolerance, discrimination, aggressive
nationalism, xenophobia, anti-semitism and racism" and "reaffirm[ed], in
this context, the need to develop appropriate programmes addressing
problems of their respective nationals belonging to Roma and other
groups traditionally identified as Gypsies and to create conditions for
them to have equal opportunities to participate fully in the life of
society, and will consider how to co-operate to this end."

In line with these commitments and in connection with the issues of
coercive sterilizations in Slovakia, a first and most important step is
for Slovak government officials to acknowledge the existence of
widespread practices of coercive sterilizations of Romani women, and to
establish an independent commission of inquiry into the issue. In this
undertaking, Slovak officials would be able to draw on experience from
other participating OSCE states. Any commission established should
include international experts, Roma, and NGOs along with Slovak
governmental officials, and its work should be based on the principles
of independence, professionalism, and transparency.

In the Czech Republic and Hungary, authorities should thoroughly
investigate reported cases of coercive sterilization, and make widely
available -- and widely publicised -- procedures for women who believe
they may have been abusively sterilized to report the issue. These
procedures should ensure privacy rights, as well as rights related to
effective remedy.

The ERRC, IHF and SHC are of the view that while the criminal
investigations opened by Slovak authorities are necessary, they are by
no means sufficient to address the human rights and race issues
concerned. Indeed, due to an extreme dependence on the formal existence
of a signature as evidence of consent in the legal systems of Central
and Eastern Europe, in a number of the cases documented by the ERRC, it
is entirely possible that, guided by existing practice, criminal
investigation authorities may -- even if investigations are carried out
in good faith -- rule that prosecution is unwarranted. The ERRC, IHF and
SHC believe that any investigations undertaken should focus not merely
on the formal existence of a signature, if the latter exists at all, but
also on the circumstances under which it has been obtained, as well as
the quality of information provided in order to secure consent.

While justice requires prosecution of all those culpable for coercive
sterilizations, it is unlikely that there can be any meaningful change
with respect to the issue of coercive sterilisation of Romani women
without a range of measures going well beyond criminal prosecution of
perpetrators. The ERRC, IHF and SHC are of the view that thoroughgoing
policy measures are also required in all three countries to:
- Establish, in accordance with international human rights standards,
adequate safeguards against abuses of the patient's right to informed
consent, particularly with regard to medical procedures which may have
grave human rights implications;
- Promote rights culture in health care, among medical practitioners as
well as among the public at large.

In the contexts of the recent publicity on the issue of coercive
sterilizations in Slovakia, the ERRC, IHF and SCH are also concerned
about the role of civil society in documenting and protecting Roma
rights.

On January 23, 2003, the Office of Human Rights and Minorities in
Slovakia filed a criminal complaint under Articles 221-224 of the Slovak
Criminal Code (offences against health) to investigate the coercive
sterilization of Romani women. The complaint was based on the
allegations contained in the report Body and Soul: Forced Sterilization
and Other Assaults on Roma Reproductive Freedom in Slovakia, published
by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Centre for Civil and Human
Rights, and included a conditional clause to investigate the possible
"spreading of false rumours" (an offence under Article 199 of the
Criminal Code). Although no formal charges have been brought against the
authors of this report, this threat against human rights defenders,
whether followed by actual prosecution or not, is wholly unacceptable
and puts at risk the exercise of fundamental rights such as that of
freedom of expression.

The space for political debate and the voice of civil society are both
placed under threat when a government acts to silence its critics. As an
OSCE member state, Slovakia is committed to "respect the right of
everyone, individually or in association with others, to seek, receive
and impart freely views and information on human rights and fundamental
freedoms, including the rights to disseminate and publish such views and
information and respect the rights of everyone, individually or in
association with others, to study and discuss the observance of human
rights and fundamental freedoms and to develop and discuss ideas for
improved protection of human rights and better means for ensuring
compliance with international human rights standards" (Copenhagen 1990).
This commitment is also in line with the Declaration on the Rights and
Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote
and Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms. In addition, in Istanbul in 1999 OSCE member states pledged
themselves to enhance the ability of NGOs to make their full
contribution to the further development of civil society and respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms.

We urge the Slovak government to publicly ensure that the authors of the
report will not be criminally prosecuted in relation to the publication
of Body and Soul, and in so doing demonstrate its commitment to
respecting the voice of civil society and the contributions of civil
society to identifying and ending human rights violations and seeking
justice for victims.

By the nature of their work, human rights defenders encounter highly
sensitive information that could put themselves, victims or witnesses of
abuse or others at risk. Efforts to employ effective safeguards in the
handling and dissemination of this information are legitimate and form
part of professional conduct of human rights field research. Research of
human rights violations is based on the ethical rule that victims' names
will not be released without their consent, and that human rights
defenders will protect the victims' right to privacy. Victims and
witnesses should be protected, as far as possible, from threats and
intimidation that could result from disclosure of their names.

Since the release of the report Body and Soul, Slovak government
officials have allegedly urged the authors of the report to provide the
names of the victims and witnesses whose testimony is included in the
report. However, a breech of confidentiality may harm the victims and
witnesses interviewed, compromise the professional integrity of the NGOs
concerned, and jeopardise trust in the capacity of human rights NGOs to
be effective defenders of human rights. In addition to safety concerns,
protecting the confidentiality of respondent identity is part of the
right to privacy, provided by Article 8 of the European Convention on
Human Rights and Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. Human rights researchers and other civil society
actors may co-operate with official investigations, including by
disclosing certain identities, if they are formally constituted as
witnesses by a competent authority, where the interests of justice
require such co-operation and adequate provisions have been made for the
security of those involved or implicated. Particular care is exercised
with respect to releasing the identities of victims who are minors.

In view of the foregoing, the ERRC, IHF and SCH urge the Slovak
government to refrain from demanding that the authors of the report Body
and Soul release the names of their sources.

In Central European countries including Slovakia, the Czech Republic and
Hungary, racism and paternalism interact to produce outcomes wherein
Roma are treated by medical practitioners as individuals not fully
capable or deserving of taking meaningful decisions about their own
lives. Romani women's reproductive rights are affected in particular.
Given the entrenched and systemic nature of anti-Romani bias in Europe,
it falls to the governments of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary
to undertake rigorous, thorough-going and proactive policy measures to
end the legacies of intense paternalism and racism in health care, and
in particular to stop and redress coercive sterilization practices.
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The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal defence
in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the European
Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary

Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201
E-mail: office@errc.org
_____________________________________________

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) is a 
non-governmental, not-for-profit association of  41 Helsinki Committees and 
cooperating organizations in the Balkans, Central Asia, the Caucasus, 
Europe and North America. The IHF seeks to promote the compliance of
member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
(OSCE) with the human rights provisions to which they committed themselves 
in the Helsinki Final Act and its Follow-up Documents, as well as with 
relevant international law.

IHF
Wickenburggasse 14/7, A-1080
Vienna, Austria.

Tel: +43 1 408 88 22
Fax: +43 1 408 88 22 50
Email: office@ihf-hr.org
http://www.ihf-hr.org

____________________________________________

The Slovak Helsinki Committee (SHC) a non-governmental, not-for-profit 
organization, registered as an indigenous civic association. The SHC is a 
member of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. Its 
mission is to monitor and promote Slovakia's compliance with its human
rights commitments under the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the Act's 
follow-up provisions and other international human rights instruments that 
the Slovak Republic has ratified. The SHC is dedicated to the prevention of 
human rights violations, to human rights education and to the promotion
and implementation of international human rights standards.

SHC
Grosslongova 4
SK-811 09 Bratislava 1
Slovakia

Tel: +421 2 5296 8875
Fax: +421 2 5296 8876
Email: shv@shv.sk
http://www.shv.sk

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