MINELRES: Slovak Parliament Adopted Anti-Discriminatory Bill

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Roma Network <romale@zahav.net.il> 


SITA 
20/5/2004/19:46 

BRATISLAVA, May 20, (SITA) � Parliament adopted the bill on equal
treatment and on protection against discrimination within its ongoing
26th session on Thursday. Out of 133 present deputies 107 voted for,
nine were against, sixteen abstained from voting and one did not vote.
If the President Rudolf Schuster will not veto the bill, the
anti-discriminatory law should become effective from July 1. 

Slovakia will thus have one single legal norm concerning the prohibition
of discrimination. So far this issue was covered by numerous other bills
that were not explicitly focused on the discrimination. The bill defines
terms as discrimination, direct and indirect discrimination, positive
discrimination, harassment and unjustified sanction. It sets the ways
the equal treatment should be promoted in labor relations, business
relations, in social security area, in healthcare or education sector.
The bill also states in which cases unequal treatment is allowed, it
enables positive discrimination on ethnical and racial basis. 

The new bill increases powers of the Slovak National Center for Human
Rights (SNSLP), which will have a right to defend a person in
administrative proceedings linked with a violation of the principle of
equal treatment. The center will also monitor and evaluate situation in
keeping of the principle of equal treatment. 

Though the bill prohibits discrimination on basis of different sexual
orientation, it does not deal with the question of registered
partnerships of homosexuals, neither it deals with child adoption by
such couples. 

The parliament has also adopted a revision on the law on the Slovak
Supreme Audit Office. It extends the power of the office to finance from
EU funds.