The Czech Ministry of Health has received 2,639 requests for compensation for the illegal sterilisation of primarily Roma women between 1966 and 2012, said Deputy Health Minister Ladislav Svec in a round-table debate on the issue yesterday. So far, 1,155 of the requests have been approved, 604 rejected, and 353 have been suspended.
The state has paid out a total of CZK 358.8 million so far, said Svec.
The Ombudsman’s Office, Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fukova, organisations assisting the applicants and social workers point to delays in the proceedings and the non-recognition of evidence. They are seeking to change the official approach.
Victims can apply for compensation for unlawful sterilisation under the law passed in 2022. Women who underwent the procedure without a free choice and information about the consequences between 1 July 1966, and 31 March 2012 can receive CZK 300,000 from the state. Applications can be submitted until 4 January 2027.
The Ministry of Health has 60 days to process the application, and the money should be sent within 30 days of the application being granted. However, according to the Ombudsman’s Office, the government commissioner and NGO representatives, hundreds of women have been waiting months for a decision, some of them for over two years.
“Five years ago, when the law was passed, we expected it to concern 400 applicants,” said Svec. “At this point, we have almost 1,200 who have already received compensation. The situation is not as dire as it might seem. The process is ongoing, and applicants can file their claims.”
He said the process is often complicated by insufficient evidence, as many medical records are missing after so many years.
According to the objections, despite court rulings, the ministry is not sufficiently considering other evidence except for medical records, and there is a lack of staff to deal with the process. Negotiations with applicants are sometimes insensitive, and they also receive incorrect information.
“The ministry’s decision-making perspective should be changed to look for reasons to grant compensation, not to deny it,” said Sandra Paskova, a lawyer with the League of Human Rights.
Since the beginning of 2022, when applications began being submitted, the Ombudsman’s Office has received 195 complaints about the ministry’s procedures.
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) raised suspicions of forced sterilisations, mainly of Roma women, in 2004. Dozens of women then reported this practice to the ombudsman, and some even turned to the courts.
The government committee against torture proposed that compensation be introduced as early as 2006. In 2009, the government apologised for the illegal sterilisations.
