109th CONGRESS Printed for the use of the 2d Session Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe THE STERILIZATION INVESTIGATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC August 15, 2006 Briefing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Washington: 2008 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 234 Ford House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 202–225–1901 [email protected] http://www.csce.gov Legislative Branch Commissioners HOUSE SENATE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, NEW JERSEY, SAM BROWNBACK, KANSAS, Co-Chairman Chairman FRANK R. WOLF, VIRGINIA GORDON SMITH, OREGON JOSEPH R. PITTS, PENNSYLVANIA SAXBY CHAMBLISS, GEORGIA ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, ALABAMA RICHARD BURR, NORTH CAROLINA MIKE PENCE, INDIANA DAVID VITTER, LOUISIANA BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, MARYLAND CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, CONNECTICUT LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER, RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, WISCONSIN NEW YORK HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, NEW YORK ALCEE L. HASTINGS, FLORIDA VACANT MIKE MCINTYRE, NORTH CAROLINA Executive Branch Commissioners VACANT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE VACANT, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE VACANT, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (II) (2) ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE The Helsinki process, formally titled the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, traces its origin to the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in Finland on August 1, 1975, by the leaders of 33 European countries, the United States and Canada. As of January 1, 1995, the Helsinki process was renamed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The membership of the OSCE has expanded to 56 partici- pating States, reflecting the breakup of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The OSCE Secretariat is in Vienna, Austria, where weekly meetings of the partici- pating States’ permanent representatives are held. In addition, specialized seminars and meetings are convened in various locations. Periodic consultations are held among Senior Officials, Ministers and Heads of State or Government. Although the OSCE continues to engage in standard setting in the fields of military security, economic and environmental cooperation, and human rights and humanitarian concerns, the Organization is primarily focused on initiatives designed to prevent, manage and resolve conflict within and among the participating States. The Organization deploys numerous missions and field activities located in Southeastern and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The website of the OSCE is: <www.osce.org>. ABOUT THE COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is a U.S. Government agency created in 1976 to monitor and encourage compliance by the participating States with their OSCE commitments, with a particular emphasis on human rights. The Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine mem- bers from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce. The positions of Chair and Co-Chair rotate between the Senate and House every two years, when a new Congress convenes. A professional staff assists the Commissioners in their work. In fulfilling its mandate, the Commission gathers and disseminates relevant informa- tion to the U.S. Congress and the public by convening hearings, issuing reports that reflect the views of Members of the Commission and/or its staff, and providing details about the activities of the Helsinki process and developments in OSCE participating States. The Commission also contributes to the formulation and execution of U.S. policy regarding the OSCE, including through Member and staff participation on U.S. Delega- tions to OSCE meetings. Members of the Commission have regular contact with parliamentarians, government officials, representatives of non-governmental organiza- tions, and private individuals from participating States. The website of the Commission is: <www.csce.gov>. (III) (3) THE STERILIZATION INVESTIGATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC AUGUST 15, 2006 PARTICIPANTS Page Ronald McNamara, International Policy Director, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Erika Schlager, Counsel for International Law, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Gwendolyn Albert, Director, League of Human Rights (PRAGUE) ........................................... 2 APPENDICES Material submitted for the record by: Gwendolyn Albert ........................................................................................................................ 13 Barbora Bukovska´, Center for Civil and Human Rights ......................................................... 20 Claude Cahn, Programmes Director, European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) ...................... 23 (IV) (4) THE STERILIZATION INVESTIGATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC AUGUST 15, 2006 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Washington, DC The briefing was held at 2:07 p.m. in room 2255 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, Ronald McNamara, International Policy Director, Commission on Secu- rity and Cooperation in Europe, moderating. Participants present: Ronald McNamara, International Policy Director, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; Erika Schlager, Counsel for International Law, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and Gwendolyn Albert, Director, League of Human Rights (PRAGUE). Mr. MCNAMARA. Good afternoon. My name is Ron McNamara. I’m currently serving as the International Policy Director for the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. We welcome you to this afternoon’s briefing, which is part of, really, an extensive ini- tiative relating to the conditions of Roma undertaken by our Commission for many years. We appreciate your coming today to this briefing on the investigation into steriliza- tion practices in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 1987, the Helsinki Commission published a compilation of documents produced by Charter 77, at that time, Czechoslovakia’s leading human rights movement. Included among those pages was Document No. 23, first issued in 1977 and signed by Charter spokesmen Vaclav Havel and Ladislav Hejdanek. Writing about the situation of the Roma in Czechoslovakia [inaudible] 77 pays par- ticular attention to the profoundly troubling practice of targeting Romani women with sterilization. The authors even warned that the Communist government’s effort to elimi- nate this minority might escalate and then give rise to the charge of genocide. Although in Czechoslovakia these sterilization policies changed after communism ended, it eventually became clear that, in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, some Romani women continued to be sterilized without informed consent until very recent times. The Helsinki Commission has closely monitored the situation in Slovakia and paid particular attention to the Slovak Government’s 2003 investigation into this matter and the subsequent Slovak Government’s pronouncements. We are alarmed that, even as (1) recently as February of this year, the head of the Slovak Nationalist Party, the party now in the coalition government, called for restricting the birth rate of Roma. Late last year, the Czech Public Defender of Human Rights [also known as the Ombudsman] completed his own investigation into these matters, and his report was pub- lished in English this March. In it, he confirms that sterilization without informed consent had occurred in the Czech Republic. Today’s briefing provides an opportunity to hear more about the Public Defender’s conclusions and the sterilization practices being advanced. To that end, we are very happy to have Gwendolyn Albert, the Director of the League of Human Rights, a Czech-based non-governmental organization with offices in Brno and Prague. Ms. Albert is a permanent resident of the Czech Republic and, in 2002, she was nominated to sit on the Czech Government Human Rights Council as a representative of civil society. The Helsinki Commission does not usually hold briefings when the Congress is not in session, but we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of Ms. Albert’s visit to the United States and welcome her here today. In addition, we have two statements that were submitted for the record regarding Slovakia’s investigation into this issue. Copies of those statements by the European Roma Rights Center and by the Slovak Center for Civil and Human Rights are on the table to read in the briefing room here this afternoon, along with other materials related to Slo- vakia prepared by the Helsinki Commission. They will be included in the briefing record. And I would also draw your attention to a staff report relevant to today’s discussion, ‘‘Accountability and Impunity: The Investigation into Sterilization Without Informed Con- sent in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.’’ And all of these materials, as well as quite an extensive collection of materials relating to Roma as well as to the two countries, are available on the Commission’s Web site, which is www.csce.gov. In keeping with our practice of public briefings, after Ms. Albert has made her presentation, there will be an opportunity for some questions from the audience, time permitting, but we would ask that you identify yourself—your name and any affiliation, things like