Czech Govt Council for Roma Minority Affairs holds first session of 2025, Czech Govt Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs says projects must respond to real needs

The agenda included criticism of the way public funds are spent on inclusion, a plan to involve Romani civil society in the activities of the Museum of Romani Culture, and the proposed amendment to extend the deadline for compensation for forcibly sterilized women. Cooperation with the judiciary on preventing antigypsyism and security issues were also discussed.

Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková provided details from the meeting to Romea.cz. Czech Culture Minister Martin Baxa presented the ministry’s concept for involving Romani civil society in a new advisory board for the Museum of Romani Culture.

For the first time in history, the President of the Supreme Audit Office, under whose leadership an important report on the effectiveness of drawing funds from the Czech state budget and the EU to support social inclusion was produced, presented on that report to the Council. Also present was MP Helena Válková, who, together with MP Eva Decroix, is the author of a proposed amendment extending the deadline for compensation for illegal sterilization.

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Deputy Justice Minister Karel Dvořák reported on training in the judiciary as part of the fight against antigypsyism, and Pavel Štern from Business for Society (Byznys pro společnost) also spoke. He presented on the first annual Diversity Charter Awards for Roma Friendly Companies, an award that has been created in cooperation with Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková.

“I thank everybody for attending the meeting in such large numbers and I also greatly appreciate the participation of our distinguished guests. We addressed a number of important subjects. The common denominator of most of them was the fight against antigypsyism and the need for Romani participation,” Fuková told Romea.cz.

President of the Supreme Audit Office criticizes how funds are drawn for social inclusion projects

One of the most striking moments of the meeting was the first-ever participation of the President of the Supreme Audit Office, Miloslav Kala, at a Council session, who presented that organization’s findings on the effectiveness of drawing Czech state and European funds for social inclusion. According to Fuková, although the Supreme Audit Office report does not explicitly mention Roma, it is clear that it is the Romani minority which should be the key target group of such projects.

“I was very grateful for the opportunity to discuss this issue on the basis of data. Social inclusion does not just concern the Roma, and the word ‘Roma’ does not even appear in the report from the Supreme Audit Office. However, we are interested in supporting the inclusion of the Roma and in effectively targeting projects. We have confirmed that it is necessary to reflect the real needs of the Romani minority in the setting up of projects and to insist on their involvement in them. Projects must be proactive and work with empowerment. Community work must then be present in the given locations, otherwise it is not possible to achieve long-term change,” Fuková said.

“We must learn these lessons and take these conclusions into account in further planning, not just when drawing on EU funds, but also especially when setting up monitoring mechanisms from the bottom up, with an emphasis on feedback from the participating Roma themselves,” added the Commissioner.

New advisory body for the Museum of Romani Culture: Dialogue with Romani civil society

Czech Culture Minister Martin Baxa presented a plan to the Council for establishing a new advisory body for the Museum of Romani Culture. According to him, this new advisory body will play a crucial role in how that institution will perceive Romani voices and take them into account.

“The Museum of Romani Culture is a key institution dedicated not just to the history of the Roma and Sinti, but also to contemporary issues. This future advisory body should include prominent Romani figures, experts, descendants of Holocaust survivors, and representatives of academic and professional organizations. The goal is open dialogue and better mutual understanding,” said Baxa.

Fuková praised the initiative as an important step towards strengthening the direct cooperation of the state with the Romani community and strengthening the participation of Roma.

Compensation for forced sterilizations: Pressure to prolong this opportunity

The Council also discussed in detail the issue of compensation for persons who have been illegally sterilized. MP Helena Válková informed the Council members of an amendment she has co-sponsored aimed at extending the deadline for submitting an application for compensation by two years.

“I hope that everything will work out, that our cooperation and the Council’s pressure [through adopting a resolution on the issue] will yield results, and that the Chamber of Deputies will adopt the amendment in April,” said Fuková. The Office of the Czech Government’s project on fair compensation, which has been coordinated by Klára Kameníková, also made it to the finals of the competition for Bureaucratic Deed of the Year for 2024.

Kateřina Bursíková Jacques, Secretary of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, expressed her appreciation for the importance of the project making it to the finals.

Cooperation with the justice system, preventing antigypsyism, and security issues

The Council’s Security Working Group has established closer cooperation with the Justice Ministry, which has promised to extend its training in intercultural competences to its non-judicial staff. The Judicial Academy can thus become an instrument for preventing antigypsyism in the daily practice of the courts.

“Deputy Justice Minister Karel Dvořák and Senior Director Michal Franěk also spoke about this. The latter also promised the possibility of training non-judicial court personnel in the fight against antigypsyism with the help of the Judicial Academy. Director of the Crime Prevention Department Michal Barbořík [from the Interior Ministry] also spoke about deepening cooperation in the field of communications,” said the press secretary of the Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs, Anna Kociánová.

The Commissioner also presented her communications model for resolving problematic situations affecting the Romani minority. The model is based on her experiences from the last two years, when effective communications between all stakeholders at all levels has proven key to ensuring a sense of security in Romani neighborhoods.

“All of these steps are intended to build trust in public institutions among the Roma. That can be done through providing timely, objective information, through preventing the spread of manipulative content, or through judiciary staff approaching members of the Romani minority in an empathetic, fair, non-discriminatory way,” Fuková said.

Roma Friendly Company and diversity prizes

At the close of the meeting, the director of the Business for Society (Byznys pro společnost) organization, Pavel Štern, introduced its new project, the Roma Friendly Company award, which will be bestowed for the first time as part of their Diversity Charter Awards on 30 May 2025. The aim is to highlight companies which actively support diversity, equal opportunities, and inclusion in the labor market.

“In these turbulent times, it is more necessary than ever to show that diversity, equal opportunities, inclusion, and respect for otherness each has an irreplaceable role to play. On the basis of these crucial values, open, prosperous, and democratic societies were built after World War II,” said Štern.

Applications for the award can be submitted by companies, initiatives, and projects until 28 April. Council members and their guests were also informed that the Government has adopted a revised version of the Strategy for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of Roma 2021–2030.

The Council session was attended by a number of guests from various institutions, which, according to Fuková, shows that cooperation between the state administration and the Romani community is growing; some new volunteer civil society members were also attending for the first time. “The meeting was rich in terms of resolutions adopted and participation. I am glad we are gradually managing to further stimulate cooperation with institutions and ministries and that we are also making progress on specific measures in the fight against antigypsyism. International Romani Day is coming up, and all progress in these areas is also a gift to the life of the Romani minority as a whole,” Fuková told Romea.cz.