European Committee of Social Rights criticizes the Czech Republic over systemic discrimination against Roma in housing
The Czech Republic has been sharply criticized in a new decision from the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) for violating the rights of disadvantaged groups in the field of housing, primarily Romani people. The decision follows a complaint filed by the European Federation of National Organizations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA), which found that neither Czech legislation nor practice provides adequate protection against discrimination, forced eviction, or the unavailability of social housing.
According to the ECSR, insufficient legislation regulating forced evictions, the lack of an obligation to provide substitute accommodation to evictees, and a quite complicated approach to housing benefits disproportionately interfere with the rights of vulnerable groups. An especially afflicted group is that of Romani people, who frequently face forced evictions without compensation or opportunities to access substitute accommodation.
The ECSR decision is based on a complaint from FEANTSA filed on 19 February 2020, according to which the Czech Republic has violated Article 16 of the European Social Charter of 1961 on the right of the family to economic, legal and social protection. “After the introduction of new legislation and housing policy in the Czech Republic, the situation of many vulnerable households, in particular from the Romani minority, worsened as a consequence of the drastic reduction in housing benefits, the threats and risks of eviction, and the social and racial discrimination against such households,” the ECSR statement reads.
The insufficient laws on evictions are problematic, as they do not provide the necessary guarantees for vulnerable groups. That means there is no duty in the Czech Republic for landlords to offer substitute accommodation to evictees or to consult with the affected parties, not enough social housing on offer, and no requirement to simplify access to housing benefits for disadvantaged and low-income groups living in socially excluded localities.
Roma are the group most affected
The ECSR also claims the failure to provide such guarantees after evictions disproportionately impacts Romani families. According to the committee, the Czech authorities have not sufficiently shown that they have adopted enough measures to improve Romani people’s access to social housing and to not allow discrimination against them.
A report from the For Housing (Za bydlení) initiative states that approximately 161,000 people are directly affected by housing shortage in the Czech Republic, 62,000 of whom are children. A total of 1.6 million inhabitants face serious housing problems in the country of 10 million.
Insufficient legal guarantees combined with exploitation by what are called the “traffickers in poverty” further complicates the situation. Maria Jose Aldanas of FEANTSA said the Czech Republic must adopt basic measures to eliminate discrimination in the field of housing.
“This is a clear signal that housing policy must privilege the needs of vulnerable groups and eliminate discriminatory practices throughout Europe. This decision responds to the longstanding concerns of international bodies regarding the treatment of Romani communities and other disadvantaged groups,” Aldanas said in a press release sent to news server Romea.cz.
Barbora Bírová of the Platform for Social Housing (Platforma pro sociální bydlení) likewise stressed the need for legislative change to end homelessness and improve the situations of thousands of families. “In the Czech Republic there is a lack of comprehensive legislation to prevent homelessness and help to end it. However, effective instruments for this do exist which have already been tested and proved to work in our conditions. Currently we need to anchor these instruments at the level of the system. It is necessary to act immediately. There is no time for political or social experiments. Our Government and lawmakers must listen to the experts and take more steps based on their recommendations. Either they will get rid of this gap in the legislation and thereby support the 62,000 children in need of housing, or they will continue to support the traffickers in poverty,” she said.
Senada Sali: A critical step toward addressing systemic discrimination of Roma
The Legal Director of the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), Senada Sali, called the ECSR decision an important move toward ameliorating inequality and racial segregation in housing. She is appealing to the Czech Government to adopt laws recognizing housing as a right.
“This decision represents a critical step forward in addressing systemic discrimination against Roma families in the Czech Republic. It highlights the urgent need for comprehensive reforms to ensure Roma communities are not excluded from basic housing rights. The European Committee of Social Rights has sent a powerful message that governments must uphold their human rights obligations and eliminate barriers that perpetuate racial segregation and housing inequality,” said Sali.
Maroš Matiaško, a constitutional law expert who cooperates with the Forum for Human Rights, warned of the importance of anchoring the right to housing in Czech law. “In order to protect human rights at the national level it is particularly important that the European Committee has recognized the missing legal recognition of the right to housing in domestic legislation as the obstacle to the proper protection of social rights and therefore as a violation of the European Social Charter. The failure to recognize housing as a right in domestic legal regulations abandons various groups in the Czech Republic in vulnerable situations who have no opportunity to effectively seek redress through the courts, despite the ongoing housing crisis,” Matiaško said, adding that the decision emphasizes the urgent need for the Government to adopt a legal norm that will move toward guaranteeing the right to adequate housing for all and that will primarily explicitly recognize in law that everybody has the right to housing.
The European Social Charter is an international convention on economic and social rights. Czechoslovakia signed it in May 1992 and the Czech Republic then assumed its obligations as a successor state.
The ECSR supervises fulfillment of the charter. The committee has 15 members.
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe elects the committee members to six-year terms.
