ROLL: The first workshop on judicial independence

Forum for Human Rights together with its partners the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ, Brussels), Human Rights in Practice (Hague) and Free Courts (Poland), Aditus (Malta) held a two-days intensive workshop on Institutional independence of the judiciary and autonomy of the prosecution service, on 13-14 June 2023 in Brussels.  Judicial independence serves as a gateway to…

Meeting of volunteers fighting online hate speech

On 24 March 2023 a meeting and training of volunteers fighting online hate speech known as ROMAntici took place in Košice, Slovakia. The meeting was attended by law students and other young people from all over Slovakia, who are not indifferent to the hatred spread against Roma on the Internet. Volunteers have been monitoring the…

Alternative report to CAT about rights of people with disabilities in Slovakia

On Monday 20 March 2023, together with seven civil society partners, we have submitted a joint alternative report to the UN Committee against Torture on the situation of people with disabilities in Slovakia. We informed the Committee about the problems with the criminal legislation in the area of ill-treatment, ineffective deinstitutionalization, problematic legislation in the…

Czech authorities inadequately investigated ill-treatment of an asylum-seeker at the Prague airport, held ECtHR

The European Court of Human Rights today partially upheld the application of a Turkish asylum-seeker about his ill-treatment by Czech police during his detention at Prague airport. In the judgment B. Ü. v. Czech Republic, the Strasbourg court held that the Czech General Inspectorate of Security Forces (GISF) had failed to adequately investigate his complaint of…

Conference in Bratislava: Independent Life

On 22 September 2022, the 5th annual Conference called Independent Life was held in Bratislava. The aim of this conference was a discussion on the National Programme for the Development of Living Conditions of Persons with Disabilities in Slovakia. This conference was organised by the Advisory Council for Social Work and the SOCIA Foundation in…

Team of volunteers fights against online hate

On 16 and 17 September, FORUM trained a group of volunteers in Bratislava, whose task will be to monitor and report hate speech against the Roma community on the internet. The team of volunteers is called ROMAntici (in English “ROMAntics”). The training was attended by young people from different parts of Slovakia and some who…

Webinar: Introducing tools for communication with victims of crime with disabilities

On 17th June 2022 FORUM organized online seminar concerning introducing the tools for communication with victims of crime with disabilities, which were developed within the project “Voices for Justice”. The seminar brought together over 40 participants, including judges, prosecutors, police officers, social workers or people from victim support services. During the seminar, the tools for easier…

Lack of access to a lawyer for children: Czech Republic in breach of the Convention Against Torture

Today, Forum together with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) submitted written information to the UN Committee against Torture ahead of its examination of the periodic report of the Czech Republic. The two organisations argue that the Czech Republic violates Articles 2, 14 and 16 of the Convention Against Torture by not ensuring access to…

The school in Ostrava discriminated Romani children

Two Romani boys who were denied enrolment at Pesi Elementary School in Ostrava have won their case before the District Court. They have been represented jointly by lawyers from the Forum for Human Rights and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) . The District Court Ostrava-Poruba decided on 1st March 2017 that the elementaiy school…