Ahead of the vote in the Slovak parliament on 25 September on amendments to the constitution that would recognize only two genders (male and female), restrict comprehensive sexuality education and limit adoption to only married heterosexual couples, Rado Sloboda, Director of Amnesty International Slovakia said:
“If adopted, the proposed constitutional changes would deal a devastating blow to gender equality, human rights and the rule of law in Slovakia. Cloaked in the language of ‘national identity’, these amendments would strip away rights to private and family life, education and healthcare from children, women and LGBTI people.
If adopted, the proposed constitutional changes would deal a devastating blow to gender equality, human rights and the rule of law in Slovakia
“While the proposed changes specifically target the rights of LGBTI persons and reproductive rights, they also threaten the principle of primacy of EU and international law and undermine the application of international court rulings concerning a wide range of human rights issues.
“These draconian measures clearly breach EU law and international human rights treaties. On 25 September parliamentarians must take a stand for fairness, equality and dignity for everyone: reject these amendments and protect people’s human rights.”
Background
The current Slovak legislation only recognizes two sexes. The proposed constitutional changes would further entrench this, making any future progressive reforms – including recognition of gender diverse, intersex and non-binary people – more complicated, if not impossible. It could also further restrict legal gender recognition rights of transgender people.
Another proposed amendment would require parental approval on comprehensive sexuality education in schools. This would restrict children’s access to information necessary for sexual violence prevention, education about consent, and sexual and reproductive health, for example.
Amnesty International has long warned that these amendments are part of a wider attempt by authorities to roll back rights in Slovakia. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, multiple UN Special Rapporteurs in the fields of education, health and privacy as well as the EU institutions have also expressed their concern regarding the amendments and have recommended withdrawal or rejection of the proposed changes.
On 1 Septemberthe UN Special Procedures mandate holders published a legal review underlined that the changes are incompatible for international human rights standards and called on MPs to reject the draft law.
For more information see here.
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