). this submission also addresses issues 5 and 12 in the list of issues which the czech republic was requested to address in its submission before the committee, namely, to provide details ? ?on the criteria, procedure and safeguards for the placement of children in schools of the framework education programme for children with light mental disabilities (no. 5);?on the measures undertaken to apply the decisions of the european court of human rights in, inter alia d.h. and others v. the czech republic (2007) (no. 12).5 2.the submitting organisations have worked extensively on education issues in the czech republic, focusing specifically on two groups that continue to be segregated into ?special? schools with limited curricula: romani children without a disability and children with disabilities. as a consequence, this report focuses squarely on the schooling situation of these two sets of children, their educational needs, and the efforts by the czech government to pursue education reforms which would further develop an inclusive agenda. in doing so, the analysis is underpinned by the same concept of inclusive education as the committee has previously defined ? ?a set of values, principles and practices that seeks meaningful, effective, and quality education for all students, that does justice to the diversity of learning 1 the european roma rights centre (errc) is an international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-romani racism and human rights abuse of roma, in particular strategic litigation, international advocacy, research and policy development, and training of romani activists. information about the european roma rights centre is available at: http://www.errc.org. 2 the mental disability advocacy center (mdac) is an international human rights organisation which advances the rights of children and adults with actual or perceived intellectual disabilities and/or psycho-social disabilities. our vision is a world of equality ? where emotional, mental and learning differences are valued equally; where the inherent autonomy and dignity of each person is fully respected; and where human rights are realised for all persons without discrimination of any form. mdac pursues research and monitoring, capacity building, advocacy and strategic litigation in order to instigate law reform, contribute to the creation of a body of progressive jurisprudence, empower people with disabilities and promote participatory politics. mdac representatives also contributed to the ad hoc committee that negotiated the un convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (crpd) between 2006 ? 2008. information about the mental disability advocacy center is available at: http://www.mdac.info/.. 3 the open society foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. to achieve this mission, the foundations seek to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. three separate entities within osf contributed to this report: the open society justice initiative, which uses law to protect and empower people around the world. through litigation, advocacy, research, and technical assistance, the justice initiative promotes human rights and builds legal capacity for open societies (http://www.justiceinitiative.org); the open society disability rights initiative seeks to address discrimination against people with disabilities and promote their inclusion in society by supporting a rights-based approach to disability (http://www.soros.org/initiatives/rights-initiatives/focus/disability); and open society fund?prague seeks to promote humanistic values, education, and culture in the czech republic. the foundation has been a leader in working to foster a culture of inclusion in the czech republic, where issues around the rights of roma and an increasing number of immigrants have grown more prominent (http://www.osf.cz/en/). a fourth entity within the osf network ? the early childhood program which works to promote equity, rights and human capability through investments in the very young, added comments to later drafts of the report. (http://www.soros.org/initiatives/childhood)4 league of human rights (liga) is a non-governmental organisation based in the czech republic, which works towards the protection of human rights by working within the scope of the rights guaranteed by the charter of fundamental rights and freedoms, and other binding international conventions. liga also promotes human rights with the aid of research and education in order to improve the quality of life for self-reliance and facilitate the child?s active participation in the community? (article 23). it also guarantees that every child has the right to an education which develops her ?personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential? (articles 28 and 29).7.each of these rights underpin the notion of inclusive education, which the committee developed further people with disabilities and how best to support them. the ohchr has interpreted the implementation of these provisions to mean that the ?direct and indirect legal barriers to the inclusion of children with disabilities must be removed in the phase of admission as well as during education. the duty to provide reasonable accommodation of the individual?s requirements must be clearly established in national legislation? such duties are immediately applicable.17?10.although the crpd is specific to persons with disabilities, the principles outlined in this most contemporary expression of international law regarding inclusive education relate to all children regardless of disability, ethnicity, social background, gender or age. as the committee noted in its general comment no. 1 on the aims of education, ?discrimination on the basis of any of the grounds listed in article 2 of the convention, whether it is overt or hidden, offends the human dignity of the child and is capable of undermining or even destroying the capacity of the child to benefit from educational opportunities.? consequently, the view of the committee is akin to the provisions laid out in article 24 of the crpd by viewing the overt and systematic segregation of romani and/or disabled from mainstream schooling as discriminatory. 11.the crc?s general comment no 1 also notes that a school which allows bullying or other violent and 44 further reports conducted or commissioned by the ministry of education of the czech republic demonstrated that in some regions, roma remain up to 27 times more likely to be placed into ?special education? schools or classes than non-roma. across the country, roma were 12 times more likely to be placed in special schools.45 the data clearly indicates that the overwhelming number of romani children who are taught in accordance with the reduced curriculum does not have any form of 40 see article 19, convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. 41 european court of human rights (ecthr), d.h. and others v the czech republic, application no. 57325/00, 13 november 2007, available at: http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentid=825443&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=?f69a27fd8fb86142bf01c1166dea398649.42 council of europe, report by thomas hammarberg, commissioner for human rights of the council of europe, following his visit to the czech republic from 17 to 19 november 2010; commdh(2011)3, 3 march 2011, available at https://wcd.coe.int/wcd/viewdoc.jsp?id=1754217, para 60. 43 errc and open society justice initiative, submission to the committee of ministers, the continued segregation of romani schoolchildren in the czech republic: d.h. and others v the czech republic, 8 march 2011, available at: http://www.errc.org/cms/upload/file/fifth-communication-to-the-committee-of-ministers-on-judgment-implementation-08032011.pdf. 44 czech school inspection authority report available at: http://spolecnedoskoly.cz/wp-content/uploads/tematicka-zprava-csi.pdf 45 see e.g. people in need, anal%za individu?ln?ho p#?stupu pedagog& k ‘?k&m se speci?ln?mi vzd!direction already with the next intake of children in the 2011-2012 school year.?57 in making these much needed changes, however, the czech government will also need to address discrimination in mainstream schools to ensure romani children can be mainstreamed into an inclusive and safe educational environment. failure to combat discrimination and hostility in mainstream schools40.mainstream czech schools are widely considered hostile environments by romani children and errc research in march 2011 indicated that the hostility and bullying in mainstream schools persists. as one parent explained, she was faced with the choice of keeping her son in the mainstream school where teachers bullied and humiliated him, triggering depression and demotivation — or transfer him to segregated special education. the mainstream school offered him no support as he struggled; rather than constructive academic advice, he was recommended to a segregated school teaching a reduced curriculum. eventually, after independently seeking psychiatric support and trying medications, they decided to transfer him to the special school to avoid the harmful environment of the mainstream school and teachers.61 another romani parent indicated that one of her boys has serious problems with the teachers in the mainstream school. if anything goes wrong in the classroom, the teacher blames him, even if the other pupils vouch for him.62 another romani parent reported a similar situation: her son?s strengthen anti-discrimination legislation to enable positive action leading to the abolition of segregated settings and achievement of better education outcomes for children from romani communities and children with disabilities. 4.amend current laws and regulations to conform with the convention on the rights of the child, the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, and other international standards on inclusive education ? including, specifically, amendments enshrining the principle of early intervention and reasonable accommodation; obligating designated entities within the government to allocate resources which would enable inclusion, specifying the process by which such resources are to be allocated, and recognising categories of children entitled to receive support services. policy commitments to inclusive education 5.commit to ensuring that no child is placed into schools or classes with a reduced curriculum on the basis of their disability or ethnicity;6.commit to determining, on both individual and systemic level, the support and resources to be provided for all children currently enrolled in ?special schools? to enable their inclusion in mainstream education, as well as for children currently enrolled in mainstream schools in need of additional support;7.adopt a policy to ensuring that all early childhood and school environments are free of harassment and bullying and welcoming of all children, including any child with a disability and romani children, and all other children regardless of their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, nationality or physical appearance;8.commit to ensuring that children are consulted on issues of right to education including the accessibility and quality of all support and provision;9.commit to putting in place mechanisms to monitor and respond to exclusion from mainstream early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education. develop concrete plans and timelines for inclusive education 10.adopt a concrete plan and timeline commencing in 2011 with clear annual targets to eliminate school segregation and secure full integration of all children with an actual or perceived disability into an inclusive education setting within five years;11.adopt a strategy to ensure that teachers and other educational and early childhood professionals are given the opportunity to develop their capability as well as accountability against anti-discrimination and
