29/08/2014 President
After her high level official visit to the Czech Republic, Anne Brasseur was pleased to note that “the political and human rights spirit of Václav Havel lives on in the country.”
“I was honoured to have the opportunity of meeting with the President of the Czech Republic, the Prime Minister and the Speakers of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate,” she said. “In these meetings I was able to discuss some of the major challenges facing Europe, not least events in Ukraine, but also worrying developments across Europe in the resurgence of intolerance and racism and the need for politicians to stand up and challenge the rhetoric of the far right.”
Ms Brasseur praised the Czech authorities for their achievements in ratifying and implementing a host of human rights instruments and thanked the Government for its support for the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize awarded each year by the Assembly, in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation.
The President also noted that, “notwithstanding the many steps taken by the Czech authorities, human rights are a continuing challenge for all countries, and there remain areas where the Czech authorities still need to make efforts. There remain some gaps in terms of important Council of Europe instruments that the Czech authorities need to commit to. These include the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.”
She also raised the question of how to improve the situation of the Roma, in particular the education of children and access to work. “I was pleased to have frank and open discussions on this with my counterparts and learn that the authorities are aware that further steps need to be taken to improve the situation of the Roma,” said Ms Brasseur.
“During my visit I also had the opportunity to meet with the Mayor of Obrnice who was awared the Dosta!-Congress Prize for Municipalities, an award by the Council of Europe for innovative municipal projects promoting Roma integration. The Czech Republic has innovative projects which can be held up as good practice for other countries of Europe to follow,” she said, giving encouragement to the Czech authorities to further support innovative projects.