BRIEF: Roma Children Face Discrimination in Czech Republic

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Last year, the European Court of Human Rights demanded that the Czech Republic stop discriminating against Roma children.  For years now, the Czech Republic has segregated Roma children into schools for the mentally disabled. 

A recent report from the European Human Rights Center said that Roma children, "continue to be dramatically over-represented in practical primary schools that that follow a special curriculum for mentally disabled pupils." 

Czech Education Minister Ondrej Liska admitted that these children, "are not less talented and do not have fewer abilities than the others." 

The European Union has set aside some funding for this issue.  Failure of any European state to comply could lead to possible fines and/or sanctions.

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International Herald Tribune - Gypsy kids herded into Czech schools for disabled - 13 November 2008