Statement of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Rudolf Chmel on Human Rights Day:

     On 10th of December 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The significant international commemoration marked each year on 10th December  known as Human Rights Day we pay tribute with more and more emphasize especially if we feel, the injustice and lawlessness is from time to time gaining ground. Not only in China, Belarus or in Myanmar. Even in democratic Europe!

     The Government of the Slovak Republic in its manisfesto identifies itself with the need of remedying the restrictive legislative and political measures taken in the previous period that are inconsistent with human rights principles and also remedying individual cases where the general human rights might have been infringed upon. Some of the above mentioned cases could be solved by legislative processes. However there are some cases with deep rooted substance. Rooted in our thinking and mentality. Rooted in an area where the rationalism is not always overrepresented.

     We are talking about stereotypes and prejudices which operate in relationship between majority and minority. If we say minority, we mostly mean the Hungarian minority which makes the core of the minority issue´s agenda occasionally connected with the growing nationalism in Central Europe. The complicated question of Romas also belong to this subject. The issue is often handled with an unjust attitude of sending the Roma children to special schools. There are other tendencies of segregation, „solving“ the problem of cohabitation of majority and Roma minority by building walls between them. In such cases the state has to protect its own citizens and what is more, create conditions to restore the lawlessness and unjustice.

     The lawlessness is particularly  noticable in cases of individuals where the dignity of a citizen might have been infringed upon by the state. In such cases I will initiate  rightful restoration of the lawlessness  and determined protection against unadmittable intervention into individuals´ life. Due to such drastic intervention into dignity we have to tackle more cases, first of all case of Hedvig Malina. I presume her right to fair legal process was breached and politicians interfered prematurely into investigation, what is more, influenced it and thus the dignity of her was infringed. We let her being tortured for four years which is a warning signal on Human Rights Day. This is why I would like to apologise to Hedvig Malina for the mentioned grievances.

     Slovakia has no reason to be an outsider of Europe in the field of human rights, no reason to back down vis-a-vis nationalists, xenophobes, rasists, neo-fascists and extremists. There is no reason to back away from those we are ashamed of in our history and also from those who could hide behind the right of immunity. Slovakia as a modern tolerant state wants to and will protect human rights.