According to official sources, this rule is respected in practice. Balkov, Bl-Jezov, and Vyni Lhoty. 2015, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 31: the imposition of the strict regime does not in itself entail a solitary confinement (c) Develop a standard age-determination procedure that is multidisciplinary, scientifically based, respectful of children s rights, used only in cases of serious doubt about the claimed age and takes into consideration documentary or other forms of evidence available and ensure access to effective appeal mechanisms; In November 2016, the Drahonice facility closed and was replaced with the re-opened Balkov, which had previously operated as a detention centre before being closed in 2005. The Czech Republic operates two reception centres (Pijmac stediska), located in Zastvka and at Prague Ruzyn Airport. 3.2 Detention facilities. In 2018, the UN CAT regretted that immigration detainees lack adequate access to free legal assistance, which it stated resulted in limited awareness of their rights to apply for asylum and to appeal negative decisions. The FNA also lays down a separate set of grounds for the detention of unsuccessful asylum seekers. There were no unaccompanied children among the new arrivals. 34: the CPT recommends that the Czech authorities take steps to ensure that a staff member competent to provide first aid, preferably with a recognised nursing qualification, is always present in the Centre, including at night. The court ruled that in order to rely upon the Dublin Regulations option to detain an individual liable to transfer, member states should establish objective criteria in a binding provision of general application. The absence of such a provision renders article 28(2) of the Dublin Regulation, which sanctions detention, inapplicable.[14]. 30: Pursuant to Section 134, paragraph 3, of the Law on the Residence of Foreigners, outdoor exercise may be restricted or cancelled by the police on serious grounds. 2.2 Grounds for detention. The CPT also expressed concern that some private security staff carried pepper spray inside the detention areas. [108], Detainees are not permitted to retain their mobile phones and must instead use public telephones. Under Section 156(1), failure to enter the Czech territory via border crossing points and border checks is an offence punishable with a fine of up to 10,000 CZK (approximately 370 EUR) (Section 156(4)). 38: Some private security staff usually carried pepper spray canisters inside the detention areas. Having ramped up its detention capacity in recent years, authorities have also been systematically detaining asylum seekers--despite repeated criticisms from human rights bodies, including the Committee against Torture (in 2018) and the Human Rights Committee (in 2013). [60] Interior Ministrys Department for Asylum and Migration Policies (Czech National Contact Point (NCP) to the European Migration Network), The Use of Detention and Alternatives to Detention in the Context of Immigration Policies, 2014, http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/networks/european_migration_network/reports/studies/results/index_en.htm, [61] Ombudsman, Statement of the Public Defender of Rights on the Sixth Periodic Report of the Czech Republic on Measures Implemented in Order to Perform its Obligations under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment for the Period 20092015, 2018, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCAT%2fNHS%2fCZE%2f30773&Lang=en, [62] Committee against Torture (CAT), Concluding Observations on the Sixth Periodic Report of Czechia, CAT/C/CZE/CO/6, 8 June 2018, http://ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/CZIndex.aspx; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Observations on the Sixth Periodic Report of the Czech Republic, CEDAW/C/CZE/CO/6, 14 March 2016, http://ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/CZIndex.aspx; Human Rights Committee (HRC), Concluding Observations on the Third Periodic Report of the Czech Republic, CCPR/C/CZE/CO/3, 22 August 2013, http://ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/CZIndex.aspx; Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Concluding Observations on the Combined Tenth and Eleventh Periodic Reports of the Czech Republic, CERD/C/CZE/CO/10-11, 25 September 2015, http://ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/CZIndex.aspx, [63] Interior Ministrys Department for Asylum and Migration Policies (Czech National Contact Point (NCP) to the European Migration Network), The Use of Detention and Alternatives to Detention in the Context of Immigration Policies, 2014, http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/networks/european_migration_network/reports/studies/results/index_en.htm, [64] European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), Report to the Czech Government on the Visit to the Czech Republic Carried Out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment from 1 to 10 April 2014, CPT/Inf (2015) 18, March 2015, http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/cze/2015-18-inf-eng.pdf, [65] European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), Report to the Czech Government on the Visit to the Czech Republic Carried Out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment from 1 to 10 April 2014, CPT/Inf (2015) 18, March 2015, http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/cze/2015-18-inf-eng.pdf, [66] Ombudsman, Reports from Visits of Facilities for the Detention of Foreigners, https://www.ochrance.cz/en/protection-of-persons-restricted-in-their-freedom/detention-of-foreigners/. Before Section 129(4) was inserted into Czech legislation, the FNA had not defined objective criteria for finding a risk of absconding. [104] In 2015, the Ombudsman found that one physician and two nurses were active in the facility, and nurses were present overnight.[105]. With protective measures being lifted progressively, some removals to Slovakia have been carried out in recent weeks. elezn 24, 110 00 Praha 1, 11000 Praha 1, Czech Republic, Mailing Address: 326/1999 Coll. Noting with concern that some private security staff often carried pepper spray inside detention areas, the CPT stressed that it should never be used in enclosed spaces, and that clearly defined safeguards must be in place for its use outdoors. A breach of the obligation to remain at a reception centre is considered to be an offence.[124] According to the Refugee Facilities Administration, people held at these facilities are not free to leave at will. During the crisis, however, authorities reportedly moved detained asylum seekers to open reception facilities (or accommodation centres). of 30 November 1999 on the Residence of Foreign Nationals (Foreign Nationals Act), Detention to prevent unauthorised entry at the border, Detention for failing to respect non-custodial measures, Detention for failing to respect a voluntary removal order, Detention to establish/verify identity and nationality, Detention pending transfer to another Schengen country, Detention to ensure transfer under the Dublin Regulation, Detention on public order, threats or security grounds, Interior Ministry's Refugee Facilities Administration, Refugee Facility Administration of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, Immigration detention centre (Administrative), Right to appeal the lawfulness of detention, Complaints mechanism regarding detention conditions, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, CRSSP, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child, CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, PCRSR, Protocol to the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, CRC, [Third] Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child establishing a communications procedure, 2011 [38] According to the CPT, 22 accompanied children were detained in Bl-Jezov in 2013. The Plze Regional Authority sent its request to the ministry for permission to build a refugee tent camp for Romani refugees from Ukraine on the land last week. The Bl-Jezov centre opened in 2006 on the premises of what was formerly a non-secure reception centre for asylum seekers. According to him, the reason his request was sent to the Crisis Team is that numbers of Romani refugees from Ukraine are beginning to increase in the region and their vetting, which lasted previously between 24 to 48 hours, has been extended to 80 hours. [131] Global Detention Project, Organization for Aid to Refugees and Forum for Human Rights, Submission to the Universal Periodic Review 28th Session of the UPR Working Group, March 2017, https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/submission-to-the-universal-periodic-review-upr-the-czech-republic; Interior Ministry, 2006 Status Report on Migration in the Czech Republic, 2007; Counselling Centre for Refugees, Czech Republic, in Jesuit Refugee Service (ed. The Crisis Team did not take action on any other locations for refugee camps today, according to Kaa. According to potk, the Regional Authority will begin dealing with the construction of the camp only after the Central Crisis Team instructs the material reserves of the state (SSHR) to comply with the Regional Authority's request.

The Ombudsman office said that as far as they were aware, staff and detainees in detention and reception centres were provided with personal protective equipment. [7], In 2015 and 2016, the Czech Republic became an important transit country for asylum seekers aiming to reach Western Europe. [32] According to the Refugee Facilities Administration of the Interior Ministry, between November 2015 and November 2016, the duration for which children were detained in Bl-Jezov varied from two to 86 days, and the average duration was 55 days. According to the Forum for Human Rights and Organization for Aid to Refugees, most of the families detained have applied for asylum in another EU country and are subject to the Dublin rules. [88], Eurostat data shows that the country faces diminishing migratory pressures. Thus, according to the ministry, there is an inherent risk of absconding. According to official sources, a medical practitioner is generally present in the Bl-Jezov detention facility and specialised care is provided in a nearby hospital. This legislative gap was challenged before the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Al Chodor case. The FNA spells out several other entitlements, specifically that the facility management should: a) provide a bed, chair, locker for personal belongings, food, and basic hygiene products; b) allow detainees to receive and send written communications without limitation; c) allow detainees to receive visitors; d) whenever possible, provide books, newspapers, and magazines, including foreign publications if they are distributed in the Czech Republic; e) allow detainees to make applications to Czech authorities or international organisations; f) upon request, allow an interview without undue delay with the head of the facility or its agent, or the police in the establishment; and g) allow eight hours of uninterrupted sleep at night (FNA, Section 134(1)). Detainees in moderate security sections can move freely within their area and contact other foreigners placed in the same section (FNA, Section 134(1)). 2.11 Domestic monitoring. Under Article 144(3) of the FNA, detained non-citizens have the right to receive visits from lawyers or legal representatives who provide legal assistance to foreigners. Upon receiving the request for release, the police shall examine the grounds for detention and extension of detention as well as conditions for the imposition of alternatives of detention and decide without undue delay. Monitoring Period: January-June 2006, 2006. For information about our work in the Czech Republic: Street Address: [] the CPT trusts that the Czech authorities will take the necessary measures to ensure that foreign nationals who are de facto held in a solitary-confinement-type regime are provided with appropriate human contact on a daily basis.

Detainees may submit complaints regarding the violation of the provisions of Chapter 12 of the FNA, which spells out the conditions of detention (see Regulation of detention conditions). [60], The Ombudsman observed that non-custodial measures are rarely applied. Restrictive elements including barred windows and doors, fences and barbed wire, and excessive surveillance by security guards created fear and anxiety amongst children, negatively impacting their psychological well-being. On top of this, detainees have access to a leisure room with a television, DVD player, videogames, internet access, and a library.

Those awaiting deportation have not been released. The committee urged the Czech Republic to immediately cease the detention of asylum-seeking, refugee, or irregular migrant women and their children and to implement less coercive alternative measures.[47]. Following its visit, the CPT requested comments from the Czech authorities about the appropriateness of requiring such payment. [109] According to the CPT, detainees are to receive a phone card upon arrival and should have unlimited access to telephone booths installed on each floor of the facility. The diet should observe the principles of good nutrition and the detainees condition of health, and should also take their cultural and religious beliefs and traditions into account as far as possible (FNA, Section 143). The Organization for Aid to Refugees is, however, aware of at least one case in which a detainees detention was not prolonged and the individual was instead released. ), Civil Society Report on Administrative Detention of Asylum Seekers and Irregular Migrants in Europe: Common Positions of JRS in Europe, 2007. (b) Ensure effective implementation of alternatives to detention in practice; (December 2018) The Czech Republic (Czechia) became an important transit country for asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe during the height of the refugee crisis. Like in its Visegrad neighbours, this new-found status spurred a sharp public backlash in the country, which was fed by anti-migrant political rhetoric. [116] Security staff are equipped with defence means such as a tear-foaming agent and Kevlar gloves.[117]. Many of them cannot pay this amount of money and are consequently issued with a debt note upon release.

[99] Similar concerns were reported to the Ombudsman in October 2015 by detainees themselves who reported that security guards resorted to handcuffs, even when they simply needed to move a detainee from one area of the facility to another. Responding to the Global Detention Projects Covid-19 survey, the Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman) of the Czech Republic reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established and that no such measure was under consideration. The Czech Republic operates three dedicated immigration detention centres, which are located in Balkov (capacity of 200), Bl-Jezov (capacity of 90), and Vyni Lhoty (capacity of 198). Under Sections 124(7) and 126(b) of the FNA, the police should inform the detainee upon arrest about the possibility of filing a request for release from detention and to bring administrative judicial proceedings against the detention order or the length of their detention. [128], Facilities are divided into standard and protected zonesthe latter are reserved for vulnerable categories such as children and single women.

[62] According to the Interior Ministry, the reason that these measures are rarely favoured is because the Czech Republic is a transit country for most migrants, who intend to continue their journeys to countries in Western Europe. At the time of the visit, all detainees were held in the moderate security area and so could move freely during the day within the building and had access to a large outdoor area.

The Committee recommends that the necessary steps be taken in the light of the above remarks. Within 20 hours of the Regional Authority asking the firefighters to do so, they are able to start construction and, 12 hours after that, to hand over the tents for use. 3.3 Conditions in detention. (a) Ensure that detention is applied as a measure of last resort only and is justified as reasonable, necessary and proportionate in the light of the individual s circumstances; If the destination country causes a delay in the provision of necessary documents, the detention period can be extended to 12 months (Section 125 (2)-(3)). Between 12 March and 19 May, 8 persons were placed in immigration detention, of whom 5 were detained for the purpose of Dublin transfers.

Most people of concern were coming from Ukraine, Georgia, and Belarus. [44] Finally, in line with the 2011 recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Czech Republic should avoid any form of detention of child asylum seekers and consider all possible alternatives prior to detention.[45]. 2012, CPCSE, Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse The Ombudsman office was unable to obtain information on detention orders issued after 7 June. 1996, ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 The ministry has stated that the stakeholders are dealing with the details. [8] According to the Czech interior minister, these detention measures were intended to send a message to refugees wishing to enter the country. 2.1 Key norms. Authorisation may be refused by the facility operator based on a perceived threat to the operation and safety of the facility. However, in April 2014, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the length of detention under the AA should count towards the maximum permissible length of detention under the FNA. Czech Republic Office of Public Defender of Rights, Global Detention Projects Covid-19 survey, 23 June 2020. [80], 2.15 Cost of detention. The 1999 Act No.



We follow and comment on developments in policy, legislation, and the daily practice of refugee protection. Monday: 8:00 - 16:30 Due to funding gaps, the legal consultation scheme has been interrupted at times. Emphasizing that the detention of asylum seekers should be a measure of last resort and applied for as short a time as possible, the Committee recommends that the State party end the practice of detaining asylum seekers with their children, including persons who are subject to transfer under the Dublin III Regulation, and develop alternative non-custodial types of accommodation for asylum seekers, particularly for families with children. The temporary facility however has a different regime. 325/1999 Sb. However, Regional Governor potk told TK he needs information about the equipment that will be provided from the reserves of the state to be supplied to him in writing. Detainees have claimed that interpretation services were never available and reportedly some physicians did not even speak English. child is young. (PHOTO: Czech Television), Czech Republic's second-largest city moves Romani refugees from Ukraine away from railway station and onto a fenced plot of land with tents, KHAMORO World Roma Festival visits refugee camp in Czech capital, Vojta Lavika and the Surmaj brothers perform there, Czech region asks Central Crisis Team to build refugee camp at the border, Romani children and women who are refugees from Ukraine evicted from private accommodation into refugee facilities, Tom uka: In the Czech Republic, the hatred toward Romani refugees is a warning sign, Czech Republic's second-largest city to move Romani refugees living in and around the railway station to nearby plot of land, Czech capital's second refugee camp accommodates 92 Romani refugees from Ukraine on its first day, Czech Republic's second-largest city to see refugee camp installed, apparently for more Romani refugees from Ukraine, Czech Consortium of NGOs Working with Migrants: Nonprofits are aiding refugees without financing from the state and are substituting for what the state itself should be doing, Czech Regional Governors criticize plan to close Prague refugee reception center, Interior Minister claims he doesn't need Prague's aid, Czech capital will stop receiving refugees from Ukraine in two weeks and will close its reception center in Prague's Vysoany quarter, RomPraha: Politicians' solutions to the refugee situation at the main railway station are meaningless, we reject Czech Police repression, Czech local candidates who quit the "Mayors and Independents" party have secured enough signatures to run as independents, All candidates for the "Mayors and Independents" party in Czech town are quitting to run as their own group after mayor is told not to run for espousing racist violence, Czech mayor must either withdraw his candidacy today or be delisted as a candidate by his party ahead of local elections for his racist advocacy of violence against Romani people, Czech party calls on mayor to withdraw from local election over racist approval of violence against Romani people, Ukrainians are not the same as Syrians: On double standards for refugees, Czech aid, and breaking the rules while doing good, Chair of the Czech Pirates says mayor who made racist remarks should be removed from the candidate list "like garbage", Chair of Czech party says he expects local cell to call on mayor to withdraw from election in response to open letter protesting the mayor's racism, Czech lower house petition committee says it will not "take sides" in the dispute underway at the Office of the Public Defender of Rights, wants more frequent reporting, Czech NGO consortium RomanoNet calls on leadership of "Mayors and Independents" party to remove mayor from their candidate list and is filing a crime report against him, Jarmila Balov: Czech party distancing itself from mayor's racist remarks without removing him as a candidate is an empty gesture, Leadership of "Mayors and Independents" party distances itself from mayor's racism but he remains their candidate, Czech Govt Human Rights Commissioner condemns his remarks, Jaroslav Miko: Local elections are on the horizon, the Roma Luma party joining forces with Czech pseudo-patriots is incomprehensible, MEPs say conditions for Roma in the settlements of eastern Slovakia are disgraceful, medieval, scandalous and shameful, LIVE ONLINE 22 JULY: Grand launch of the demolition of the industrial pig farm at Lety u Psku, Czech Republic, Partisan of Romani origin is among the figures proposed by the Czech Senate for state honors, Czech organization Million Moments for Democracy calls on Public Defender of Rights to resign, Czech foundation established by Olga Havlov recalls what she honored while she lived: Freedom, justice, and respect for others.