Equality Bodies for inclusive education: Third-Party Intervention to the European Court of Human Rights

On Wednesday, 27 March 2024, Equinet, together with the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights, submitted a third-party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Salay v. Slovakia application no. 29359/22, which is now pending before the first section of the ECtHR. 

The case concerns questions regarding the right to education free of discrimination and the disproportionate placement of Roma children in segregated special education systems under Article 14 and Article 2 of Protocol No. 1.

The Slovak National Centre for Human Rights and Equinet have submitted different reports, recommendations and decisions from various international and regional human rights bodies as well as legislation, jurisprudence and practices across Council of Europe Member States confirm that States have a positive obligation to redress the persistent segregation of Roma children in schools, including their disproportionate placement in special schools. It is proven that such placement has a direct correlation with their low educational attainment, limited opportunities to continue their education and higher unemployment rates in Slovakia and therefore perpetuates the systemic discrimination of Roma. Consequently, States, and therefore Slovakia, need to prevent and address segregation, promote inclusive education systems and refrain from the use of biased tests for placement in special schools. The best interest of the child needs to be core and central to any decision made on their behalf, and therefore even when there is parental consent, it is invalid in cases where it violates a child’s right to equality in education. States are also under the obligation to provide for effective safeguards and remedies to challenge decisions.

Equinet provided the ECtHR with information relating to the situation of other Council of Europe Member states, international and European legal and policy frameworks and case law on the following issues of relevance:

• Discrimination of Roma
• The principle of inclusive education and school segregation in Slovakia
• Mid and Long term consequences of placement in zero-grade and special schools for Roma Children
• The procedure and procedural safeguards regarding the protection of the right of the child to education free from discrimination, including the use of tests and its disproportionate negative impact on Roma children and the validity of parental consent

This collaboration between Equinet and the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights shows the power of working together. It’s a joint effort involving National Equality Bodies from Equinet’s Equality Law Working Group, all coming together to fight for a fairer, more inclusive future.