AZR, others launch petition against Human Rights Strategy

SLOVAK Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) promoting the protection of the family have asked the government to reject the nationwide Human Rights Promotion and Protection Strategy that was approved on February 18 cabinet meeting.

By adopting the strategy, the government does not respect the will of the people who participated in the recent referendum on the family, representatives of the Family Alliance (AZR), Life Forum and Slovak Society for the Family told the TASR newswire. The organisations have launched a petition, which they claim has some 12,000 signatures.

“We consider this document unbalanced,” Mária Raučinová from Life Forum said. “We’d like to incorporate many rights into it, such as those to life and family protection, as well as conscientious objection. These rights haven't received any room.”

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Anton Chromík from AZR noted that more than a hundred organisations have protested against the strategy over the past two years, adding that a considerable part of civil society has tried to find a nationwide consensus and include rights such as religious freedom and the rights of parents. “In spite of promises, these matters were described as controversial,” said Chromík.

Besides other things, the document aims to achieve equal rights and protection for people living in partnerships outside marriage, which troubles the NGOs. It took two years to prepare the Strategy which sets tasks such as carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the state of affairs in human rights protection, creating a nationwide committee for education concerning human rights, improving the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence and intolerance and introducing equal rights and protection for those living in partnerships outside marriage.

NGOs slamming the strategy have initiated a recent referendum on the family that took place on February 7 but failed to get the necessary quorum to be valid.

19. Feb 2015 at 13:31 | Compiled by Spectator staff