STATEMENT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION
June 11, 2025
The National Council of the Slovak Republic will soon face one of the most serious decisions in the history of the independent republic. The proposed amendment to the Constitution of the Slovak Republic is not just another legislative initiative – it is an attempt to change the character of our state.
The Slovak government is submitting a constitutional amendment that, if adopted, would limit the „constitutional enshrinement of the superiority of international law and EU law over the laws of the Slovak Republic“ and fundamentally weaken the protection of human rights in Slovakia. The proposal threatens all people in Slovakia, but above all the most vulnerable – children, women, the poor, and people exposed to discrimination or inequality based on age or gender identity.
If the proposal is adopted, Slovakia would fundamentally distance itself from the key principles of democratic values and its own commitments. It cannot be ruled out that it will face legal action in the European Court of Justice and heavy sanctions. These are not empty words. Already today, equality, dignity, and the protection of human rights are very difficult to enforce in our country. Every effort to fulfill human rights is being torpedoed by many political representatives. Instead of fulfilling their duties, they devote their efforts to destroying them. Adoption of the proposed constitutional amendment would send a clear political message to all Slovak citizens: „Equality, dignity, and the protection of human rights are just empty words. We will not protect them.“
Interference with fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be justified by phrases about „cultural and ethical issues“.
Historically, it is the state power that has been the greatest violator of human rights. That is why an international system for the protection of our rights was created through human rights conventions and protection systems related to them. This was done so that people would have the opportunity to rely on international assistance at a time when their own states would not protect them but, on the contrary, would harm them. International conventions protected vulnerable people even when national systems provided only a very low standard of protection for their rights. The governing coalition, together with the declared support of the KDH and KÚ parties, wants to sideline this system of protection. This is not identity or sovereignty protection. It is a deliberate and malicious act aimed at cutting Slovakia off from the system and structures of international human rights protection.
It is also an attack on the Constitution of the Slovak Republic itself. The enshrinement of the fundamental rights and freedoms in the Constitution was a crucial moment in establishing Slovakia’s democratic statehood after 1989 and, since 1993, in communities that have grown on the foundations of equality and humanity. Any proposals that attack this foundation must be considered extremely dangerous.
The proposed constitutional amendment builds on various efforts to reduce the protection of the rights of vulnerable people by labeling them as „cultural and ethical issues.“ The right not to be a subject of discrimination, the right to education and scientific progress, to health, and to respect for personal and family life belong to everyone. The responsibility for protecting and fulfilling these rights cannot simply be dismissed with a phrase about „cultural and ethical issues.“
For example, the proposal will allow any domestic political majority to divert school curriculum from the principle of non-discrimination under the pretext of „parental consent.“ Children and young people will be exposed to serious risks arising from the fact that, instead of receiving information in line with current scientific knowledge, they may be exposed to literally censored, ideological curriculum.
The proposal seriously interferes with the rights of vulnerable groups
Although we cannot know for certain at this point, the proposal may ultimately include a broadly formulated right to conscientious objection, which is also extremely worrying. In practice, this could mean that doctors, pharmacists, teachers, and people in the helping professions, such as social workers, could refuse to perform their professional duties based on subjective beliefs, regardless of the rights and needs of those they are supposed to serve, even in state-run institutions. This element of the proposal would most profoundly affect women and girls, who may lose their right to choose. Other significantly affected groups would include children facing violence, children from deprived closed environments, and patients in immediate danger of death.
The proposal manipulatively narrows the definition of what constitutes a family, while also attempting to impose a constitutional definition of who is a full-fledged human being. Transgender and intersex people who already face human rights violations today are to be erased from the language of government administration, laws, and regulations. All members of parliament who are considering supporting the proposal should be aware that they have no authority to make such interventions.
We therefore call on all members of parliament: Stop this proposal, do not vote for it! Your decision will change the lives of many people for the worse. It will push them into a sphere of fear, hiding their own identity, and navigating life situations on the edge of legality. It will not help anyone (literally). It will also change Slovakia’s position in the world.
Nobody who values their parliamentary oath can vote for a proposal that will severely affect vulnerable people and enshrine exclusion, control, and ideological control in the fundamental document of our state – the constitution.
It is not too late to do the right thing. You are not nameless individuals. With your vote, you are making history in our country. With your decision, you are becoming jointly responsible for the system in which we will continue to live.
