Council Commissioner of Europe (RE) for human rights Michael O’Flaherty on Friday declared that Slovak MPs should not accept constitutional changes that weaken the general protection of human rights or which weaken human rights of specific groups in society. He called on the MEPs to observe the principles of the rule of law and human rights of all inhabitants of Slovakia. TASR informs about this on the basis of a press release of the Office of the Commissioner of the CA of Human Rights.
O’flaherty explained that the National Council of the Slovak Republic will discuss the proposals of changes to the Constitution in the next few days in the second day reading the government and which had passed through the first reading of April 9, 2025. “These changes have raised concerns of the Slovak National Center for Human Rights, the Public Defender of Rights, Civil Society and several legal experts. Moreover, today (13 June 2025), further proposals for changes to the constitution that raise further concerns about human rights,” were submitted. said Commissioner Re.
According to O’Flahery, one of the key designs is that Slovakia retains sovereignty in areas that fall under a widely understood term “national identity”, especially as regards “fundamental cultural-ethical issues”.
The Commissioner of the CA has expressed concern that this proposal is contrary to the principle that the internal legislation of the State, including constitutional right, cannot be used to justify the proceedings or omission of the infringing international law. This also includes an obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights to fully ensure rights and freedoms defined in this document.
He added that this also applies to all other international treaties to which the SR is a contracting party, including other contras, such as the European Social Charter, as well as global tools for the protection of human rights. O’Flahets claims that the effort to not apply concrete rights because the matter concerns “national identity” would be fundamentally incompatible with the international obligations of the Slovak Republic.
The Commissioner also commented on other proposed changes. The proposal to acknowledge two genders – male and female – according to him risks denial of reality of transroding and intersexuals. It may also affect human rights guarantees, such as access to the legal recognition of the gender. He noted that one of the proposals submitted to be biologically conditioned by this recognition would be completely canceled by this guarantee.
According to O’Flahety, concerns have also appeared in connection with the proposed changes that may affect family life or access to comprehensive sex education, in the light of international standards. It claims that it is essential that MEPs fully take into account these concerns, including those expressed by independent domestic institutions and ensure that there is no limitation of the rights of any group in society.
Finally, the Commissioner appreciated the proposal to constitutionally guarantee equal remuneration of men and women, which he described as a positive step to ensure gender equality. “I call on the government and deputies to deal with this important issue through another initiative that would not be associated with steps weakening human rights,” closed.
