Promising Practice

Committee for the Prevention and Elimination of Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism and Other Forms of Intolerances

Hate crime
Výbor pre predchádzanie a elimináciu rasizmu, xenofóbie, antisemitizmu a ostatných foriem intolerancie
The Committee for the Prevention and Elimination of Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism and Other Forms of Intolerances, established and chaired by the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, serves as a platform for exchanges between representatives of public administrations, security services and civil society organisations in relation to the fight against racism, xenophobia and extremism.
Land
Slovakia
Type
Encourage reporting
Ground of discrimination
Cooperation with civil society and community organisations
Cross institutional cooperation
Monitoring progress and impact

Organisation

The committee was established at the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic.

Start and end date

Start date:

2011.

End date:

End date: ongoing (as of May 2021). The Committee for the Prevention and Elimination of Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism and Other Forms of Intolerances was established on the basis of Government Resolution No. 158 of 2 March 2011 as one of the committees of the Government Council of the Slovak Republic for Human Rights, National Minorities and Gender Equality.

Scope

National.

Target group(s)

  • Representatives of ministries.
  • Civil servants.
  • Law enforcement.
  • Security services.
  • Universities.
  • Human rights organisations.
  • Civil society organisations.

Funding

Not applicable (membership of the committee is an honorary function).

Objectives

  • Multi-agency cooperation.
  • Preparation of proposals for partial/systemic measures that are aimed at preventing and eliminating racism and extremism and other areas related to the competences of the committee.
  • Participation in the preparation and development of educational and/or hate crime seminars.

Outputs

Description

The committee serves as a tool for the exchange of information between representatives of public administrations, security services and civil society organisations. It aims to address the most oppressing issues related to the committee’s competences and assist in resolving these issues at national level. The purpose of the committee is also to serve as an expert platform for coordinating activities and defining priorities and directions in the creation of public policies aimed at preventing and eliminating racism, xenophobia and extremism.

Temporary working groups are established within the committee. In 2021, there are five working groups that focus on (1) education, (2) law, (3) strategies and analysis, (4) hate speech and (5) the security of Jewish communities. All of them meet on an ad hoc basis. Furthermore, the committee may initiate certain measures and activities by carrying out analyses and studies and preparing initiative materials, which can be also submitted to meetings of the Government Council of the Slovak Republic for Human Rights, National Minorities and Gender Equality.

The committee meets twice a year.

Critical success factors

  • The Minister of the Interior is the chairperson of the committee.
  • Cooperation and exchange of information among different stakeholders represented on the committee.
  • Generation of expert opinions on national anti-extremist documents.
  • Establishment of a working group aimed at ensuring the security of Jewish communities based on the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of the Interior and the Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities in the Slovak Republic.

Actors involved in the design and implementation of the practice

The Ministry of the Interior (Secretariat of the committee), Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, General Prosecutor’s Office, police force (various departments), Slovak Information Service, Office of the Plenipotentiary for National Minorities, Office of the Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities, Slovak National Centre for Human Rights, Academy of the Police Force, Association of Self-governing Regions, the Union of Slovak Towns and Cities, six non-governmental organisations and three experts.

Monitoring and evaluation

The Government Council of the Slovak Republic for Human Rights, National Minorities and Gender Equality, under which the committee is established, carries out monitoring and evaluation processes.

Publicly available contact details

The Crime Prevention Department of the Office of the Minister of the Interior is the Secretariat of the committee
Email: vrax@minv.sk