Slovakia officially apologizes for robbing "gypsies" of their ability to have children

The Slovak government has officially apologized for the decades-old forced sterilization, or deprivation of the ability to reproduce, of Roma women.

The Slovak Republic News Agency reported that the country's ruling coalition issued a statement on Wednesday condemning years of human rights violations and apologizing to those affected.

The government representative for Roma said on her official website that it was not possible to estimate the number of sterilizations but that at least several thousand women were affected.

According to the government, forced sterilizations were carried out between 1966 and 1989 with the aim of limiting the number of children born to Roma.

But even after the fall of communism, the government acknowledges that Roma women were subjected to illegal pressure in clinics between 1990 and 2004 to agree to sterilization after having children.

For years, human rights organizations and the Council of Europe have been calling for Slovakia to recognize the years of systematic human rights violations against Roma and compensate the victims.

In a response on Twitter, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic welcomed the apology as an important first step, but said a compensation mechanism must be set up quickly.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news