Document #1076198
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to the internet publication
Central Europe Online, a December 1997 issue of the Czech
weekly Tyden states that the "sterilization of Romani
women in the former Czechoslovakia under guidelines 'in the
interest of a healthy population' went on for 31 years, from 1958
to 1990" (CEO 16 Dec. 1997). The sterilization programme was
reportedly coordinated by the Ministries of Health and Labour and
Social Affairs, with the government's commission for the Romani
population (ibid.). The report further states that some women were
paid for undergoing the operation while others were unknowingly
sterilized in hospitals immediately after the birth of a child
(ibid.). According to one doctor quoted in the Tyden
article, sterilizations were performed as soon as 48 hours after
women gave birth, "otherwise no one would have been able to get
them back into hospital again" (ibid.). Please see the Central
Europe Online attachment for further details.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Central Europe Online (CEO)
[Prague]. 16 December 1997. "Czech Weekly Says Romany Women
Sterilized for 31 Years." [Internet] [Accessed 16 Dec. 1997]
Attachment
Central Europe Online (CEO)
[Prague]. 16 December 1997. "Czech Weekly Says Romany Women
Sterilized for 31 Years." [Internet] [Accessed 16 Dec. 1997]