Autism-Europe, with the support of the Forum for Human Rights, has filed a collective complaint against the Czech Republic before the Council of Europe. The complaint alleges that the Czech Republic has violated multiple provisions of the 1961 European Social Charter. Specifically, the complaint points to the systemic failure of the Czech authorities to provide community-based services for individuals with disabilities, particularly autistic people and those with intellectual disabilities, and high support needs.
The complaint argues that the Czech Republic to this day chooses to house people with disabilities in institutions, instead of enabling them to live independently. It also alleges that the state fails to provide adequate social care services for autistic people and/or people with intellectual disabilities and does not provide sufficient support to informal caregivers.
The Czech Republic claims to support the right of people with disabilities to live in the community, but its policies and funding choices tell a different story. Residential institutions continue to receive most public funding, leaving community-based services underdeveloped and inaccessible. When people with disabilities do not have adequate social services nearby, they and their families are left unsupported. This leads to exhaustion, financial hardship, and social isolation. Furthermore, autistic people, as well as people with an intellectual disability, sometimes face prolonged and unnecessary psychiatric hospitalisations due to the lack of appropriate care alternatives.
The complaint highlights the devastating consequences of the Czech Republic’s inaction—not only for individuals with disabilities but also for their families. Autism-Europe and Forum for Human Rights ask the Council of Europe to hold the Czech government accountable for these violations.
The collective complaints procedure is a human rights protection system for social and economic rights which complements the judicial protection provided under the European Convention on Human Rights for civil and political rights. Because of their collective nature, complaints should raise questions in general, concerning non-compliance of a state’s law or practice with one or more of the provisions of the European Social Charter. In 2002, Autism-Europe filed the first collective complaint to defend the rights of people with disabilities in Europe (Autism-Europe v. France, complaint No. 13/2002). It led to a landmark decision by the Council of Europe, in which France was found to have failed its educational obligations to autistic persons under the European Social Charter.
Read the article in Czech here.