Recent changes to Slovakia’s constitution mark a “dark day” for the country, LGBTQ+ campaigners have warned, describing measures such as the recognition of only two sexes as part of a wider rollback of human rights and rule of law in the central European country.
On Friday, Slovakia’s parliament passed an amendment that included measures targeting LGBTQ+ rights in the country, from stipulating that male and female are the only recognised sexes to making it nearly impossible for same-sex couples to adopt children.
In the days since, more than 100 calls and emails have poured into the office of Iniciatíva Inakosť, the country’s leading advocacy organisation for LGBTQ+ equality.
“People are frightened, anxious, and feel powerless, as they have become hostages of politicians through this amendment,” said Martin Macko, the organisation’s executive director. “The amendment explicitly bans legal gender recognition – (it’s) directly attacking the lives of transgender and intersex people.”
The vote suggested that Slovakia was following in the footsteps of Russia, where same-sex couples have been banned from adopting children and mentions of LGBTQ+ issues are prohibited, as well as Hungary, where the country’s ruling Fidesz party, led by rightwing populist Viktor Orbán, has taken aim at LGBTQ+ rights.
“This amendment threatens Slovakia’s EU membership and brings us even closer to authoritarian Russia,” said Macko. “The paradox is that these measures were adopted at a time when acceptance of LGBT+ people in Slovak society is growing.”
Since returning to power in 2023, the government led by the populist Robert Fico has targeted the community, ushering in measures such as the elimination of public funding for projects related to LGBTQ+ people. “It is part of his shift towards far-right politics, which he framed as a bulwark against progressivism … Some conservative MPs even justified their vote for the amendment by saying this was their ‘last chance’ to prevent LGBT+ people from achieving equality.”
The director of Amnesty International Slovakia, Rado Sloboda, described the changes as “devastating news”, noting that the amendment would pit the country’s constitution in “direct conflict” with international law.
In a statement addressing what the organisation called “draconian” constitutional amendments, Sloboda described it as “another dark day for Slovakia, which is already facing a series of cascading attacks on human rights and the rule of law”.
The organisation had long warned that the constitutional changes – which build on 2023 legislation that blocked legal recognition for trans people – were part of a broader attempt by authorities to roll back rights in Slovakia.
“The situation for marginalised groups in Slovakia – including LGBTI people – is already dire. These amendments rub salt into the wound,” said Sloboda. “Instead of attacking human rights, the authorities should address the lack of legal protection for all families, marriage equality, and the rights of transgender and non-binary people, including access to healthcare and legal gender recognition.”
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The constitutional changes also set out that Slovakian law takes precedence over EU legislation when it comes to matters concerning “national identity”, said Lucia Berdisová, a human rights lawyer with the Institute of State and Law at the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
The change suggests a path for authorities to ignore decisions from European courts, Berdisová said in an email. “The provisions of the amendment are so vague that it is difficult to anticipate their consequences.”
What was clear, however, was that the changes follow Hungary in “constitutionalising” national identity by using the law to promote the idea that a family could only be a married, heterosexual couple with children, while also echoing Russia’s effort to curb the reach of the European convention on human rights.
Taken together, the amendment would allow officials to significantly increase their authority and tighten their grip on power, said Berdisová. “The state has been markedly strengthened at the expense of its citizens.”
