56 NGOs urge EU action on Slovakia’s binary constitution

On 16 October, 56 European NGOs have written to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law, Michael McGrath, sharing their grave concerns over the recent changes to Slovakia’s constitution.

The constitutional amendments aim to strip away the human rights to private and family life, education, and healthcare from children, women, and LGBTI people and place national law over European law or the European Convention on Human Rights.

From November 1 2025, the Slovak constitution will only recognise two genders, male and female, erasing non-binary and intersex people’s existence.  Adoption for same-sex couples as well as equal access to comprehensive sexuality education in schools are also attacked. 

These changes threaten the primacy of EU law, a cornerstone of the Union, and thus breach EU law and Slovakia’s obligations under international human rights law and standards. 

The signatories urgently call on the European Commission to start infringement proceedings in response to the EU law breaches resulting from these

constitutional amendments. Additionally, they urgently call for an immediate freeze of EU funds and other political measures to address this serious attack on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Slovakia.

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