Babiš Government Reshuffles Human Rights Council: Former "Miss World," Anti-Abortion Lawyer and Detrans Activist Among New Members

On Monday, Andrej Babiš's government appointed seven new members to the Czech Government Council for Human Rights. Among them are a lawyer linked to ultraconservative organizations, former "Miss World" Taťána Kuchařová, and a hairdresser who underwent detransition.

Lawyer Jiří Kříž has long been associated with the "For Life" and "Alliance for the Family" movements, which oppose abortion and certain forms of contraception. The same organizations have ties within government circles to Jan Gregor, an advisor to Labor and Social Affairs Minister Aleš Juchelka (ANO). Kříž is also a member of the international conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei and this year ran for the post of Ombudsman.

Former "Miss World" and a Detrans Activist

It was Kříž whom former model Taťána Kuchařová turned to for help with a church annulment — she, too, has now joined the new council. Since 2008, Kuchařová has run the "Krása pomoci" foundation, which supports services for the elderly.

Sitting alongside them on the council will be Daniel Black, a hairdresser and "detrans" activist who transitioned from male to female at the age of 18, including through surgical procedures. He later regretted the decision, accused the system of allowing him to undergo surgery in the first place, and went through the reverse process — detransition. Black claims that transgender people suffer from psychological issues that a change of sex does not resolve, and openly advocates banning sex-reassignment surgeries.

Vacancies Created by Mass Resignations

Openings on the council, as in other government advisory bodies, appeared at the end of June, when dozens of respected experts resigned in protest against the relocation and weakening of these bodies' authority.

The appointment of Kříž, Black and Kuchařová to a body tasked with monitoring compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and international anti-discrimination agreements has drawn criticism from specialists. Johanna Nejedlová, executive director of Konsent, an organization focused on preventing sexual violence, said that qualified candidates had been passed over while the council gained "problematic names whose work has nothing to do with protecting human rights." She noted that the prime minister and head of the government office, Tünde Bartha, had previously assured the public that experts' voices still mattered.

Jitka Poláková, director of the proFem center, who previously took part in government advisory bodies before stepping down on July 3, commented: "The government is clearly moving in a more conservative direction, which we partly expected. The disclosure of these names shows that such influences are gaining more room. It's a bad sign."

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz