ADVISORY COM M ITTEE ON THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL M INORITIES
St rasbourg,20 December 2016 ACFC/ OP/ IV(2016)001
Fourth Opinion on “the former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia”, adopted on 24 February 2016
SUM M ARY
“ The former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia” is experiencing a period of serious polit ical crisis and discord, ahead of early parliament ary elect ions scheduled for June 2016. Polit ical scandals and revelat ions in 2015 of corrupt ion, syst emat ic breaches of t he rule of law , int erference w it h judicial independence and massive violat ions of fundament al human right s have prompt ed out rage across et hnic lines and led t o a subst ant ial breakdow n in t rust in public inst it ut ions overall. Civil societ y and nat ional minorit y represent at ives all cit e respect for t he rule of law as t heir number one and most urgent concern. Despit e t he unanimous prot est s against t he polit ical st ruct ures, societ y remains deeply divided, w it h lit t le int eract ion bet w een t he t w o largest et hnic communit ies, M acedonians and Albanians. Relat ions bet w een t hem are st ill dominat ed by mut ual fear and dist rust as few effort s appear t o have been made on eit her side t o overcome t he post -conflict st age. Against t his background, polit icisat ion of et hnic issues cont inues and is accompanied by int ensive nat ion-building processes. Polit ical and et hnically based hat e speech has become prominent among t he polit ical elit es and is w idely used in t he media. The legislat ive framew ork pert aining t o t he prot ect ion of nat ional minorit ies accords right s only t o persons belonging t o t he six minorit ies w ho are explicit ly ment ioned in t he Const it ut ion, t hereby in pract ice excluding persons belonging t o t he various ot her and numerically smaller communit ies. The implement at ion of t he Ohrid Framew ork Agreement , w hich remains t he most cent ral inst rument for t he promot ion of minorit y right s, is undergoing a comprehensive review process, in w hich numerically smaller minorit ies have not been included. Hopes w it hin civil societ y and minorit y represent at ives are high, how ever, t hat t he process w ill lead t o a new approach t ow ards t he format ion of an int egrat ed societ y t hat is based on t he rule of law and respect for individual right s, including minorit y right s, for all
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persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies. In part icular, it is considered essent ial t hat t he object ive of achieving equit able represent at ion of nat ional minorit ies in public administ rat ion is genuinely implement ed t hrough t he development of a merit -based recruit ment process, and t hat t he increasing separat ion along et hnic lines w it hin t he educat ion syst em is comprehensively addressed t hrough t he promot ion of int eret hnic respect and aw areness in all schools. Roma remain dramat ically disadvant aged from a socio-economic point of view and are faced w it h discriminat ory at t it udes amongst public employees. Incident s of police brut alit y and et hnic profiling at t he border cont inue, prevent ing Roma from exit ing t he count ry. Recommendations for immediate action
Take all necessary measures tow ards building an integrated society that is firmly based on the rule of law , the protection of human rights, including minority rights, and respect for diversity, and disengage from mutually exclusive ethnonationalist politics that further the formation of parallel societies;
Take urgent measures to regain trust in public institutions and actively disengage from politically and ethnically based hate speech; ensure that all instances of hate speech and hate crime are promptly condemned and effectively investigated and sanctioned;
Take all necessary measures to build an integrated and multilingual education system; allocate an adequate budget and ensure that teachers are appropriately trained and that textbooks and curricula in all schools reflect intercultural content;
Genuinely implement the principle of equitable representation and promote the effective participation of all persons belonging to national minorities, in public life and in relevant decision-making processes at all levels.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
KEY FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................................4
M ONITORING PROCESS .......................................................................................................................................4 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENT SITUATION...............................................................................................4 ASSESSM ENT OF M EASURES TAKEN TO IM PLEM ENT THE RECOM M ENDATIONS FOR IM M EDIATE ACTION FROM THE THIRD CYCLE.................................................................................................................................................5 ASSESSM ENT OF M EASURES TAKEN TO IM PLEM ENT THE FURTHER RECOM M ENDATIONS FROM THE THIRD CYCLE ..................................................................................................................................................................6 II.
ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE FINDINGS....................................................................................................................8
ARTICLE 3 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ....................................................................................................8 ARTICLE 4 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ..................................................................................................10 ARTICLE 5 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ..................................................................................................17 ARTICLE 6 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ..................................................................................................19 ARTICLE 8 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ..................................................................................................23 ARTICLE 9 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ..................................................................................................24 ARTICLE 10 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ................................................................................................26 ARTICLE 11 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ................................................................................................28 ARTICLE 12 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ................................................................................................28 ARTICLE 14 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ................................................................................................32 ARTICLE 15 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ................................................................................................33 ARTICLES 17 AND 18 OF THE FRAM EW ORK CONVENTION ..................................................................................39 III.
CONCLUSIONS...........................................................................................................................................40
RECOM M ENDATIONS FOR IM M EDIATE ACTION.................................................................................................40 FURTHER RECOM M ENDATIONS.........................................................................................................................40
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I.
KEY FINDINGS
M onitoring process
1. This fourt h cycle Opinion on t he implement at ion of t he Framew ork Convent ion by “ t he former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia” w as adopt ed in accordance w it h Art icle 26(1) of t he Framew ork Convent ion and Rule 23 of Resolut ion (97) 10 of t he Commit t ee of M inist ers. The findings are based on informat ion cont ained in t he fourt h St at e Report , submit t ed by t he aut horit ies on 15 July 2014, ot her w rit t en sources and on informat ion obt ained by t he Advisory Commit t ee from government al and non-government al sources during it s visit t o Skopje, Kumanovo and Gost ivar from 7-11 December 2015. 2. The Advisory Commit t ee expresses it s grat it ude for t he aut horit ies’ co-operat ion w it h t he monit oring process as w ell as t he assist ance provided w it h respect t o t he count ry visit . The t hird cycle Opinion w as published in due process joint ly w it h t he government comment s and t he corresponding Commit t ee of M inist ers’ Resolut ion w as t ranslat ed int o t he official language as w ell as int o Albanian, Romani, Serbian, Turkish and Vlach, w hich is highly w elcome. Overall how ever, t he Advisory Commit t ee not ed limit ed aw areness amongst government officials of t he Framew ork Convent ion and it s provisions as an int egral part of t he int ernat ional human right s prot ect ion syst em. While t he fourt h cycle St at e Report appears t o have been draft ed w it hout involvement of minorit y represent at ives or input provided from local aut horit ies, a belat ed consult at ion process on t he realisat ion of t he right s of smaller communit ies according t o t he Framew ork Convent ion t ook place short ly before t he count ry visit , organised by t he OSCE w it h part icipat ion from relevant government officials, and result ing in a report draft ed by an independent expert cont ract ed by t he OSCE.1 General overview of the present situation
3. In “ t he former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia” , 2015 w as a year of polit ical crisis and discord. The large-scale publicat ion of communicat ions illegally int ercept ed since February, seemingly bet w een highest -level government officials, have exposed syst emat ic breaches of t he rule of law , violat ions of fundament al right s, int erference w it h judicial independence, and w idespread corrupt ion. The revelat ions prompt ed out rage across et hnic lines and have led t o a subst ant ial breakdow n in t rust in public inst it ut ions overall. Civil societ y and nat ional minorit y represent at ives all cit e respect for t he rule of law as t heir number one and most urgent concern. Despit e t he unanimous prot est s and demonst rat ions against t he polit ical st ruct ures, societ y remains deeply divided, how ever, w it h lit t le int eract ion bet w een t he t w o largest communit ies, t he M acedonian and t he Albanian. In t he absence of a government st rat egy t o promot e int eret hnic int eract ion and creat e an int egrat ed societ y, divisions are increasingly not iceable in t he public sphere, among t he polit ical elit es, in st at e inst it ut ions, in t he educat ion syst em and in t he media. M oreover, polit ical and et hnically based hat e speech is increasing and is becoming more prominent also in mainst ream polit ical circles. Given t he current crisis 1
See Shadow Report on t he realizat ion of t he right s of smaller communit ies according t o t he Framew ork Convent ion for t he Prot ect ion of Nat ional M inorit ies by t he communit ies’ associat ions t hat t ake part in t he Part icipat ory Forum , published by t he Agency for t he Exercise of Communit y Right s, November 2015, page 12, w w w .aopz.gov.mk/ w p-cont ent / uploads/ 2016/ 01/ Shadow _Report _Part icipat ory_Forum_-Nov2015.pdf.
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sit uat ion and despit e t he fact t hat larger erupt ions of int eret hnic violence have been avert ed in recent years, t here are w idespread fears amongst t he populat ion t hat renew ed larger-scale host ilit ies could be provoked ahead of t he early parliament ary elect ions, first scheduled for April 2016 and re-scheduled in February t o t ake place on 5 June 2016, in order t o dist ract public at t ent ion from polit ical failures. 4. The legislat ive framew ork pert aining t o t he prot ect ion of nat ional minorit ies accords right s only t o persons belonging t o t he six minorit ies w ho are explicit ly ment ioned in t he Const it ut ion, effect ively excluding persons belonging t o t he various ot her and numerically smaller communit ies from t he prot ect ion of t he Framew ork Convent ion. The 2001 Ohrid Framew ork Agreement (OFA)2 and t he ensuing legislat ive measures t o promot e it s implement at ion remain t he most cent ral mechanisms for t he promot ion of minorit y right s. A comprehensive review process is ongoing in early 2016 w it h support of engaged int ernat ional organisat ions, follow ing t he preparat ory w ork of six w orking groups made up of represent at ives of t he four main polit ical part ies. Numerically smaller minorit ies have not been included in t his process. Yet , t hey remain hopeful t hat t he evaluat ion w ill lead t o a new approach t ow ards t he format ion of an int egrat ed societ y t hat is based on t he rule of law and respect for individual right s, including access t o minorit y right s for all persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies. In part icular, it is considered essent ial by nat ional and int ernat ional observers t hat t he object ive of achieving equit able represent at ion of minorit y communit ies in public administ rat ion is genuinely implement ed. Recruit ment processes under t he OFA t hus far are considered t o have led t o a large pool of individuals w ho w ere recruit ed, neit her on merit , nor based on needs w it hin st at e inst it ut ions but as a rew ard for demonst rat ing support for t he main polit ical part ies. As a result , many of t he employees remain in search of act ive placement w hile in receipt of a salary, or are engaged in side act ivit ies w it hout clear compet encies. This sit uat ion does not cont ribut e t o t he effect ive part icipat ion of nat ional minorit ies in all spheres of public life but feeds t he impression of polit ical corrupt ion in societ y, w hich view s t he government as buying vot es t hrough it s inflat ed syst em of public administ rat ion. Roma remain dramat ically disadvant aged from a socio-economic point of view and are, in addit ion, faced w it h discriminat ory at t it udes amongst public employees in st at e inst it ut ions. Incident s of police brut alit y and of et hnic profiling at t he border cont inue t o be report ed regularly, w hereby Roma, in an apparent effort t o comply w it h t he EU visa-liberalisat ion agreement , are not allow ed t o exit t he count ry. Assessment of measures taken to implement the recommendations for immediate action from the third cycle
5. Effort s have been made t o address t he problems t hat Roma confront in t he field of educat ion, mainly t hrough increased at t ent ion being paid t o t he enrolment of Roma children in schools. A new Roma Nat ional Inclusion St rat egy w as adopt ed in 2015 follow ing consult at ions w it h minorit y and civil societ y represent at ives. Yet , few of t he comment s provided w ere report edly t aken int o account . M oreover, t here is no comprehensive and up-t o-dat e act ion plan and no earmarked budget has been allocat ed for t he implement at ion of comprehensive measures. The vast majorit y of Roma are not regist ered w it h t he Employment Agency and t hus 2
For t he original t ext , see w w w .ec.europa.eu/ enlargement / pdf/ t he_former_yugoslav_republic_of_macedonia/ framew ork_agreement _ohri d_130801_en.pdf .
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do not benefit from it s programmes t o promot e t heir inclusion in t he labour market . Despit e t he fact t hat many Roma, w it h t he support of legal aid cent res, have been able t o legalise t heir propert ies under a 2011 law , housing condit ions remain a serious concern, w it h some 30% of Roma st ill living in informal and oft en sub-st andard set t lement s. Social w elfare provisions are insufficient for many families t o cover t he cost s of ut ilit ies, t ransport , and ot her basic needs. Access t o healt h services remains challenging, part icularly for w omen, and no comprehensive solut ion has been found t o resolve t he cont inued problems in obt aining personal document s. 6. No not iceable progress has been made in t he promot ion of t olerance, mut ual underst anding, respect and int ercult ural dialogue. On t he cont rary, opport unit ies for int eract ion bet w een t he t w o main communit ies have furt her diminished and t he societ al division across et hnic and linguist ic lines has int ensified in all spheres, manifest ing it self in declining numbers of mixed schools and t he increasing format ion of segregat ed neighbourhoods and villages. As a result of insufficient bilingual educat ion opport unit ies, young people are losing t he abilit y t o communicat e direct ly w it h each ot her. While t he number of minorit y represent at ives in public administ rat ion and t he civil service has st eadily increased, t here is st ill a pronounced under-represent at ion of persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies, part icularly at senior levels. Assessment of measures taken to implement the further recommendations from the third cycle
7. The Commission for Prot ect ion against Discriminat ion receives an increasing number of cases every year but it has not been provided w it h t he appropriat e financial and human resources t o allow it t o carry out it s dut ies effect ively. M oreover, it s composit ion cont inues t o raise serious concerns w it h respect t o it s independence. The Office of t he Ombudsman remains underfunded w it h a report ed 25% of it s posit ions remaining vacant for years. Insufficient polit ical at t ent ion has been paid t o it s recommendat ions. Support available for t he cult ural act ivit ies of nat ional minorit y associat ions appears t o have declined furt her and t here is no effect ively accessible and t ransparent mechanism t o oversee t he allocat ion of funds for t he preservat ion of t he specific cult ures and ident it ies of numerically smaller nat ional minorit ies. 8. There are unanimous report s of an escalat ion of hat e speech, oft en occurring in t he cont ext of nat ionalist ic discourse in w hich nat ional minorit ies, as w ell as opposit ion polit icians or civil societ y act ivist s, are charact erised as t rait ors, including by high-ranking polit icians. While a code of et hics for journalist s and some effort s t ow ards self-regulat ion exist , negat ive st ereot ypes and inflammat ory speech are oft en amplified in t he media, w hich furt her ent renches societ al divisions across et hnic lines and is report ed t o have provoked a variet y of int eret hnic incident s. Very few cases, how ever, are properly invest igat ed as hat e crime. Only four cases w ere report edly pending before t he court s at t he end of 2015. M oreover, t here are cont inued allegat ions of police brut alit y and abuse of pow er. While some t raining relat ed t o human right s and non-discriminat ion st andards has been organised, aw areness amongst law enforcement and prosecut orial services remains very low . No effect ively independent supervisory mechanism has been put in place t o monit or police behaviour and apply appropriat e sanct ions in est ablished cases of human right s violat ions by t he police. 9. The use of nat ional minorit y languages in cont act s w it h administ rat ive aut horit ies at local level is not comprehensively monit ored and no addit ional resources are provided t o t he
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municipalit ies w here t he legislat ive framew ork foresees t he official use of minorit y languages. A number of municipalit ies make effort s t o allow for t he use of minorit y languages despit e t he absence of a legal obligat ion. Yet , t here is no comprehensive st rat egy t o encourage or promot e minorit y languages in t he public sphere and civil servant s receive no incent ives t o acquire more minorit y-language skills. As regards Roma children in t he educat ion syst em, access t o preschools remains problemat ic w it h a report ed at t endance rat e of under 5% in 2015. M any families are not able t o afford t he fees or t he t ransport t o suit able facilit ies. While sust ained effort s have been made t o promot e t he enrolment of Roma children in primary schools, t heir disproport ionat ely frequent placement in special schools remains a serious issue t hat is acknow ledged by t he aut horit ies. The majorit y of Roma children at t end schools in M acedonian language w hile t hey speak Romani at home. Yet , no comprehensive effort s are in place t o ensure t hat Roma children are provided w it h professional support t o overcome language barriers and successfully at t end regular public schools.
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II.
ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE FINDINGS
Article 3 of the Framew ork Convention Personal scope of application
Present sit uat ion
10. Access t o right s under t he Framew ork Convent ion cont inues t o be regulat ed in line w it h t he aut horit ies’ declarat ion deposit ed in 2004, w hich defines nat ional minorit ies as cit izens belonging t o t he six groups ment ioned explicit ly in t he Preamble of t he Const it ut ion.3 Despit e t he fact t hat t he Preamble also ment ions “ ot hers” , t he legislat ive framew ork pert aining t o t he prot ect ion of nat ional minorit ies accords right s t o members of t he six list ed groups only. While w elcoming t he assurance given by t he aut horit ies t hat request s for prot ect ion under t he Framew ork Convent ion by represent at ives of ot her et hnic groups w ould be considered on an art icle-by-art icle basis,4 t he Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h regret t hat effort s made by t he represent at ives of t he “ ot hers” , including numerically smaller groups such as t he Egypt ian and Croat minorit ies, as w ell as possibly larger groups such as t he Torbesh communit y, t o be accorded right s based on t he same legal grounds as ot her minorit y groups, have been reject ed w it h vague references t o t he Const it ut ion and t he legislat ive framew ork in place under w hich t hey are not accorded a prot ect ed st at us.5 11. The Advisory Commit t ee observes t hat t he exist ing legislat ive framew ork, by creat ing cat egories of pre-defined groups w it h varying levels of right s conferred t o t hem (see Art icle 4), effect ively serves t o exclude persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies from t he prot ect ion under t he Framew ork Convent ion, w hich may lead t o arbit rary deprivat ion of persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies from accessing t heir right s. It reit erat es it s st anding posit ion t hat access t o right s should be grant ed on t he basis of a flexible approach t hat is principally open t o all persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies and does not limit access t o right s t o persons belonging t o part icular nat ional minorit ies alone.
3
The t ext of t he Declarat ion dat ed 2 June 2004 reads : ” Referring t o t he Framew ork Convent ion, and t aking int o account t he lat est amendment s t o t he Const it ut ion of t he Republic of M acedonia, t he M inist er of Foreign Affairs of M acedonia submit s t he revised declarat ion t o replace t he previous t w o declarat ions on t he aforesaid Convent ion: The t erm " nat ional minorit ies" used in t he Framew ork Convent ion and t he provisions of t he same Convent ion shall be applied t o t he cit izens of t he Republic of M acedonia w ho live w it hin it s borders and w ho are part of t he Albanian people, Turkish people, Vlach people, Serbian people, Roma people and Bosniak people.” 4 See Comment s of t he Government of “ t he Former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia” on t he Third Opinion of t he Advisory Commit t ee, page 2. 5 Several request s t o Parliament and senior Government have been made on behalf of represent at ives of communit ies, such as t he Torbesh, M ont enegrin and Egypt ian communit ies, on issues relat ed t o t heir right s under t he Elect oral Code and t he Law on Public Holidays. The Advisory Commit t ee furt her not es t he est ablishment of t he “ Net w ork for M ult icult ural Societ y” in June 2010, a non-government al organisat ion t hat serves as an umbrella organisat ion for associat ions represent ing t he Armenian, Croat , Egypt ian, Hungarian, M ont enegrin, Polish, Russian, Slovenian, and Ukrainian minorit ies w ho are organised on a non-government al, non-part isan, and nonpolit ical basis. The Net w ork also maint ains cont act s w it h represent at ives of t he Jew ish communit y.
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Recommendat ion
12. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o develop and apply a flexible case-bycase approach t o all request s for t he enjoyment of minorit y right s under t he Framew ork Convent ion, based on a firm underst anding of minorit y right s as individual human right s. Census
Present sit uat ion
13. The organisat ion of a comprehensive populat ion and housing census w as repeat edly post poned and finally cancelled just prior t o it s scheduled complet ion in Oct ober 2011. As a result of cont inued disagreement s among t he main polit ical part ies over t he surveying met hodology, t he St at e Census Commission resigned and asked all surveyors t o suspend t heir act ivit ies.6 Consequent ly, all dat a relat ed t o t he size of t he populat ion and it s various groups is draw n from t he result s of t he last census, conduct ed in November 2002. The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern t hat t he reliabilit y of t hese result s is w idely view ed as doubt ful for a variet y of reasons. In addit ion t o t he fact t hat t he overall populat ion is considered t o have subst ant ially decreased in recent years ow ing t o large-scale emigrat ion,7 represent at ives of t he numerically smaller groups est imat e t hat t heir size is in fact much larger t han reflect ed in t he result s of t he 2002 census.8 14. The Advisory Commit t ee not es concerns from a number of represent at ives t hat t heir right t o free self-ident ificat ion w as curt ailed in t he enumerat ion process by t he fact t hat t hey w ere unaw are of it s significance in order t o gain access t o minorit y right s. Respondent s w ere furt her not informed of t he possibilit y t o indicat e mult iple affiliat ions. Nat ional minorit y represent at ives share t he view t hat persons belonging t o numerically smaller groups during t he census enumerat ion process oft en felt encouraged t o declare t heir affiliat ion w it h one of t he larger groups, despit e t he fact t hat t he census quest ionnaire allow ed for t he possibilit y t o specify “ ot her” . In t he case of t he so-called “ M acedonian M uslims” , for inst ance, w ho mainly consider t hemselves as Torbesh, t he majorit y report edly self-declared eit her as members of t he M acedonian people or, due t o t heir M uslim belief, as members of t he Albanian, Turkish or Bosniak communit ies. It is not ew ort hy in t his cont ext t hat t he Annual Report s of t he Ombudsman provide figures and dat a relat ing t o t he “ M acedonian M uslims” as an et hnic group, w hich seems t o suggest some level of recognit ion of exist ence, despit e t he fact t hat persons belonging t o t hat group neit her enjoy a prot ect ed st at us nor are guarant eed access t o right s w it hin t he legislat ive framew ork. 15. The Advisory Commit t ee considers t hat any fut ure census exercise, w hich is highly significant for t he adequat e design of public services for t he populat ion as w ell as t he development of t arget ed equalit y promot ion policies (see Art icle 4), must be st rict ly based on
6
The Advisory Commit t ee is unaw are of any concret e plans for t he organisat ion of a populat ion census. Est imat es for t he number of mainly young persons w ho have left t he count ry in recent years vary bet w een 300,000 and 600,000. 8 According t o t he 2002 census, t he overall populat ion account ed for 2,022,547, of w hich 1,297,981 or 64.17% declared as M acedonian; 509,083 or 25.17% self-declared as Albanian; 77,959 or 3.85% as Turkish; 53,879 or 2.66% as Roma; 9,695 or 0.47% as Vlach; 35,939 or 1.77% as Serb, and 17,018 or 0.84% indicat ed et hnic Bosniak affiliat ion. Some 20,993 persons or 1.03% indicat ed an “ ot her” . See Census of Populat ion, Household and Dw ellings in t he Republic of M acedonia, Final Dat a, page 34, at w w w .st at .gov.mk/ Publikacii/ knigaXIII.pdf. 7
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t he right t o free self-ident ificat ion and relevant personal dat a prot ect ion st andards in t he collect ion, processing and st orage of dat a. In t he meant ime, it considers t hat flexibilit y must be applied in t he analysis of t he 2002 census dat a. In addit ion, it has consist ent ly considered t hat st at ist ical informat ion regarding t he size of t he populat ion at cent ral and local levels must be int erpret ed in close consult at ion w it h represent at ives of t he various groups t hemselves, and cannot be exclusively relied upon. The result s must t herefore be complement ed w it h regularly updat ed informat ion t hat is collect ed t hrough alt ernat ive means, such as independent surveys and research, part icularly as t he enjoyment of minorit y right s in t he count ry firmly depends on ident ificat ion and size of t he various groups (see Art icles 10, 14 and 15). Recommendat ions
16. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o flexibly analyse t he result s of t he 2002 census and regularly complement t he informat ion w it h recent dat a in close consult at ion w it h nat ional minorit y represent at ives, in part icular w hen using st at ist ical dat a as t he basis for t he applicat ion of minorit y right s. 17. It furt her calls on t hem t o ensure t hat t he principle of free self-ident ificat ion, including as regards mult iple affiliat ions, is firmly anchored and it s applicat ion encouraged and monit ored in all ongoing and fut ure dat a collect ion, processing and st orage. Article 4 of the Framew ork Convention Legal and institutional framew ork for the promotion of equal access to rights of persons belonging to national minorities
Present sit uat ion
18. In t he absence of a comprehensive st rat egy for t he prot ect ion and promot ion of human right s generally, t he legal and inst it ut ional framew ork for t he promot ion of minorit y right s is made up of various component s. The 2001 Ohrid Framew ork Agreement (OFA), given it s nat ure as a peace agreement , est ablished a consociat ional polit ical syst em in w hich t he t w o largest et hnic communit ies could safeguard t heir int erest s and provide specific guarant ees for t he Albanian communit y. The OFA and t he ensuing legislat ive measures t o promot e it s implement at ion cont inue t o be overseen by t he Secret ariat for t he Implement at ion of t he OFA. Since 2008, t he Law on t he Promot ion and Prot ect ion of t he M embers of Communit ies t hat are Less t han 20% of t he Populat ion accords right s t o persons belonging t o t he five ot her nat ional minorit ies, and an Agency for t he Exercise of Communit y Right s w as est ablished in 2009. For Roma, access t o right s is furt her dealt w it h by a M inist er w it hout port folio w ho is responsible for issues relat ed t o t he implement at ion of t he Roma Decade, w hile t he adopt ion of t he Roma Nat ional Inclusion St rat egy has been co-ordinat ed by t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy. In addit ion, all persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies may also avail t hemselves of t he general human right s prot ect ion and ant i-discriminat ion mechanisms such as t he Office of t he Ombudsman and t he Commission for Prot ect ion against Discriminat ion (CPD) (see below ). While w elcoming t he variet y of inst it ut ions t hat can be t urned t o for support , t he Advisory Commit t ee not es t hat most persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies are not only confused by
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t he various pieces of legislat ion t hat are applicable t o t hem, but t hey also have doubt s about t he professionalism, independence or compet ency of t he respect ive bodies.9 19. Since it s est ablishment in early 2011, t he Commission for Prot ect ion against Discriminat ion (CPD) funct ions as t he main equalit y body, in line w it h t he 2010 Ant iDiscriminat ion Law .10 According t o informat ion obt ained by t he Advisory Commit t ee, it received 394 complaint s from 2011 unt il December 2015. The yearly average is slow ly increasing but t he overall number is st ill considered by relevant officials t o be very low .11 This is due t o fears of secondary vict imisat ion, lack of t rust in st at e inst it ut ions, and lack of aw areness amongst t he public about t he CPD’s exist ence and mandat e.12 While agreeing w it h t his assessment , t he Advisory Commit t ee furt her not es serious concerns amongst civil societ y and minorit y represent at ives about t he lack of independence of t he CPD and about t he fact t hat it can only express non-binding recommendat ions. It s members from 2011 unt il t he end of 2015 served only part -t ime for t he CPD, w hile pursuing separat e full-t ime employment , including in government inst it ut ions. It s President from 2011 t o 2015, for inst ance, w as a St at e Secret ary at t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy, w hich indeed raises doubt s about t he CPD’s abilit y during t hat period t o funct ion independent ly from t he government , especially in view of t he fact t hat t he majorit y of complaint s it received w ere relat ed t o mat t ers of employment w it hin public inst it ut ions.13 M oreover, it does not have a permanent presence out side of Skopje, w hich significant ly reduces it s pot ent ial for out reach.14 20. In addit ion, t he Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern t hat t he CPD does not have a Secret ariat , w hich prevent s t he inst it ut ion from funct ioning properly.15 In addit ion, it raises concerns w it h respect t o t he loss of inst it ut ional memory as it s members serve for five years only.16 M oreover, t he Advisory Commit t ee observes w it h concern t hat a number of opinions
9
It remains unclear w hat measures w ere t aken t o implement t he Nat ional St rat egy for Equalit y and NonDiscriminat ion 2012-2015, yet few result s have been achieved. The Advisory Commit t ee has learned t hat a renew ed st rat egy w ill be adopt ed under t he supervision of t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy for t he period 2016-2020, yet no furt her informat ion w as provided w it h respect t o concret e act ivit ies. 10 According t o Art icle 16 of t he Law on Prevent ion and Prot ect ion against Discriminat ion, t he Commission is an independent body, funded by t he st at e budget . The CPD is made up of seven individuals, elect ed by Parliament . Whereas it s first composit ion w it h a mandat e from 2011 t o 2015 included one represent at ive of a smaller communit y, t he second does not . 11 While some 60 complaint s w ere received in 2011, 78 in 2012 and 84 in 2013, 106 cases are report ed t o have been received in 2014. 12 See Annual Report of t he CPD 2013, page 6. 13 See Annual Report , pages 7 and 9. 14 In t he past five years, t hree complaint s w ere report edly submit t ed at local level via t he Gender Equalit y Commissions. 15 The CPD should decide w it hin 90 days of receipt of t he case w het her t o init iat e proceedings or not . According t o civil societ y represent at ives, t his t ime frame is very rarely respect ed. In 2014, a net w ork comprised of six civil societ y organisat ions w orking on equalit y and non-discriminat ion cases submit t ed a complaint against t he CPD t o t he Ombudsperson because t here had not been any follow -up t o t en cases submit t ed t o t he CPD bet w een 2011 and 2013. Opinions w ere delivered only upon inst ruct ion from t he Ombudsperson, w ho point ed out t hat t he CPD had not act ed in accordance w it h t he law . See European net w ork of legal expert s in gender equalit y and nondiscriminat ion New s Report of 11 June 2015, w w w .equalit ylaw .eu/ index.php?opt ion=com_edocman& t ask=document .view doc& id=2864& It emid=295. 16 The elect ion of seven second-t erm members (six men, one w oman) of t he CPD from 2016-2020 t ook place in Parliament in early 2016. Only one of t he previous members w as re-elect ed. Concerns regarding a lack of t ransparency in t he elect ion process and insufficient human right s experience among t he new members have
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provided by t he CPD appear t o reflect inadequat e levels of precision and expert ise in t heir legal analysis.17 Indeed, in only 10% of t he complaint s it received t he CPD det ermined t hat discriminat ion had t aken place. In t his cont ext , t he Advisory Commit t ee not es t hat t he Ant iDiscriminat ion Law places a large burden on t he complainant t o prove t hat discriminat ion has t aken place, asking for submission of “ fact s and proofs from w hich t he act or act ion of discriminat ion can be est ablished” , w hich is not in line w it h t he reverse burden of proof requirement set by t he EU Equalit y Direct ives w hich t he law int ends t o t ranspose.18 The Advisory Commit t ee has been informed t hat , as a result , most civil societ y organisat ions have decided t o disregard t he CPD in favour of ot her inst it ut ions, such as t he Ombudsman Office w hich is considered a more efficient body t o resolve discriminat ion-relat ed cases, despit e it s more limit ed mandat e. In addit ion, a number of cases have been brought t o domest ic court s.19 As of February 2016, t here had been nine final decisions est ablishing t hat discriminat ion had t aken place in line w it h t he Ant i-Discriminat ion Law , seven of t hem relat ed t o et hnically based discriminat ion.20 21. The Ombudsman Office cont inues t o play an act ive role in t he prot ect ion of human right s; since 2011 it has also t aken on t he mandat e of t he count ry’s Prevent ive M echanism. The Advisory Commit t ee is pleased t o not e t hat t he inst it ut ion is w ell-know n, due among ot her fact ors t o it s six regional offices. The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern, how ever, t hat t he Office cont inues t o funct ion w it hout adequat e resources; t he budget ary const raint s have prevent ed t he filling of vacancies for a number of years.21 For inst ance, only one member of st aff deals w it h t he increasing number of cases relat ed t o discriminat ion in t he public sphere received by t he Office, and only one of four Deput y Ombudspersons has been appoint ed – w hich crit ically undermines t he effect iveness of t he inst it ut ion. It is furt her regret t able t hat t he Office is not able properly t o engage in human and minorit y right s promot ion and relat ed aw areness-raising act ivit ies, including in schools (see also Art icle 12). According t o it s ow n assessment , promot ional act ivit ies have been made possible only due t o project -based int ernat ional funding. In addit ion, it is of concern t o t he Advisory Commit t ee t hat t he recommendat ions made by t he Ombudsperson are, according t o his Office, not alw ays implement ed by t he various government bodies and lit t le follow -up has been given t o it s Annual or Special Report s. Despit e it s having been set up as an independent and self-governing body, t he Ombudsman Office does not have t he mandat e or resources t o funct ion fully in line
been raised by civil societ y represent at ives, part icularly as some of t he new ly appoint ed commissioners report edly have a public record of using openly discriminat ory language against some minorit ies. 17 A case submit t ed by t he Helsinki Commit t ee in M ay 2011 regarding alleged segregat ion of Roma children in t w o primary schools in Bit ola, for inst ance, received a short and negat ive opinion in December 2014, explaining t hat t he separat e Roma classes w ere due t o parent al choice only and t hereby disregarding t he various report s and cont rary argument s submit t ed by plaint iffs. The pract ice of segregat ion w as, how ever, acknow ledged in t he Annual Report 2014 of t he Ombudsman, st at ing t hat “ children belonging t o t he Roma communit y are most ly segregat ed in special classes w hen t hey enrol in t he first grade of primary educat ion and first year of secondary educat ion.” See Republic of M acedonia Ombudsman Annual Report on t he Level of Respect , Promot ion and Prot ect ion of Human Right s and Freedoms 2014 , page 35. 18 See Art . 25.2 of t he Law on Prevent ion and Prot ect ion against Discriminat ion. See also Report on measures t o combat discriminat ion Direct ives 2000/ 43/ EC and 2000/ 78/ EC Count ry Report 2013, The former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia (FYROM ), page 8. 19 The CPD does not act in cases w here court proceedings are ongoing. See St at e Report , page 9. 20 Tw o of t he decisions are from t he Basic Court Skopje, t w o from t he Basic Court Kochani, t hree from t he Basic Court Delchevo, and t w o from t he Basic Court Vinit sa. 21 See Annual Report , pages 148-149.
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w it h t he Paris Principles. Having been accorded t he st at us B as a Nat ional Human Right s Inst it ut ion by t he Int ernat ional Coordinat ing Commit t ee in 2011, it act ively cont ribut ed in 2014 t o t he draft ing of amendment s t o t he Law on t he Ombudsman aimed at rendering t he inst it ut ion more effect ive, yet none of it s proposals w ere report edly t aken int o account . Recommendat ions
22. The Advisory Commit t ee urges t he aut horit ies t o ensure t he effect ive funct ioning of t he CPD as t he main equalit y body by providing it w it h an adequat ely st affed and resourced Secret ariat so as t o enable it properly t o deal w it h complaint s falling w it h it s mandat e in line w it h t he law . Furt hermore, all necessary effort s must be made t o ensure full independence, professionalism and int egrit y of it s members. 23. It furt her urges t hem t o accord adequat e financial and polit ical support t o t he Ombudsperson by enabling t he immediat e filling of open vacancies, by according an appropriat e budget t o enable t he proper funct ioning of t he Ombudsman Office in it s various capacit ies, and by prompt ly and fully implement ing it s recommendat ions. Amendment s should furt her be made t o t he Law on t he Ombudsman in order t o seek it s accredit at ion as a Nat ional Human Right s Inst it ut ion w it h st at us A. Continued challenges to the effective equality of persons belonging to national minorities
Present sit uat ion
24. The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern t hat , in addit ion t o t he deficiencies in t he funct ioning of t he general human right s and ant i-discriminat ion mechanisms described above, t he specific st ruct ures available t o persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies for t he prot ect ion and promot ion of minorit y right s appear also not t o funct ion properly. The Secret ariat for t he implement at ion of t he OFA oversees t he implement at ion of t he Agreement ’s main provisions and ensuing legislat ion. In addit ion t o promot ing int eret hnic relat ions and dialogue (see furt her Art icle 6), it manages t he recruit ment of persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies int o public services t o ensure t heir equit able represent at ion and part icipat ion (see furt her Art icle 15). In t he view of most nat ional minorit y represent at ives, t he OFA Secret ariat is mainly concerned w it h t he promot ion of right s of t he numerically largest minorit y, w hich is t he Albanian. This is part icularly so since 2009, w hen t he Agency w as est ablished t o deal w it h t he right s of t he numerically smaller communit ies. The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern report s t hat t he OFA implement at ion pract ices appear t o disregard individual access t o equalit y and equal opport unit ies, and it inst ead favours polit ical considerat ions. While t he int eret hnic nat ure of t he government coalit ion has promot ed int eret hnic st abilit y, it appears t hat access t o and t he enjoyment of right s of persons belonging t o t he Albanian minorit y disproport ionat ely depends on t heir polit ical affiliat ion, w it h no supervision being exercised over t he w ay in w hich t heir equit able represent at ion is being promot ed. 25. The Agency for t he Exercise of Communit y Right s funct ions merely as an Advisory Body t o t he government , yet w it hout t he aut horit y t o supervise effect ively t he implement at ion of minorit y right s. There is report edly oft en no follow -up given t o it s recommendat ions. M oreover, it act s w it hout a budget and receives financial support for it s various act ivit ies only from int ernat ional organisat ions. The Advisory Commit t ee not es in t his cont ext t he ongoing discussions regarding a possible est ablishment of a minist ry t hat w ould combine t he funct ions
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of t he Secret ariat for t he implement at ion of t he OFA and t hose of t he Agency.22 A M inist ry w ould be equipped w it h an inspect orat e body and a separat e budget t o oversee and enforce t he implement at ion of relevant provisions in line w it h int ernat ional and nat ional st andards. While w elcoming t he idea of creat ing such a compet ent body w it h t he proper aut horit y t o promot e t he implement at ion of minorit y right s, t he Advisory Commit t ee not es subst ant ial opposit ion among smaller communit ies w ho fear t hat t hey w ould be subsumed int o t he larger groups w it hout adequat e recognit ion or prot ect ion of t heir specific concerns and needs. Indeed, t he Advisory Commit t ee is concerned about t he deep sense of inequalit y it observes among persons belonging t o t he smaller communit ies, in part icular t hose t hat are not explicit ly ment ioned in t he Preamble of t he Const it ut ion but merely referred t o as “ ot hers” . It considers t herefore t hat any fut ure st ep t o promot e more effect ively t he access t o right s of persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies should disengage from t he current “ cat egorisat ion” of nat ional minorit ies according t o t heir relat ive size, as t his could indeed be considered as implying an inferior st at us for persons belonging t o t he numerically smallest or present ly undefined minorit ies. Inst ead, it should be based on an individual right s approach t hat promot es effect ive equalit y and access t o right s of all persons belonging t o all nat ional minorit ies. 26. In addit ion, t he Advisory Commit t ee is deeply concerned by t he persist ent inequalit ies experienced by persons belonging t o t he Roma minorit y (see also comment s on Art icles 12, 14 and 15), w hereby w omen are part icularly affect ed as a result of mult iple forms of discriminat ion.23 M any of t he Roma report edly remain w it hout personal document s w hich severely hinders t heir access t o right s in key spheres of daily life. While w elcoming t he regist rat ion of 2,834 Roma individuals in 2012 follow ing concert ed government al and nongovernment al effort s w it h support from t he UNHCR,24 no comprehensive st rat egy appears t o have been developed generally t o promot e access t o personal document s or even a syst emat ic regist rat ion at birt h t hrough bet t er co-operat ion bet w een hospit als and local regist ries, for inst ance.25 According t o minorit y represent at ives, w omen face part icular obst acles in obt aining document s, w hich oft en prevent t hem also from regist ering t he birt h of t heir new -born children, as cost ly DNA t est ing report edly cont inues t o be insist ed upon t o prove parent al relat ionship w hen marriage cert ificat es cannot be produced.26 As a result , some 1,600 individuals are est imat ed t o remain w it hout any ident it y document s, 400 of t hem alone in t he municipalit y of Šut o Orizari.27 The lack of ident it y document s prevent s many Roma from regist ering t heir residence and obt aining ow nership and propert y legalisat ion document s (see Art icle 15), w hile a regist ered residence is a precondit ion for t he issuance of ident it y document s. A comprehensive approach is t hus required in order t o break t he cycle and enable Roma t o est ablish t heir legal st at us and effect ively access t heir right s.
22
See also The Ohrid Framew ork Agreement Review on Social Cohesion, page 10, recommending t he merger of t he Agency w it h t he OFA Secret ariat t o form a M inist ry on Polit ical Syst em and Int er-Communit y Relat ions w w w .eip.org/ sit es/ default / files/ OFA%20Review %20on%20Social%20Cohesion.pdf. 23 See also European Commission Progress Report on t he Former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia, November 2015, page 59. 24 See EUDO Cit izenship Observat ory Count ry Report : M acedonia, page 12. 25 According t o minorit y represent at ives, t he relevant procedures are st ill cumbersome and cost ly, requiring a number of document s t o be show n as w ell as t he payment of high fees. See t he European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) Fact sheet on t he sit uat ion of Roma in M acedonia, Sept ember 2015. 26 See also informat ion provided in t he Third St at e Report , page 31. 27 Overall, some 800 persons are regist ered w it h t he UNHCR as lacking civil regist rat ion and document at ion, see w w w .unhcr.org/ pages/ 49e48d8f6.ht ml#M CDSK.
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27. M oreover, t here are document ed incident s of et hnic profiling at ext ernal borders direct ed primarily at persons belonging t o t he Roma minorit y.28 Repeat ed independent surveys point t o an est ablished pract ice of not allow ing Roma t o exit t he count ry, despit e having valid t ravel document s. The M inist ry of t he Int erior confirmed t he pract ice t o t he Advisory Commit t ee as a procedure t hat , in an apparent effort t o comply w it h t he EU visa-liberalisat ion agreement , is based on “ risk-analysis” and t he est ablished profile of so-called “ fake asylumseekers” .29 This pract ice report edly cont inues despit e an increasing number of court decisions t hat have condemned it and despit e t he M inist ry of t he Int erior having been ordered t o pay compensat ion t o affect ed individuals.30 According t o officials, t he court decisions w ere prompt ed by t he failure of individual police officers, w ho have since been reprimanded, rat her t han t he result of a syst emat ic pract ice. In addit ion, t he freedom of movement of persons belonging t o t he Roma minorit y has been seriously curt ailed t hrough t he confiscat ion of t heir passport s. The Const it ut ional Court ruled in June 2014 t hat t he revocat ion of passport s of cit izens w ho had been forcibly ret urned from ot her count ries follow ing changes t o t he Law on Travel Document s in 2014 had been unconst it ut ional.31 Recommendat ions
28. The Advisory Commit t ee urges t he aut horit ies t o address proact ively t he inequalit ies experienced by persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies and t o promot e t heir equal access t o right s t hrough t he est ablishment of effect ive and adequat ely resourced mechanisms for t he implement at ion of minorit y right s as an int egral part of individual human right s. 29. It furt her urges t hem t o priorit ise t he sit uat ion of undocument ed persons, in part icular Roma, by designing and implement ing a comprehensive st rat egy t o promot e access t o ident it y document s and a syst emat ic and uncondit ional regist rat ion of all new -born children. 30. Pract ices of et hnic profiling and ot her means of et hnically based discriminat ion must furt her be discont inued immediat ely and relevant court decisions implement ed w it hout delay. M easures to promote full and effective equality of persons belonging to national minorities
Present sit uat ion
31. The Advisory Commit t ee regret s t hat t he Ant i-Discriminat ion Law does not expressly ment ion a dut y t o promot e equalit y, as recommended in ECRI’s General Policy Recommendat ion 7. Posit ive measures t o eliminat e or diminish fact ual inequalit y in favour of a part icular communit y or marginalised group are explicit ly ment ioned in Art icle 13 of t he Law , how ever, and t hey shall not be deemed discriminat ory. M ost of t he measures t hat have been developed, such as t he provisions ensuing from t he OFA and t he mechanisms for t he communit ies t hat const it ut e less t han 20% of t he populat ion, are aimed at overcoming st ruct ural inequalit ies based on et hnic origin. Despit e t his focus on et hnicit y and t he relat ive 28
A similar event is also report ed t o have occurred t o t he Deput y Ombudsman w ho belongs t o t he Albanian minorit y. See Annual Report 2014 of t he Ombudsman, page 12. 29 See also St at ement of t he t hen M inist er of t he Int erior of 16 November 2011 at w w w .vlada.mk/ node/ 621?language=en-gb. 30 See, among ot hers, t he decision of t he Basic Court of Bit ola of November 2015, report ed by t he European Roma Right s Cent re, w w w .errc.org/ art icle/ court -rules-macedonian-police-must -pay-for-racial-profiling-at -t he-border/ 4432. 31 See Decision of t he Const it ut ional Court of t he Republic of M acedonia no. 189/ 2012-0-0 of 25 June 2014.
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size of t he respect ive groups in order t o ident ify t he corresponding level of right s, no comprehensive syst em has been set up t o collect and analyse equalit y dat a t hat could be used as t he basis for posit ive measures. Given t hat t he last census dat es from 2002 and most groups quest ion t he accuracy of t he dat a it provides (see Art icle 3), t he Advisory Commit t ee considers t hat alt ernat ive means should be developed t o obt ain valid and disaggregat ed informat ion, in line w it h t he right t o free self-ident ificat ion and w it h due regard t o personal dat a prot ect ion st andards, on t he number and access t o right s sit uat ion of t he various groups in societ y and persons belonging t o t hem. It has consist ent ly encouraged st at es t o collect dat a from a variet y of sources, in addit ion t o t he populat ion census, such as formal or informal housing and school surveys as w ell as independent research.32 Quant it at ive dat a must in part icular be supplement ed w it h qualit at ive sociological and ot her st udies w hen t he exist ing st at ist ical dat a differ from t he est imat es made by minorit y represent at ives. 32. A new Roma Int egrat ion St rat egy 2015-2020 has been adopt ed by t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy focusing on educat ion, housing, healt h, employment and cult ure, follow ing a consult at ion process t hat also included minorit y represent at ives and a number of relevant civil societ y organisat ions. Regret t ably, how ever, most of t heir comment s and proposals, such as on educat ion-relat ed mat t ers, w ere report edly not t aken int o account . It furt her appears t hat t he findings of a review of t he implement at ion of t he individual act ion plans for educat ion, employment , healt h and housing have not been t aken int o account in t he adopt ion of t he new St rat egy. The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern t hat a comprehensive and up t o dat e act ion plan w it h concret e t arget s and measures has not yet been adopt ed, nor has an earmarked budget been set aside for t hat purpose. According t o minorit y represent at ives, measures t aken in order t o promot e Roma int egrat ion have been project -orient ed and support ed mainly w it h foreign funding. The effect iveness of t he measures t aken, for inst ance in t he field of educat ion, has been quest ioned repeat edly because of t he absence of comprehensive and disaggregat ed baseline dat a, in part icular as regards t he Roma communit y.33 It not es w it h int erest in t his cont ext t he so-called mapping exercise t hat commenced in January 2016 t o obt ain reliable dat a on t he number and access t o right s sit uat ion of Roma in t en municipalit ies w here t hey reside in subst ant ial numbers. The Advisory Commit t ee t rust s t hat t his exercise and any fut ure follow -up w ill be conduct ed in close consult at ion and co-operat ion w it h Roma represent at ives and in full respect of t he right t o free self-ident ificat ion. Recommendat ions
33. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o engage proact ively in consult at ions w it h represent at ives of nat ional minorit ies on adequat e w ays and met hodology of gat hering qualit at ive and quant it at ive equalit y dat a on t he size of t heir communit ies and access t o right s for persons belonging t o t hose communit ies, in order t o ensure t hat comprehensive and reliable dat a can be used as t he basis for more effect ive measures t o promot e equalit y. 34. Roma represent at ives should be effect ively consult ed and included in all discussions and decision-making processes w it h respect t o all st rat egies and act ion plans aiming at t heir bet t er socio-economic inclusion. 32
See also ACFC Third Themat ic Comment ary, para. 19. See t he European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) Fact sheet on t he sit uat ion of Roma in M acedonia, pages 13 and 14. 33
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35. An act ion plan, cont aining concret e measures and an adequat e budget t o implement t he new Roma Int egrat ion St rat egy 2015-2020 must furt her be adopt ed t o fill t he gap creat ed by t he expirat ion of t he previous act ion plans in 2011. Article 5 of the Framew ork Convention Support for the preservation and development of national minority identities and cultures
Present sit uat ion
36. The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern t he apparent absence of comprehensive effort s t o promot e respect for diversit y t hrough an inclusive cult ural policy t hat enhances appreciat ion for t he count ry’s mult icult ural hist ory. An int ensive nat ion-building process vividly carried out t hrough t he ‘Skopje 2014’ project s appears t o endorse mainly one et hno-cult ural ident it y. Abundant funds cont inue t o be allocat ed t o t he const ruct ion of monument s in t he cent re of t he cit y t hat celebrat e t he dominant cult ure and hist ory,34 w hile t he main symbols and feat ures of Albanian cult ure are separat ely port rayed in anot her part of t he cit y. The cult ural policy t herefore appears t o reflect t he key divisions in societ y rat her t han giving adequat e space t o t he diversit y in Skopje and beyond over cent uries. The Advisory Commit t ee observes w it h regret t hat t his has cont ribut ed t o an increasing sense of est rangement bet w een t he t w o numerically largest groups, demonst rat ed by parallel and unrelat ed cult ural project s t hat are frequent ly locat ed far from one anot her. It furt her not es t hat t he lack of appreciat ion for t he role of numerically smaller groups in t he format ion of t he count ry’s rich and diverse cult ure, prevent s t he development of a sense of civic ident it y amongst all cit izens w hich could unit e t he count ry and encourage represent at ives of t he numerically smaller minorit ies t o develop t heir specific cult ures and t radit ions as valued and int egral element s of a diverse societ y (see also Art icle 6). The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern t hat , as a result , fear of assimilat ion is w idespread among represent at ives of t he numerically smaller groups. They regret in part icular t hat t he Agency for t he Exercise of Communit y Right s does not have t he funds or t he compet ency t o allocat e support for project s aimed at t he preservat ion of t heir cult ures. While t he Secret ariat for t he Implement at ion of t he OFA bet w een 2011 and 2014 report edly support ed 140 cult ural project s of associat ions and foundat ions direct ed at various act ivit ies for t he preservat ion of non-majorit y communit ies’ cult ures and int eret hnic cohabit at ion (see Art icle 6), only nine of t hem w ere project s represent ing associat ions and communit ies t hat const it ut e less t han 20% of t he populat ion.35 37. Various forms of assist ance cont inue t o be provided t o nat ional minorit y associat ions at cent ral and local levels. There is no special procedure or fund, how ever, t o ensure t hat nonmajorit y communit ies are enabled t o preserve t heir specific ident it ies and cult ures. Generally, all applicat ions for funding of cult ural project s t o t he M inist ry of Cult ure are dealt w it h in t he same procedure and using t he same crit eria. The Advisory Commit t ee w as informed t hat a list of “ t echnical crit eria” must be met by all applicant s, irrespect ive of t he size of t he applying associat ion or t he project , w it hout any considerat ion t o t he exclusive dependency of non34
According t o independent research, t he cost s for t he ongoing project s have risen from t he init ially announced 80 million Euros t o 560 million Euros. See w w w .balkaninsight .com/ en/ art icle/ t rue-cost -of-skopje-2014-revealed. 35 See Shadow Report on t he realizat ion of t he right s of smaller communit ies according t o t he Framew ork Convent ion for t he Prot ect ion of Nat ional M inorit ies by t he communit ies’ associat ions t hat t ake part in t he Part icipat ory Forum , published by t he Agency for t he Exercise of Communit y Right s, November 2015, page 12, w w w .aopz.gov.mk/ en/ shadow -report -part icipat ory-forum-november-2015/ .
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commercially viable project s on ext ernal support and w it hout appreciat ion for t heir unique cont ribut ion t o t he pluralist cult ural herit age of t he count ry.36 According t o t he represent at ives of minorit y communit ies, t he fact t hat t heir applicat ions are assessed w it h t he same st andard as all ot her cult ural project s effect ively disqualifies many of t hem. An applicat ion t o publish a small Croat ian language dict ionary, for inst ance, w as report edly unsuccessful because t he applicant s lacked a regular yearly income w it h a sizeable t urnover of funds and could not demonst rat e t he employment of full-t ime st aff or t he availabilit y of official premises for t he project . 38. A special Direct orat e for t he affirmat ion and promot ion of t he cult ures of members of communit ies has been est ablished w it hin t he M inist ry of Cult ure, t asked w it h assist ing represent at ives of communit ies w ho form less t han 20% of t he populat ion w it h t heir applicat ions for cult ural funding. How ever, t he exact out come of t hese effort s is unclear and no informat ion could be provided t o t he Advisory Commit t ee in t erms of t he act ual number of applicat ions dealt w it h or t he amount s of funds provided t o such project s as a result . The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern t hat t he Direct orat e does not have an earmarked budget t o support numerically smaller minorit ies and it does not appear t o have a say in developing t he crit eria t hat are applied t o t he select ion of project s. This absence of an effect ively accessible mechanism and t ransparent decision-making processes for t he allocat ion of funding makes it difficult for minorit y communit ies t o engage in longer-t erm planning and act ivism, w hich how ever is necessary in part icular for t he numerically smaller groups t o promot e t heir cult ural ident it y sust ainably and comprehensively. Represent at ives of numerically very small communit ies, including t he Polish or Armenian, regret in part icular t he absence of any premises w here t hey could gat her and organise cult ural event s, possibly in a House of Cult ures t hat could benefit all represent at ives of smaller communit ies t oget her. 39. The Advisory Commit t ee furt her not es t hat even t hose communit ies t hat have received funding, report t hat t he overall amount s have decreased over t he years and are vast ly insufficient t o maint ain t heir cult ural act ivit ies effect ively.37 In addit ion, represent at ives of a number of nat ional minorit ies appear unaw are of t he availabilit y of t he various funding opport unit ies for cult ural act ivit ies, as informat ion about t he applicat ion procedures, precondit ions, and decision-making processes at cent ral and local levels is neit her readily available nor available in minorit y languages. The Advisory Commit t ee not es t hat public t enders for cult ural project s on t he w ebsit e of t he M inist ry of Cult ure are only advert ised in t he M acedonian language w hich appears cont rary t o t he Law on t he Use of Languages (see Art icle 10). Public t enders for cult ural project s are also advert ised in t w o daily new spapers, one in t he M acedonian language (Ut rinski vesnik) and one in Albanian (Koxa ). No furt her effort s seem t o have been made t o reach out t o represent at ives of smaller communit ies in order t o encourage t hem t o apply for funding.
36
The Advisory Commit t ee w as informed by t he M inist ry of Cult ure t hat t he assessment of t he qualit y of t he submit t ed project s is carried out according t o crit eria such as t he size of t he cult ural associat ion, t he amount of evening concert s organised abroad, t he amount of aw ards and recognit ions received, or t he aut hent icit y of cost umes. 37 Represent at ives of t he Serb minorit y, for inst ance, report ed t o receive bet w een 2,000 and 2,500 EUR per year.
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Recommendat ions
40. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o develop an inclusive cult ural policy in co-operat ion w it h nat ional minorit y represent at ives t hat aims at prot ect ing and promot ing diversit y as a valued and int egral part of t he count ry’s cult ural herit age. 41. It furt her urges t hem t o est ablish an effect ive and t ransparent mechanism for t he allocat ion of support for t he preservat ion and development of minorit y cult ures t hat is appropriat ely designed t o meet t he needs of all nat ional minorit y communit ies, including t he numerically smaller and “ ot her” ones, and equipped w it h an adequat e budget . Furt her effort s must be made t o involve minorit y represent at ives in decision-making processes t hat must be based on appropriat e select ion crit eria. Article 6 of the Framew ork Convention Promotion of interethnic dialogue and tolerance
Present sit uat ion
42. The Advisory Commit t ee commends t he act ivism and professionalism of a net w ork of civil societ y organisat ions t hat are engaged in t he promot ion of int eret hnic dialogue and respect , as w ell as t he numerous non-government al init iat ives t o bring represent at ives of different groups t oget her in various areas of t he public sphere, including in educat ion, t o enhance an environment of solidarit y and t rust . It not es w it h deep concern, how ever, t hat , despit e t hese effort s, public life cont inues t o be dominat ed by a pronounced sense of segregat ion bet w een t he t w o main et hnic groups, w hich is t aking hold of an increasing number of public inst it ut ions, urban spaces and schools (see furt her Art icle 12). While serious int eret hnic incident s have successfully been avert ed in recent years, t he Advisory Commit t ee is deeply concerned by t he w idespread fears amongst it s int erlocut ors of new erupt ions of int eret hnic violence as a result of provocat ions or manipulat ion ahead of t he June 2016 elect ions, int ended t o dist ract public at t ent ion from t he ongoing polit ical crisis.38 43. The implement at ion of t he OFA t hus far appears t o be result ing mainly in t he development of parallel st ruct ures t hat are indifferent t o each ot her and barely int eract . The w ort hy aim of achieving equit able represent at ion in public services has report edly led t o t he creat ion of a pool of mainly Albanian minorit y represent at ives w ho – if act ively w orking – oft en are placed in separat e buildings or w ings of M inist ries w it h no act ual t asks or compet encies (see furt her Art icle 15). According t o int ernat ional and nat ional int erlocut ors of t he Advisory Commit t ee, t here have been no joint t ask forces, press conferences or any joint government act ion in almost a decade t hat could demonst rat e t o t he public t he values of int ercult ural cooperat ion or a firm commit ment by t he government t ow ards good int eret hnic relat ions and t rust bet w een t he communit ies. At t he local level, t he Commissions for Int er-Communit y Relat ions t hat are foreseen in t he OFA t o promot e int eret hnic dialogue and t rust appear not t o 38
A large-scale publicat ion of illegally int ercept ed communicat ions since February 2015 has revealed syst emic rule of law issues and a massive invasion of fundament al right s, including serious incident s of polit ical corrupt ion at various levels and in mult iple w ays, int erference in judicial affairs, rest rict ions of t he freedom of t he media, elect oral irregularit ies and a lack of act ivit y on t he part of oversight bodies. See The former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia: Recommendat ions of t he Senior Expert s' Group on syst emic Rule of Law issues relat ing t o t he communicat ions int ercept ion revealed in Spring 2015, Brussels, 8 June 2015.
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funct ion properly (see Art icle 15). It is furt her of deep concern t o t he Advisory Commit t ee t hat , as a result of t he profound societ al division, bilingualism is disappearing, part icularly among young people, w hich last ingly frust rat es effort s t ow ards int eret hnic dialogue and effect ive collaborat ion (see furt her Art icles 10 and 14). In an at mosphere of st rong et hno-nat ionalism, in part icular young people are report ed t o ident ify increasingly as represent at ives of et hnic groups rat her t han as members of a diverse and unit ed societ y.39 44. The Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes in t his cont ext t he ongoing evaluat ion of t he role of t he OFA in enhancing social cohesion. The Secret ariat for t he implement at ion of t he OFA, w it h t he support of t he OSCE and t he European Inst it ut e of Peace, has engaged in a review process focusing on six t hemat ic areas: ant i-discriminat ion, decent ralisat ion, educat ion, equit able represent at ion, t he use of languages, and t he sit uat ion of numerically smaller communit ies. Six w orking groups w it h represent at ives of relevant M inist ries and ot her government al inst it ut ions have prepared analyses and policy recommendat ions t hat w ere present ed t o t he government in February 2016 and aw ait adopt ion.40 The Advisory Commit t ee not es t he hopes placed by civil societ y and minorit y represent at ives in t he out come of t his review process w hich is meant t o t rigger a new approach t ow ards t he format ion of an int egrat ed societ y based on t he rule of law and respect for individual human right s. This is expect ed t o become part of t he agenda of t he new government in line w it h t he EU-relat ed reform priorit ies. Recommendat ions
45. The Advisory Commit t ee urges t he aut horit ies t o demonst rat e t heir commit ment t o t he development of an int egrat ed societ y t hat is based on respect and t rust bet w een t he various communit ies, by priorit ising joint act ivit ies such as press conferences and public st at ement s and by disengaging from et hno-nat ionalist policy making. 46. It furt her calls on t hem t o proact ively support t he OFA implement at ion review process and t o promot e t he effect ive implement at ion of t he Agreement t ow ards last ing int eret hnic cooperat ion and st abilit y by est ablishing funct ioning dialogue plat forms at cent ral and local levels. Protection from hate crime
Present sit uat ion
47. Follow ing it s amendment in February 2014, t he Criminal Code cont ains several provisions t hat criminalise hat e crime and hat e speech, and racist mot ivat ion can be considered as an aggravat ing circumst ance of any offence. A w orking group on hat e crime w as est ablished by t he M inist ry of Just ice in 2014. The Advisory Commit t ee is concerned, how ever, by t he unanimous observat ion of civil societ y and minorit y represent at ives t hat t he exist ing provisions are insufficient ly know n or used by t he relevant prosecut ion and law enforcement aut horit ies. Despit e an overall increase in racially mot ivat ed incident s and hat e crime, lit t le act ion has been t aken by t he prosecut ion in a number of w ell-report ed cases.41 While t he 39
A recent survey conduct ed among young people bet w een 13 and 17 by t he Universit y of Skopje revealed t hat et hnicit y is considered t he most import ant ident ifier, over cit izenship. 40 See The Ohrid Framew ork Agreement Review on Social Cohesion, at w w w .eip.org/ sit es/ default / files/ OFA%20Review %20on%20Social%20Cohesion.pdf. 41 In 2015, t he Chief Prosecut or report edly ordered prosecut ion services t o act for t he first t ime t o invest igat e hat e speech by a popular journalist on t he privat e Kanal 5 TV channel. It is equally w elcome t hat t he CPD issued a
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aut horit ies do not maint ain st at ist ics on hat e crime,42 an independent survey conduct ed in 2013 show ed t hat only 14 cases of hat e crime had been regist ered in court s t hroughout t he count ry in t hree years, w it h most perpet rat ors freed on probat ion and t he maximum sent ence set at five mont hs in jail.43 According t o civil societ y represent at ives, hat e crime is oft en st ill recorded as “ violence” or “ hooliganism” , t hereby dow nplaying a sit uat ion t hat is increasingly problemat ic. An increase in racially mot ivat ed incident s and calls for violent int eret hnic clashes at sport ing event s has equally been report ed w it h lit t le or no act ion t aken by t he aut horit ies in response.44 The Advisory Commit t ee expresses it s deep concern about t his sit uat ion because inadequat e police invest igat ion and prosecut ion may prompt a climat e of impunit y w hich can encourage furt her racially mot ivat ed violence. It is not surprising in t his cont ext t hat minorit y represent at ives report lit t le aw areness of, and t rust in, t he available legal remedies against hat e crime amongst t heir communit ies. According t o t hem, affect ed individuals fear t he police as a pot ent ial source of furt her vict imisat ion rat her t han t rust it s abilit y or w illingness t o provide assist ance. 48. The Advisory Commit t ee is furt her deeply concerned by t he recurrent report s, since t he t hird monit oring cycle, of police brut alit y and excessive use of force demonst rat ed in part icular against Roma, including Roma w omen and children.45 While some t raining of police officers has been conduct ed t o promot e t heir aw areness of human right s st andards and ensuing obligat ions w hen exercising police aut horit y,46 ill-t reat ment report edly cont inues t o t ake place during random checks on t he st reet , in t he course of police raids, as w ell as at police st at ions w here Roma are vict imised w hen t hey int end t o record a criminal offence direct ed against t hem.47 In 2013, t here w ere 18 complaint s filed w it h t he Ombudsman’s Office concerning illt reat ment or excessive use of force by t he police, w hile t he M inist ry of t he Int erior’s Sect or for Int ernal Cont rol and Professional St andards (SICPS) received 57 complaint s concerning excessive use of force by t he police (compared w it h 73 in 2012). Criminal charges, how ever, w ere launched only against one policeman, w hich raises serious concerns w it h respect t o cont inued impunit y relat ing t o t he act ions of t he securit y forces.48 The Advisory Commit t ee reit erat es it s deep concern regarding t he lack of fully independent oversight over t he act ions of call in February 2015 on polit ical part ies, media and public inst it ut ions t o refrain from provoking et hnically based hat red. 42 See key observat ions of t he OSCE-ODIHR Hat e Crime Report ing on t he Former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia, w w w .hat ecrime.osce.org/ former-yugoslav-republic-macedonia. 43 Report edly, most incident s of hat e crime and violence erupt bet w een young M acedonians and Albanians, w it h assault , including t he use of illegal w eapons, t hreat s and arson described as t he most common offences. Ant iRoma incident s are, how ever, equally report ed, including t he at t ack in Kriva Palanka in November 2015 w here some 3,000 people gat hered t o prot est against t he building of a mosque and demolished a religious building used mainly by Roma. The invest igat ions are, report edly, st ill ongoing. 44 Art icles 13 and 14 of t he Law on Prevent ion of Violence and Inappropriat e Behaviour at Sport ing Compet it ions provide for misdemeanour charges in such cases, but are report edly very rarely applied. See Helsinki Commit t ee Analysis of t he Sit uat ion w it h Hat e Speech in t he Republic of M acedonia, page 81. 45 See for det ails, among ot hers, Writ t en Comment s of t he European Roma Right s Cent re Concerning M acedonia for considerat ion by t he UN Commit t ee Against Tort ure, at it s 54t h Session (20 April t o 15 M ay 2015), and t he European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) Fact sheet on t he sit uat ion of Roma in M acedonia, Sept ember 2015. 46 See St at e Report , page 6. 47 Allegat ions of syst emat ic ill-t reat ment of Roma are part icularly direct ed against t he police “ Unit for First Response and Int ervent ion – Alpha” . 48 See also European Commission Progress Report , Oct ober 2014, page 45, at w w w .ec.europa.eu/ enlargement / pdf/ key_document s/ 2014/ 20141008-t he-former-yugoslav-republic-ofmacedonia-progress-report _en.pdf.
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law enforcement t o ensure t hat police officers are fully account able t o invest igat e effect ively and syst emat ically all incident s of hat e crime, including t he ill-t reat ment and excessive use of force st emming from w it hin t he police forces. 49. Incident s of hat e speech are equally report ed t o have significant ly increased in recent 49 years. It is of deep concern t o t he Advisory Commit t ee t hat polit ically and et hnically mot ivat ed hat e speech is regularly used in polit ical circles, including by senior polit icians in t he government .50 Given t he close relat ions bet w een t he main polit ical part ies and media providers, such view s are uncrit ically amplified t hroughout t he count ry in broadcast and elect ronic media, t hereby spreading negat ive st ereot ypes and furt her deepening int eret hnic t ensions.51 Despit e effort s made t ow ards self-regulat ion and t raining, not ably t hrough relevant civil societ y organisat ions, as w ell as t he est ablishment of some independent oversight bodies, t heir effect iveness in addressing and curt ailing t he phenomenon t hus far is limit ed. The Agency for Audio and Audiovisual M edia Services, as t he successor of t he Broadcast ing Council, is in charge of monit oring t he media for cont ent t hat could incit e hat red. Yet it is not view ed by civil societ y as an independent body and has report edly t hus far refrained from imposing sanct ions, relying inst ead on “ informal w arnings” w it h uncert ain result s.52 In addit ion, t he Council of M edia Et hics w as est ablished in December 2013. It s Complaint s Review Commission, w hich is part ially made up of cit izens’ represent at ives, t ook some act ion in 2015 t o uphold t he Code of Et hics of Journalist s of M acedonia.53 The Advisory Commit t ee emphasises t he significant role of self-regulat ory bodies, such as t he Associat ion of Journalist s and t he Council of M edia Et hics, t o promot e et hical journalism and respect for diversit y t hrough t heir ow n codes of conduct , w hile fully respect ing t he principle of freedom of t he media. For t his purpose, it is indispensable t o promot e aw areness amongst all journalist s and media professionals of t he exist ing et hical st andards in order t o enhance t heir professionalism and t o ensure t hat negat ive st ereot yping of cert ain groups in societ y and t he promulgat ion of hat e speech do not become accept ed as normal behaviour amongst cit izens.
49 For an overview see Helsinki Commit t ee Analysis of t he Sit uat ion w it h Hat e Speech in t he Republic of M acedonia , August 2015. See also Sout h East European M edia Observat ory Flash Report of 13 M ay 2014. 50 Civil societ y represent at ives and persons w it h diverging view s from t he government , for inst ance, are repeat edly and publicly insult ed and labelled in a derogat ory w ay. See w w w .balkaninsight .com/ en/ art icle/ opposit ion-challenges-pm-s-pat riot ic-image. 51 The indirect cont rol of t he government over t he media among ot hers t hrough financial dependency, and t he bias of t he main media providers t ow ards one ruling part y have been amply report ed, among ot hers, in t he Recommendat ions of t he Senior Expert s' Group on syst emic Rule of Law issues relat ing t o t he communicat ions int ercept ion revealed in Spring 2015 , page 17, w hich refers t o a media crisis and t he fact t hat t he count ry has dropped t o rank 123 in t he w orld according t o t he 2014 index of press freedoms of Report ers w it hout Borders, page 19. 52 The use of hat e language against et hnic Albanians on a live TV show in February 2014 report edly prompt ed lit t le response from t he Agency. See w w w .balkaninsight .com/ en/ art icle/ macedonian-edit or-accused-of-et hnic-hat espeech. Concerns about it s independence have been raised in a number of report s. See, for inst ance, The Former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia Early Parliament ary Elect ions 24 April 2016 OSCE/ ODIHR Needs Assessment M ission Report , 27 November 2015, page 2. 53 See, among ot hers, Council of M edia Et hics of M acedonia Decision of 23 M arch 2015 in relat ion t o repeat ed st at ement s cont aining hat e speech w it hout prompt react ion by t he responsible journalist , made on TV Sit el on t he margins of an event of t he “ Civil M ovement for Defense of M acedonia” on 26 February 2015.
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Recommendat ions
50. The Advisory Commit t ee urges t he aut horit ies t o ensure t hat t he available legal remedies against et hnically based violence and hat e crime are applied in pract ice and t hat prosecut ion and law enforcement services are adequat ely t rained t o invest igat e effect ively and prompt ly and sanct ion all relevant cases. Journalist s and media professionals must furt her be t rained t o ensure t hat et hical st andards are observed and t he propagat ion of hat e speech is prevent ed. 51. It furt her urges t hem again t o put in place an effect ive and fully independent supervisory mechanism t o ensure t hat t he adherence t o professional st andards by t he police and ot her law enforcement agent s is effect ively monit ored and all alleged infringement s are properly invest igat ed and adequat ely sanct ioned. M ore effort s must be made t o inform t he public about t he available legal remedies in cases of misconduct , so as t o ensure t hat t rust in t he police, in part icular among Roma communit ies, is rest ored. Article 8 of the Framew ork Convention Right to manifest one’s belief and to establish religious organisations
Present sit uat ion
52. Persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies cont inue t o face difficult ies in exercising t heir right t o manifest t heir religions and officially regist er in accordance w it h t he 2007 Law on Legal St at us of a Church, Religious Communit y and Religious Group. Follow ers of small religious organisat ions cont inue t o report t hat t hey are t reat ed unfavourably by t he government and are faced w it h bureaucrat ic obst acles w hen seeking const ruct ion permit s for t heir places of w orship.54 The Bekt ashi communit y in Tet ovo has been at t empt ing since November 2010 t o regist er as “ Bekt ashi religious communit y of t he Republic of M acedonia” .55 It s various appeals lodged in domest ic court s have all been dismissed. The Const it ut ional Court ruled in November 2012 t hat t he communit y had not been discriminat ed against , as it could, despit e not being formally regist ered under t he 2007 Act , hold ceremonies in accordance w it h t he Islamic religion and w it hout pressure.56 It considered furt her t hat t he non-regist rat ion w as legit imat e t o prevent confusion in t he public and among t he believers, w hose right s w ould ot herw ise be violat ed by t he impression t hat t he follow ers of t he same religion could be divided in separat e ent it ies or communit ies. An applicat ion lodged at t he European Court of Human Right s against t he reject ion remains pending.57 The Advisory Commit t ee underst ands t hat t he Bekt ashi Sufi communit y considers it s spirit ual doct rine t o be subst ant ially different from t hat of t he Islamic Communit y of M acedonia. It furt her not es w it h concern t hat t he communit y does not have access t o it s cent ral place of w orship, t he Arabat i Baba Teke in Tet ovo, since armed members
54
See, among ot hers, M acedonia 2014, Int ernat ional Religious Freedom Report . According t o a let t er from t he St at e Religious Commission of 13 June 2002, t he Bekt ashi communit y w as regist ered in June 2000 in accordance w it h t he 1997 Act on religious communit ies and groups, w it h t heir seat in Arabat i Baba Teke in Tet ovo. The leader of t he communit y w as aut horised in February 2007 t o carry out religious ceremonies and rit uals in it s law ful premises. An at t empt in 2009 t o est ablish t he cont inuat ion of t he communit y’s legal st at us since 2000 w as reject ed at first and second inst ance. 56 Decision of Const it ut ional Court of t he Republic of M acedonia no. 24/ 2012-0-0 of 20 November 2012. 57 See Applicat ion no. 48044/ 10 Bekt ashi Communit y and ot hers against “ t he former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia” , communicat ed on 25 August 2014. 55
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of t he Islamic Communit y of M acedonia invaded t he propert y in 2002 t o convert it int o a mosque. As a result of t heir inabilit y t o regist er as an official religious organisat ion, t he Bekt ashi communit y has not been able t o reclaim it s propert y. 53. The Advisory Commit t ee furt her not es t hat t he repeat ed at t empt s of t he Ort hodox Ohrid Archidiocese t o regist er as a separat e religious group have also been dismissed by t he domest ic court s, finding t hat t here w as no subst ant iat ed difference bet w een it s name and symbols and t hose of t he M acedonian Ort hodox Church.58 The regist rat ion of four ot her Ort hodox religious groups are similarly report ed t o have been reject ed in 2014, based on a rest rict ive int erpret at ion of t he 2007 Law and t he argument at ion t hat t he names and doct rines of religious organisat ions w ho w ish t o regist er must be different from t he already exist ing ones. The Advisory Commit t ee refers in t his cont ext t o t he jurisprudence of t he European Court of Human Right s, according t o w hich st at es shall not at t empt t o enforce unit y w it hin one religion.59 Recommendat ion
54. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o facilit at e t he regist rat ion of t he religious organisat ions in consult at ion w it h represent at ives of t he concerned communit ies in order t o ensure t hat persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies can effect ively enjoy t he right t o manifest t heir beliefs in appropriat e places of w orship, and are enabled t o reclaim t heir propert y. Article 9 of the Framew ork Convention Access to broadcast and print media
Present sit uat ion
55. Overall, t he media landscape cont inues t o be divided along et hnic and linguist ic lines. The first t elevision channel of t he public broadcast er offers programming only in M acedonian, w it hout ment ioning nat ional minorit ies or t heir concerns and int erest s. The second channel in t urn broadcast s ent irely in Albanian, as w ell as four hours daily in Turkish and 30 minut es t hree t imes per w eek in Romani, Serbian, and Vlach. Effort s made by represent at ives of t he Bosniak minorit y t o have access t o programming in t heir language and for t heir communit y have not been successful. The second channel is int ended for nat ional minorit ies and report s almost exclusively about nat ional minorit ies, w it hout ment ioning broader polit ical development s and issues of concern t o cit izens generally. According t o minorit y represent at ives, it feat ures mainly new s and music and t he programming in t he languages of numerically smaller minorit ies is oft en present ed during inconvenient t ime slot s. As a result , minorit y-language programming is generally considered unat t ract ive t o view ers and of low qualit y, bot h t echnically and professionally. Journalist s are oft en not sufficient ly t rained, share among t hemselves t w o cameras only, and operat e on a very limit ed budget w hich does not allow t hem t o cover several st ories count ryw ide at t he same t ime. M inorit y represent at ives indicat e t hat most 58
See also Applicat ion no. 3532/ 07 Ort hodox Ohrid Archidiocese against “ t he former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia” , case communicat ed on 22 February 2013. The head of t he self-declared Ohrid Archbishopric w as convict ed for money laundering in w hat is considered by some as a polit ically charged t rial. He remains in prison, serving a t hree year sent ence. 59 See Applicat ion no. 38178/ 97 Serif v. Greece of 14 December 1999.
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members of t heir communit ies do not consume nat ional new s but inst ead have t urned t o t he readily available foreign media for new s and ent ert ainment . Wit h regard t o Romani, t he Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes t he exist ence of some privat e regional and local TV and radio t hat present local new s and programming and report edly have a st eady audience. 56. Persons belonging t o t he ot her numerically smaller communit ies such as t he Armenian, M ont enegrin or Polish, do not have any access t o media in t heir languages. They are concerned in part icular about t he complet e absence of any ment ion of t heir exist ence in t he public sphere and are seeking t o obt ain a TV programme t hat could possibly combine informat ion about several of t hem in order t o promot e aw areness w it hin t he populat ion about t heir hist oric presence in t he count ry. The Advisory Commit t ee is indeed concerned by t he lack of coherent effort s made t o broadcast int ercult ural cont ent or promot e common media spaces t hat could be used by all groups. In addit ion, it w as informed t hat t he public broadcast er may, depending on t he language it uses, provide quit e varying int erpret at ions and percept ions of t he same realit y, t hereby furt her enhancing t he exist ing societ al divisions rat her t han helping t o creat e int eret hnic t rust and co-operat ion (see also comment s on Art icle 6). It is w elcome in t his cont ext t hat t he t hird public channel st ill broadcast s informat ion bot h in M acedonian and Albanian, mainly focused on t he act ivit ies of and debat es in Parliament . Regret t ably, t his appears t o remain t he only effort t ow ards bilingualism in t he media w hich could be an effect ive t ool t o promot e t he development of mult inat ional and linguist ically diverse audiences. 57. The Advisory Commit t ee furt her regret s t hat no support or subsidies are available t o smaller media out let s t hat use minorit y languages and/ or reflect posit ions of minorit ies, w ho suffer a disadvant age as t hey, due t o t heir size, have difficult ies in becoming commercially viable or compet ing against bigger and mainst ream print media. As a result , t hey are left w it h t he opt ions of eit her applying for cult ural project s t o t he M inist ry of Cult ure w here, again given t heir small size, t hey have lit t le chance of success (see Art icle 5), or seeking int ernat ional support from t he embassies of neighbouring or ot her st at es. In addit ion, minorit y represent at ives report t hat t he closure of government -crit ical media channels has prompt ed an increasing t endency of self-censorship and has discouraged numerically smaller groups or t hose w it h diverging polit ical opinions from act ively part icipat ing in t he media, even by means of social media.60 The Advisory Commit t ee reit erat es t he import ant role of independent and communit y media t o cont ribut e t o a pluralist and open environment t hat promot es out reach t ow ards a diverse societ y and effect ively cont ribut es t o t he development of an informed elect orat e. Recommendat ions
58. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o enlarge t heir support for minorit ylanguage print and broadcast media, including by securing a higher budget and improved t echnical equipment , t o facilit at e t he adequat e coverage of all relevant polit ical and societ al development s, not limit ed t o cult ure, and t o ensure t hat high-qualit y public service broadcast ing is available at cent ral and regional level for all view ers.
60
See, for inst ance, w w w .znm.org.mk/ drupal-7.7/ en/ node/ 929, referring t o int imidat ion and t hreat s against journalist s, among ot hers by a government official, w it hout t hat incident having been officially condemned.
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59. It furt her calls on t hem proact ively t o ensure t hat all public broadcast ing consist ent ly promot es int ercult ural respect and aw areness of t he different int erest s and concerns of all communit ies, t hereby cont ribut ing t o t he format ion of an int egrat ed and inclusive societ y. M ore effort s must furt her be made t o ensure t hat journalist s and media professionals w it h minorit y background are adequat ely t rained and recruit ed int o all public service broadcast ing, including at senior level. Article 10 of the Framew ork Convention Legislative framew ork for the use of languages
Present sit uat ion
60. The use of languages cont inues t o be regulat ed by t he amended Const it ut ion and t he 2008 Law on t he Use of Languages. Accordingly, t he M acedonian language in it s Cyrillic script is t he official language t hroughout t he count ry w hile any ot her language spoken by at least 20% of t he populat ion is also an official language, in it s script , as specified.61 In pract ice t his provision applies t o t he Albanian language only, w hich accordingly is used as an official language in a variet y of public spheres, such as in Parliament , in communicat ion bet w een cit izens and cent ral government inst it ut ions, in court proceedings, in administ rat ive proceedings, and in elect ion processes.62 The Advisory Commit t ee not es, how ever, t hat t he implement at ion of t hese provisions varies great ly. Albanian is used, for inst ance, by some minist ries on equal t erms w it h M acedonian (t he official w ebsit e of t he M inist ry of Just ice, for inst ance, feat ures informat ion in M acedonian, Albanian and English), w hile ot her M inist ries provide public informat ion in M acedonian and English (such as t he M inist ry of Foreign Affairs) or in M acedonian only. Despit e t he fact t hat Art icle 54 of t he Law on t he Use of Languages specifies t hat open compet it ions for project s shall be published in bot h M acedonian and “ t he ot her official language(s)” , t he M inist ry of Cult ure’s w ebsit e provides informat ion on compet it ions only in M acedonian.63 The Advisory Commit t ee regret s t his lack of unified pract ice as it sends an ambiguous signal about t he int erpret at ion of t he Const it ut ional and legislat ive provisions w it h respect t o t he use of languages, t hat is not conducive t o t ransparency and legal clarit y (see also Art icle 11). 61. In addit ion, t he languages of communit ies t hat const it ut e more t han 20% of t he populat ion at local level shall be used in official communicat ion in t hose municipalit ies. Of alt oget her 80 municipalit ies, 30 have at least one minorit y communit y t hat account s for 20% of t he populat ion. Alt oget her, 28 municipalit ies are obliged t o provide for official use of Albanian, four municipalit ies should use Turkish in official communicat ion and one each Serbian and Romani. The Advisory Commit t ee w as informed during it s visit t o Gost ivar t hat t he Turkish language is indeed used in official communicat ions w here possible, as t w o municipal employees speak Turkish. How ever, t he municipalit y has not been able t o afford t he employment of an int erpret er. Turkish is report edly not used in any w rit t en procedures apart from t he occasional request s for having ident it y document s issued also in t he Turkish language
61
See Amendment V t o t he Const it ut ion, paragraph 1, w hich modified it s Art icle 7. See Art icles 3-19, and 21-28 respect ively of t he Law on t he Use of Languages. 63 The except ion is one “ call for foreign publishers for financing t ranslat ion of represent at ive and high-qualit y w orks of M acedonian lit erat ure int o foreign languages.” See w w w .kult ura.gov.mk/ , as accessed on 18 January 2016. 62
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(see Art icle 11). It is w elcome t hat in some ot her municipalit ies w here minorit y communit ies account for less t han 20%, t heir languages have been anyw ay accept ed for official use by a decision of t he council of t he respect ive self-government unit . As a result , t here are a number of bilingual and t rilingual municipalit ies, as w ell as one municipalit y, Dolneni, w here four languages have been accept ed for official use. Vlach is used in official communicat ion in Kruševo, despit e t he fact t hat only some 11% of t he populat ion consider t hemselves as belonging t o t he Vlach minorit y. The Advisory Commit t ee reit erat es it s opinion t hat w here t hresholds exist , t hese must not be applied rigidly.64 Flexibilit y and caut ion should be exercised in part icular in sit uat ions w here st at ist ics are based on out dat ed and disput ed figures (see Art icle 3). The Turkish communit y, for inst ance, account s for just under 20% of t he populat ion in a number of municipalit ies according t o t he 2002 census, w hich – given t he doubt s generally expressed about it s accuracy – const it ut es an unconvincing argument for not accept ing t he Turkish language in official use.65 62. In t erms of implement at ion of t he legislat ion at local level, t he Advisory Commit t ee again observes great variet y, depending on t he availabilit y of resources and polit ical w ill t o find pract ical solut ions. While part icularly in almost mono-et hnic minorit y municipalit ies, t he use of a minorit y language in official communicat ion is ensured simply by t he fact t hat public servant s are t hemselves fluent , most municipalit ies w hich are mult ilingual in charact er funct ion on t he basis of int erpret at ion services provided at t he municipal office. Given budget ary rest raint s, how ever, t he posit ions of int erpret ers are report edly oft en not filled, result ing in ad hoc solut ions w it h bilingual byst anders and, ult imat ely, in a sit uat ion w here t he use of minorit y languages, even if legally accept ed for official use, becomes t oo cumbersome and lengt hy a process t o act ually t ake place. As a result , many minorit y represent at ives report t hat t hey feel discouraged from using t heir language as it may be view ed negat ively t o ask for “ special t reat ment ” . The Advisory Commit t ee regret s t his sit uat ion as it may lead t o t he gradual disappearance of minorit y languages from t he public sphere and may hinder t he access of minorit y-language speakers t o informat ion and right s. While acknow ledging t he cost s involved in t he use of official int erpret ers, it considers t hat t he use of minorit y languages should generally be encouraged and an overall at mosphere creat ed t hat is conducive and w elcoming, in part icular t hrough t he t arget ed recruit ment of public servant s w it h relevant language skills in mult i-et hnic and mult ilingual municipalit ies (see also Art icle 15). Recommendat ions
63. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies at cent ral and local level t o ensure t hat t he legislat ive framew ork pert aining t o t he use of languages is consist ent ly implement ed in line w it h t he Const it ut ion, and t o refrain from relying exclusively on t he available and out dat ed st at ist ics w hen det ermining t he access t o linguist ic right s. Close consult at ions w it h represent at ives of all communit ies must be maint ained t o est ablish regularly t he exist ing needs pert aining t o t he use of languages. 64. It furt her calls on t hem t o priorit ise t he recruit ment at local level of public servant s w it h appropriat e language skills over t he employment of int erpret ers, t o ensure t hat t he act ive use
64
See ACFC Third Comment ary, para. 57. The Turkish communit y, for inst ance, const it ut es according t o official dat a just over 19% in St udeniçani and over 18% in Karbinçi. 65
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of all relevant minorit y languages is encouraged in t he public sphere and in official communicat ion w it h municipal employees w here applicable. Article 11 of the Framew ork Convention M inority languages in documents and on topographical signs
Present sit uat ion
65. While t he issuance of bilingual ident it y cards feat uring bot h t he M acedonian language in Cyrillic script and t he languages and script s used by nat ional minorit ies remains possible upon request according t o t he 2005 amendment s t o t he Law on Ident it y Cards, most persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies do not make use of t his provision but have opt ed for t he regular M acedonian/ English version. The Advisory Commit t ee is not aw are of part icular concerns in t his regard. When it comes t o t opographical signs and st reet names, Art icle 40 of t he Law on t he Use of Languages also foresees t he possibilit y of using t w o or t hree languages in t he municipalit ies w here one or more minorit y communit ies account for at least 20% of t he populat ion. In Gost ivar, for inst ance, some official signs are indicat ed in t hree languages and t he official w ebsit e also feat ures some informat ion in all t hree languages. The Advisory Commit t ee not es, how ever, t hat some cont roversy exist s in t he cit y of Skopje w hich, t hough it self a self-government unit , comprises t en municipalit ies.66 Overall, Albanians make up 20.49% of t he cit y’s populat ion.67 Accordingly, all st reet s and buildings t hat are under t he compet ence of t he Cit y of Skopje should display bilingual signs and names. This, how ever, is not t he case and no mechanisms exist t o ensure t hat t he legislat ion is implement ed by t he local aut horit y. The Advisory Commit t ee reit erat es it s emphasis on t he highly symbolic significance of bilingualism or t rilingualism in signpost ing t o demonst rat e appreciat ion for t he diverse charact er of a given t errit ory, hist orically and at present . Recommendat ion
66. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o ensure t hat t he Law on t he Use of Languages w it h respect t o t he use of minorit y languages in t opography is effect ively implement ed by t he cent ral aut horit ies and at local level, including in t he Cit y of Skopje, and it s symbolic value for t he int egrat ion of societ y adequat ely appreciat ed. Article 12 of the Framew ork Convention Integrated education
Present sit uat ion
67. According t o most int erlocut ors, divisions in t he educat ion syst em as observed in previous Opinions have significant ly int ensified in recent years w it h t he number of monolingual
66
According t o t he legislat ion, t he compet ences over all st reet s and infrast ruct ure in t he Cit y of Skopje are divided bet w een t he Cit y and t he municipalit y in quest ion. At municipal level, t he Law on t he Use of Languages is implement ed and bilingual signs are displayed in t hose municipalit ies of t he cit y w here a minorit y const it ut es over 20%. 67 See w w w .st at .gov.mk/ Publikacii/ knigaXIII.pdf, page 34.
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schools increasing.68 Over 75% of all monolingual schools use t he M acedonian language, w it h t he remainder using mainly Albanian. There are t w o schools w it h Turkish as t he language of inst ruct ion. The majorit y of t he mult ilingual schools t each in t he M acedonian and Albanian languages.69 While at secondary school level roughly 40% of schools are mult ilingual, many of t hem operat e in shift s or use separat e buildings so t hat int eract ion bet w een pupils of different language backgrounds is in fact very limit ed. According t o dat a collect ed and surveys made in 2011, only some 10% of primary school st udent s belonging t o t he t w o main groups have a realist ic opport unit y t o ever int eract w it h each ot her in t he school environment . The Advisory Commit t ee is deeply concerned about t his sit uat ion. According t o most observers, it has become w orse since 2011, despit e t he fact t hat t he comprehensive government st rat egy " St eps t ow ards Int egrat ed Educat ion in t he Educat ion Syst em of t he Republic of M acedonia" w as adopt ed in 2010 w it h t he support of t he OSCE.70 While a variet y of project s appear t o have been implement ed t o promot e int eract ion and dialogue among st udent s of different backgrounds, many w it h int ernat ional funding, no comprehensive budget w as ever allocat ed for t he implement at ion of t he St rat egy and no co-ordinat ed effort s w ere made t o address t he sit uat ion beyond t he implement at ion of ext racurricular project act ivit ies. 68. The Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes t he effort s made by civil societ y, w it h int ernat ional support , t o int roduce bilingual t eaching met hodology as a pilot exercise in now 13 mixed schools. According t o it s int erlocut ors and t he school it visit ed in Gost ivar, t he concept of offering volunt ary act ivit ies in a complet ely bilingual environment w here children playfully learn w it h and about t he ot her communit y is highly sought aft er by children and t heir parent s. Teachers commend in part icular t hat t he concept and it s t eaching modules are developed t o suit t he nat ional curriculum at bot h primary and secondary school level, t hereby facilit at ing it s implement at ion and applicabilit y in daily school life.71 The Advisory Commit t ee is pleased t o not e informat ion t hat t he concept has been w ell received by t he M inist er of Educat ion and may be adopt ed as a basis for furt her and more comprehensive effort s t o promot e an int egrat ed educat ion syst em w here st udent s learn in diverse environment s and on t he basis of respect for and int erest in t he ot her. It is deeply concerned, how ever, by t he overall impression amongst civil societ y and int ernat ional observers t hat in t he absence of comprehensive effort s t o creat e an int egrat ed educat ion syst em, t he number of mixed schools may furt her decline, also as a result of t he increased development of segregat ed neighbourhoods in a number of municipalit ies (see also Art icle 15). 69. Furt hermore, t he port rayal of non-majorit y communit ies in t ext books and t he curriculum remains a source of concern according t o civil societ y and nat ional minorit y represent at ives. Nat ional minorit ies and t heir longst anding hist ory in t he count ry are report edly sparingly ment ioned and, if so, oft en t hrough rat her negat ive or st ereot yped
68
Some 31% of t he primary schools in 2011 w ere mult ilingual. In t he school year 2013/ 2014, t his number had been reduced t o 28.6%, alt hough t he number of primary schools had increased from 332 t o 346. 69 According t o informat ion received by t he M inist ry of Educat ion, t here are 56 schools t eaching in M acedonian and Albanian, 21 schools t eaching in M acedonian and Turkish, t hree in Albanian and Turkish, t w o in M acedonian and Serbian, t w o in M acedonian and Bosnian, and 14 schools w it h t hree languages of inst ruct ion (M acedonian, Albanian and Turkish). 70 See St at e Report , pages 7 and 24ff. 71 The Advisory Commit t ee visit ed t he Goce Delcev primary school in Gost ivar w hich applies t he Nansen model for int egrat ed educat ion, in co-operat ion w it h t he Nansen Dialogue Cent re Skopje. See w w w .ndc.net .mk/ index.php/ en/ lat est -new s/ 91-new s-eng/ 844-promot ion-of-new -cabinet s-and-nansen-classes.
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images. Select ive effort s made t o remove part icularly offensive sect ions from t he hist ory t ext book, for inst ance, have led in a number of cases t o t he omission of ment ion of t he respect ive minorit y, rat her t han t o a revision of t he t ext in agreement w it h t he minorit y concerned. It is in part icular of concern in t his regard t hat t he informat ion cont ained in t he curriculum and in t ext books used in t he various language schools appears et hnically based t hereby furt her cont ribut ing t o societ al divisions and possibly t hw art ing fut ure effort s t o promot e shared opinions and int eract ion. There is t hus st ill very lit t le int ercult ural cont ent in t he educat ion syst em, w it h insufficient at t ent ion paid t o t he promot ion of human and minorit y right s aw areness or respect for linguist ic and religious diversit y. The Advisory Commit t ee reit erat es it s st anding posit ion t hat t he promot ion of mult ilingual schools in diverse societ ies requires t eachers w ho are act ively recruit ed from bot h majorit y and minorit y groups and appropriat ely t rained t o t each in mult ilingual and diverse environment s. Such t raining should be comprehensively available t o t eachers as w ell as t o school administ rat ors, but is part icularly import ant for t he t eaching of hist ory and religion in order t o ensure t hat mult iple perspect ives are adequat ely and respect fully accommodat ed.72 Recommendat ions
70. The Advisory Commit t ee urges t he aut horit ies t o priorit ise t he format ion of an int egrat ed educat ion syst em and t o allocat e adequat e resources, bot h human and financial, as w ell as cont inued polit ical and met hodological supervision and support t o promot e mixed school and classroom environment s. 71. It furt her urges t hem t o ensure t hat t eachers and st aff of all schools are effect ively t rained t o accommodat e diversit y in t he classroom and promot e int ercult ural respect and underst anding in schools, and t hat t ext books and school curricula adequat ely reflect and appreciat e t he et hnic and linguist ic diversit y in t he count ry. Equal access to education
Present sit uat ion
72. Access t o educat ion for Roma children remains problemat ic for a variet y of reasons.73 Despit e government al and non-government al effort s made t o enhance t he enrolment of Roma children in preschools, t heir at t endance rat e is st ill low compared t o t he rest of t he populat ion, as parent s are oft en not able t o pay t he mont hly fees for preschools.74 In addit ion, t here is a lack of sufficient preschools, in part icular in areas w here Roma live in subst ant ial numbers.75 While t he overall number of Roma children enrolled in primary school has increased,76 so has t he number of Roma-only classes in primary schools according t o most observers, and t here 72
See, among ot hers, ACFC First Themat ic Comment ary on Educat ion, page 18. For an overview see t he European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) Fact sheet on t he sit uat ion of Roma in M acedonia, Sept ember 2015, and Civil Societ y M onit oring Report on t he Implement at ion of t he Roma Nat ional Int egrat ion St rat egy and Decade Act ion Plan in 2012 in M acedonia, at w w w .romadecade.org/ cms/ upload/ file/ 9270_file10_mc_civil-societ y-monit oring-report _en.pdf. 74 While some project s implement ed under t he Roma Educat ion Fund have covered t he mont hly fee of some 25 EUR for Roma children t o at t end preschools, only a limit ed number of children in few schools report edly benefit t ed from t hem. 75 The municipalit y of Šut o Orizari, for inst ance, inhabit ed by over 22,000 people, mainly of Roma background, only has one preschool, w hich in addit ion, is in a deplorable condit ion. Preschools remain under t he overall responsibilit y of t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy. 76 See St at e Report , page 29. 73
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are complet ely segregat ed schools.77 Placement appears t o be left t o t he school administ rat ors and parent s w it hout co-ordinat ed effort s t o address t he phenomenon of segregat ion (see also Art icle 4). M oreover, t he number of Roma children in special schools remains disproport ionat ely high despit e effort s in recent years t o change t he pract ice of t est ing children w it hout t he presence of t heir parent s and w it hout any int erpret at ion being provided. A review (“ re-cat egorisat ion” ) of t he cases of 234 Roma children, w ho w ere placed in special schools seemingly w it hout t he necessary procedures having been follow ed, w as ongoing at t he t ime of t he visit of t he Advisory Commit t ee, under t he supervision of t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy. It remains unclear t o w hat ext ent t he M inist ry of Educat ion has developed a comprehensive policy response t o prevent such pract ices in t he fut ure, such as t he int roduct ion of more cult urally sensit ive t est ing of school apt it ude in t he Romani language and closer supervision of placement decisions at local level. 73. The Advisory Commit t ee w as furt her informed t hat t he qualit y of educat ion for Roma children generally remains inferior in comparison t o t he rest of t he populat ion.78 Some 95% of Roma children at t end M acedonian language schools but are not offered language t ut orials despit e t he fact t hat many of t hem speak Romani at home. A project t hat t rained 30 Roma mediat ors w it h t he necessary language skills t o assist children in t heir school w ork w as report edly successful in liaising bet w een schools and Roma communit ies, t hereby prevent ing discouragement and dropout , w hich cont inues t o affect mainly Roma girls. How ever, only t w o of t he skilled mediat ors w ere subsequent ly employed by schools and t he recent ly adopt ed Roma Int egrat ion St rat egy is report ed t o cont ain plans t o employ only some “ assist ant s” , w it h reduced compet encies. The part icular socio-economic exclusion of many Roma families w hich has a det riment al effect on t he at t endance rat e and achievement in school of many Roma children appears st ill not t o be sufficient ly t aken int o account . In addit ion, Roma children oft en cont inue t o face prejudice and host ilit y at schools, w hich is made w orse by inappropriat e and biased port rayal of Roma in t ext books (see above). The Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes, how ever, t hat scholarships for Roma st udent s t o enrol in secondary and universit y educat ion are st ill available as a result of Roma Educat ion Fund (REF) funding, w hich is highly appreciat ed by t he communit y and used by an increasing number of young men and w omen. While Roma cont inue t o be considerably under-represent ed at secondary and higher educat ion level, it is furt her pleased t o not e report s t hat t he proport ion of Roma st udent s w ho complet ed primary school and are moving on t o secondary level has subst ant ially increased in recent years. Recommendat ion
74. The Advisory Commit t ee urges t he aut horit ies t o comprehensively address t he disproport ionat ely frequent placement of Roma children in special schools and in separat e classes. Placement in regular schools and in mixed classes must be t he rule and effect ive supervisory mechanisms put in place t o prevent cont rary pract ice at local level.
77
The Advisory Commit t ee obt ained examples of several segregat ed primary schools in Bit ola, Prilep, Barovci (Skopje) and St ip. 78 A not able except ion has been t he engagement of some highly regarded schools in Kumanovo t o int egrat e act ively Roma children int o t heir classes. Follow ing init ial resist ance amongst parent s, t heir int egrat ion is report ed t o have been successful.
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Article 14 of the Framew ork Convention Instruction in and of minority languages
Present sit uat ion
75. Inst ruct ion in minorit y languages cont inues t o be provided in Albanian, Serbian and Turkish. The qualit y of educat ion in some of t he minorit y-language schools, how ever, is considered problemat ic. Turkish minorit y represent at ives report , for inst ance, t hat only some 20 of t he 65 schools t hat officially t each subject s in t he Turkish language have t he resources t hey need t o t each consecut ively t hroughout t en years of obligat ory schooling. The ot hers limit t he Turkish language educat ion t o primary school level, as t hey lack t eachers or appropriat e t ext books for secondary school level. Similar concerns are report ed by represent at ives of t he Serb minorit y w ho consider t he qualit y of educat ion in t he Serbian language seriously compromised by t he lack of suit ably t rained t eachers. Despit e t he fact t hat t he Vlach language is accept ed as an official language in Kruševo (see Art icle 10), Vlach is not included in t he regular curriculum of any school, not even in Kruševo municipalit y it self. Bosnian, Romani and Vlach “ languages and cult ures” can in principle be t aught as opt ional classes for t w o hours per w eek provided t hat a sufficient number of st udent s demand such classes.79 While not ing t he st eps made t o promot e pedagogical met hods for t he t eaching of Bosnian, Romani and Vlach,80 as w ell as assurances by t he M inist ry of Educat ion t hat all effort s are made t o respond t o such demands, t he Advisory Commit t ee regret s t o have received informat ion t hat many request s for such opt ional classes have been t urned dow n at local level w it h t he argument t hat t here is insufficient demand, t hat no suit able t eachers are available, or t hat it is for ot her t echnical reasons not possible. The Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes t he fact t hat t he Bosnian language is now t aught w it hin t he regular curriculum at t hree schools in Saraj and Veles municipalit ies. According t o minorit y represent at ives, many more request s for t he at t endance of regular Bosnian language classes have been made and t he M inist ry of Educat ion is review ing t he possibilit ies t o ext end t he programme t o more schools. 76. The Advisory Commit t ee furt her not es w it h regret t hat t he at t endance of opt ional classes is report edly discouraged also by t he fact t hat t eachers are rarely equipped w it h appropriat e t ext books, and t hat classes oft en eit her compet e w it h ot her opt ional courses such as comput er classes or are organised lat e in t he aft ernoon. Despit e a large and sust ained int erest amongst Roma communit ies, w here Romani is oft en spoken at home, Romani language and cult ure classes are report edly t aught in only very few schools. Informat ion about t he availabilit y of t hese opt ional courses appears t o be st ill insufficient among parent s. In addit ion, request s must be made during t he summer period w hen many Roma families are not present in t heir school dist rict s. In t he view of minorit y represent at ives, it is problemat ic t hat t he organisat ional cost s for opt ional courses must be covered by t he municipalit ies, because t hey are oft en reluct ant t o spend t heir limit ed resources in favour of numerically smaller communit ies, from w hom t here is lit t le polit ical capit al t o be gained. As a result , a number of addit ional privat e init iat ives for t he t eaching of minorit y languages have been t aken, oft en w it h 79
The Advisory Commit t ee obt ained varying figures (bet w een 20 and 25) as t o t he minimum number of st udent s required for t he organisat ion of such elect ive classes. According t o informat ion received by t he M inist ry of Educat ion in February 2016, t here are 34 schools w here such elect ive courses on minorit y language and cult ure are offered: Romani is offered in 14 schools, Vlach in nine schools, and Bosnian language is t aught in eleven schools, t hree of w hich are offering regular classes as a pilot exercise. 80 See St at e Report , page 24.
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support from int erest ed embassies, such as Croat ian- and Russian-language courses organised in Skopje. The Advisory Commit t ee also not es t he opening of a privat e universit y t eaching in t he Turkish language in Gost ivar, w hich is at t ended by some 200 st udent s. 77. As regards t he learning of t he official language, t he Advisory Commit t ee regret s t hat Albanian st udent s commence t he st udy of t he M acedonian language only in t he t hird grade, for t w o hours per w eek, and as of t he sixt h grade for t hree hours per w eek. This appears insufficient t o gain proficiency in t he language, part icularly given t hat t here are few opport unit ies in daily life for Albanian st udent s t o use and pract ice t heir M acedonian-language skills (see Art icle 12). M oreover, st udent s w ho at t end M acedonian language schools do not learn any Albanian as part of t he curriculum, nor ot her languages used in official communicat ion in M acedonia. Quit e a number of st udent s and parent s have report edly expressed t heir int erest in opt ional Albanian-language classes. How ever, t he Advisory Commit t ee w as informed t hat t hey are discouraged from doing so because t hey are only allow ed t o regist er for an Albanian course as a second opt ional course, i.e., t hey cannot only learn Albanian, but t hey must t hen follow an addit ional language or a t echnical course in t he aft ernoon w hich is t oo much of a burden for many st udent s. The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h concern t hat t he pursuit of bilingualism is effect ively discouraged, w hich has a direct negat ive impact on t he count ry’s abilit y t o funct ion sust ainably as a mult i-et hnic and mult ilingual st at e. Recommendat ions
78. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o increase t heir effort s t o maint ain high-qualit y minorit y-language educat ion and t o pursue a close dialogue w it h nat ional minorit y represent at ives, parent s and school administ rat ors t o ensure t hat all minorit y languages, including t he languages of t he numerically smaller minorit ies can be learned effect ively as part of t he regular educat ion syst em. 79. It furt her calls on t hem t o consider t he int roduct ion of modern bi- and mult ilingual t eaching met hods t o improve t he qualit y of language t eaching met hodology at all schools and t o effect ively assist t he high-qualit y learning of different languages in int egrat ed educat ion environment s. Article 15 of the Framew ork Convention Participation in elected bodies and decision-making processes
Present sit uat ion
80. As a result of t he consociat ional set -up of t he st at e (see Art icle 4), t he four main polit ical part ies cont inue t o be est ablished along et hnic lines, w hich ensures t hat t he t w o main et hnic communit ies are represent ed bot h in t he government coalit ion and in t he opposit ion. Persons belonging t o t he Turkish, Serb, Bosniak and Roma minorit ies have also organised t hemselves in smaller et hnic polit ical part ies. In order for t hem t o ent er Parliament and play a role in decision making, how ever, t hey must align t hemselves w it h one of t he main polit ical part ies, w hich reduces t heir negot iat ing pow er. According t o t he represent at ives of t he numerically smaller minorit ies, an elect oral syst em based on a single elect oral dist rict w ould be
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more favourable for t heir represent at ion in Parliament t han t he current syst em.81 Overall, minorit y represent at ives report t hat t here is lit t le sense of polit ical part icipat ion w it hin t heir communit ies, w it h some represent at ives even making reference t o pressures felt ahead of t he June 2016 elect ions t o eit her disengage from polit ics or support t he governing coalit ion. While w elcoming t he fact t hat vot er informat ion mat erial is provided in minorit y languages and effort s are made t o promot e t heir part icipat ion in t he elect ions,82 t he Advisory Commit t ee is concerned by t he limit ed t rust expressed w it hin t he various minorit y communit ies in a genuinely democrat ic elect ion process t hat is based on t he equalit y of vot es. It not es in part icular t he acknow ledged need t o updat e t he vot er list s ahead of t he elect ions, w hich current ly cont ain 1.7 million regist ered vot ers w it h an overall populat ion of just over 2 million,83 as w ell as allegat ions regarding a pat t ern of manipulat ion of vot es from persons belonging t o t he Roma minorit ies.84 81. The Advisory Commit t ee furt her not es concerns expressed by t he represent at ives of numerically smaller communit ies t hat t hey have been excluded not only from t he part icipat ory process leading t o and est ablished by t he OFA, but t hat t hey have equally not been consult ed in t he ongoing OFA implement at ion review process.85 It w elcomes in t his cont ext t he creat ion of t he part icipat ory forum in 2011 at t he init iat ive of t he Agency for t he Exercise of Communit y Right s. It is made up of 35 members from t he various communit ies as w ell as represent at ives from relevant government bodies, and is highly w elcome by represent at ives of t he numerically smaller communit ies, as t he only inst it ut ional channel t hrough w hich t hey can voice t heir concerns or view s about issues of int erest t o t hem. The Advisory Commit t ee not es, how ever, t hat t he forum only funct ions as an advisory body, w it hout it s ow n budget and w it hout clear compet encies, t hereby lacking t he pow er t o influence effect ively t he relevant decision-making processes. In fact , it s recommendat ions appear t o be simply acknow ledged w it hout being relayed t o relevant minist ries and w it hout a senior-level government body ensuring t hat follow -up is co-ordinat ed at cent ral and local levels. 82. At t he local level, t he Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes t hat nat ional minorit ies cont inue t o be relat ively w ell represent ed. The Roma minorit y, for inst ance, has one member in t he local council of eight municipalit ies and t here is one municipalit y w here nine of 16 councillors are Roma represent at ives.86 Persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies are furt her supposed t o be represent ed t hrough t he Commissions for Int er-Communit y Relat ions t hat are meant t o be est ablished in line w it h t he OFA in all municipalit ies w here communit ies const it ut e at least 20% of t he populat ion. Some 22 municipalit ies are t hus legally required t o est ablish such 81
The current syst em provides for six elect oral dist rict s in t he count ry and t hree ext rat errit orial dist rict s for cit izens living abroad. 82 See The Former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia Early Parliament ary Elect ions 24 April 2016 OSCE/ ODIHR Needs Assessment M ission Report , 27 November 2015, page 6. 83 See Foot not e 5. 84 See Let t er of t he European Roma Right s Cent re t o t he Public Prosecut or of 26 M arch 2015, at w w w .errc.org/ cms/ upload/ file/ macedonia-let t er-t o-macedonian-public-prosecut or-26-march-2015.pdf. 85 Represent at ives of Roma polit ical part ies have demanded t o be included in t he OFA implement at ion review process, t o be grant ed a seat in t he St at e Elect ion Commission, and t o be involved in t he negot iat ions under t he Przino Agreement , w hich w as ent ered int o in summer 2015 bet w een t he main polit ical part ies t o overcome t he polit ical crisis. See Public Announcement “ Roma in polit ical scene in R. M acedonia” of 29 December 2015, at w w w .roma.idebat e.org/ new s-art icles/ roma-polit ical-scene-rmacedonia . 86 This is t he municipalit y of Šut o Orizari, w here 13,342 of 22,017 inhabit ant s indicat ed Roma affiliat ion in t he 2002 census. The major is also Roma.
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Commissions and an addit ional 17 have volunt arily decided t o do so, w hich is highly w elcome. The Commissions are envisaged t o serve as consult at ive mechanisms and t hereby promot e int eret hnic dialogue. The Advisory Commit t ee regret s, how ever, t o have received unanimous report s from civil societ y and minorit y represent at ives t hat t hese Commissions, similar t o t he Gender Equalit y Commissions t hat are also supposed t o be set up at t he local level, are oft en not funct ional and, given t heir lack of clear compet encies and a budget , do not have any impact on relevant decision-making processes.87 In addit ion, t he process of appoint ing members t o t hese Commit t ees is report edly oft en inst rument alised for polit ical purposes, t hereby t hw art ing it s import ant aim of ensuring t hat t he concerns of minorit y communit ies are effect ively t aken int o account before relevant decisions are made. Recommendat ions
83. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o t ake all necessary measures t o ensure t hat persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies have an effect ive and equal opport unit y t o t ake part in elect oral processes at all levels. 84. It furt her calls on t hem t o clarify t he mandat e and compet encies of t he part icipat ory forum and t o ensure t hat t he view s and concerns of minorit y represent at ives at cent ral and local levels are effect ively t aken int o account by senior government officials in all relevant decision-making processes. 85. Funct ioning plat forms must be est ablished at local level t o ensure t hat minorit y represent at ives, including t hose belonging t o numerically smaller minorit ies, have an effect ive opport unit y t o part icipat e in relevant decision making. Effort s should furt her be made t o st rengt hen t he int er-communit y relat ed mechanisms at local level, including t he Commissions. Representation in civil service and administration
Present sit uat ion
86. The number of persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies employed in civil service and public administ rat ion has gradually cont inued t o increase over t he years.88 While equit able represent at ion in t erms of t he proport ions of t he various groups according t o t he 2002 census has not been reached, updat ed figures present ed in t he Annual Report of t he Ombudsman of 2014 show t hat t he numbers of persons belonging t o t he Albanian, Turkish and Romani minorit ies have part icularly increased.89 Overall, t he presence of w omen represent at ives of
87
See, among ot hers, European Commission Progress Report on t he Former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia, Oct ober 2014, page 13. Issues of funct ionalit y of t he Commissions for Int er-Communit y Relat ions are acknow ledged on page 32 of t he St at e Report . 88 See for a det ailed breakdow n of figures relat ed t o minorit y represent at ion in t he various fields of public administ rat ion, including local variat ions, t he Ohrid Framew ork Agreement Review on Social Cohesion, pages 19ff. w w w .eip.org/ sit es/ default / files/ OFA%20Review %20on%20Social%20Cohesion.pdf. 89 According t o informat ion bet w een 2009 and 2014 present ed in various report s available t o t he OSCE M ission in Skopje, t he proport ion of et hnic M acedonians in public service w ent dow n from 79.9% t o 73.9%, Albanians represent ed 19.5% of t he public and civil servant s in 2014 (from 14.1% in 2009), Turkish account ed for 1.9% in 2014 (up from 1.3% in 2009), Roma const it ut ed 1.4% (up from 0.8% in 2009), Serbians w ent dow n from 1.9% t o 1.6%; Bosniaks remained at 0.4% and Vlachs w ent from 0.8% in 2009 t o 0.7% in 2014. See also t he census result s of 2002, Foot not e 5.
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nat ional minorit ies is much low er t han t he represent at ion of men.90 It is of concern t o t he Advisory Commit t ee t hat t he underlying aim of promot ing effect ive part icipat ion and represent at ion of minorit y communit ies in public inst it ut ions appears not t o have been furt hered in t he process. According t o unanimous report s of int ernat ional, civil societ y and minorit y represent at ives, many of t he individuals w ho w ere recruit ed by t he OFA Secret ariat based on Annual Plans for equit able represent at ion developed in each M inist ry have yet t o be placed in public inst it ut ions. According t o t he Secret ariat it self, 30% of it s employees are at home pending placement , yet in receipt of salaries, w hile it is w idely est imat ed t hat t he act ual number is higher, reaching up t o some 50,000 individuals according t o int erlocut ors of t he Advisory Commit t ee. When in service, some of t he civil servant s recruit ed according t o t he OFA are report edly placed eit her in separat e part s of buildings or even in ent irely different locat ions. This means t here is no int eract ion bet w een civil servant s and no genuine inclusion or part icipat ion. 87. The Advisory Commit t ee is concerned by t he resent ment t his sit uat ion causes on all sides. It leads t o minorit y represent at ives being view ed as “ lazy” and unw illing t o w ork w hile t he employees t hemselves w ould w ish t o cont ribut e w it h t heir abilit ies and skills but feel excluded and manipulat ed. In addit ion, it leads t o an inflat ed and inefficient public administ rat ion, w hich is view ed by some int erlocut ors of t he Advisory Commit t ee as suscept ible t o polit ical manipulat ion. At t he same t ime, persons belonging t o numerically smaller minorit ies report edly cont inue t o claim affiliat ion w it h one of t he larger communit ies in order t o be hired, according t o t he OFA, as public service st ill offers a very at t ract ive employment given t he overall bleak labour market sit uat ion.91 The Advisory Commit t ee not es plans according t o w hich t he recruit ment of all public servant s, irrespect ive of t heir et hnic background, w ill be t aken over by t he M inist ry of Informat ion Societ y and Administ rat ion as of 2016. It w elcomes t his development as an effort t o promot e t ransparency and account abilit y in t he recruit ment process w hich is t o be based on merit and is t o priorit ise t he recruit ment and promot ion of persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies in order t o ensure t hat t hey are effect ively represent ed in public service at all levels.92 It considers furt her t hat t he change in t he procedure w ill only be effect ive if accompanied by t arget ed t raining and aw areness-raising act ivit ies t o ensure t hat t he value and object ives of equit able represent at ion are adequat ely underst ood by decision makers as w ell as t hroughout t he civil service. 88. The Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes report s t hat t he number of persons belonging t o all nat ional minorit ies in t he police, bot h uniformed and w it hin administ rat ion, has report edly increased over t he years, as t his may cont ribut e t o t he development of more t rust w it hin minorit y communit ies in t he police. It is furt her w elcome t hat nat ional minorit ies cont inue t o be relat ively w ell represent ed in public administ rat ion at local level. In some cases, how ever, civil servant s appear t o be hired in part icular for t he purpose of addressing t he sit uat ion of a specific minorit y or minorit ies in general, w hich, w hile appropriat ely making use of t heir 90
See Which gender is t he Ohrid Framew ork Agreement , Analysis of t he Associat ion for Democrat ic Init iat ives, 2013, page 85. 91 Follow ing cont inued allegat ions t hat t he OFA Secret ariat w as recruit ing disproport ionat ely high numbers of persons belonging t o t he Albanian minorit y, t he management of t he recruit ment of persons belonging t o numerically smaller communit ies w as report edly handed over t o t he Secret ariat for General Affairs in Government . 92 Full implement at ion of t he new recruit ment syst em, how ever, is est imat ed t o t ake up t o t hree years w w w .assembly.coe.int / Commit t eeDocs/ 2014/ fmondoc02rev_2014_EN.pdf.
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specific linguist ic and ot her abilit ies, should not be view ed as t he main area w here persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies can be suit ably employed.93 Recommendat ion
89. The Advisory Commit t ee urges t he aut horit ies t o ensure t hat t he aim of equit able represent at ion in public administ rat ion is implement ed genuinely and persons belonging t o all nat ional minorit ies are recruit ed t hrough a merit -based syst em and according t o act ual requirement s, so as t o ensure t hat t hey can effect ively cont ribut e t o t he funct ioning of an et hnically diverse public administ rat ion. Effective participation in socio-economic life
Present sit uat ion
90. While t here has been some economic recovery, t he employment sit uat ion overall is st ill serious. The official unemployment rat e st ands at around 30%, East ern areas of t he count ry being especially underdeveloped from an infrast ruct ure point of view . Women generally are part icularly affect ed and, as a result , draw n int o t he informal labour market . While persons belonging t o ot her nat ional minorit ies do not report part icular obst acles in t heir access t o employment , t he Advisory Commit t ee observes w it h concern t hat t he employment sit uat ion amongst Roma communit ies remains grave w it h t he unemployment rat e est imat ed t o be around 70%. It not es in part icular t hat only some 1,750 persons belonging t o t he Roma minorit y are regist ered as act ive employment seekers w it h t he Employment Agency and t hus benefit from t he yearly operat ive plan adopt ed by t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy t o promot e t heir int egrat ion int o t he labour market .94 According t o minorit y represent at ives, many Roma have not been clearly informed about t he condit ions and consequences of regist ering as an act ive or passive employment -seeker, as a result of w hich quit e a number of persons have been de-regist ered w it hout t heir know ledge and have lost t heir social benefit s as a result . M oreover, it is of deep concern t o t he Advisory Commit t ee t hat t he vast majorit y of Roma remains w it hout regist rat ion w it h t he Employment Agency and t hus w it hout social w elfare benefit s, yet no comprehensive st rat egy appears t o have been developed t o promot e t heir regist rat ion.95 91. The Advisory Commit t ee furt her learned t hat follow ing changes t o t he Law on Social Welfare in 2015, persons w ho receive over 7,000 M acedonian Dinar per year (roughly 110 EUR) from anot her source must report t hat income and ret urn t he w elfare benefit s t hey have received. Roma represent at ives feel t hat t hey are part icularly t arget ed w it h t his new provision, as many of t hem can only get by w it h int ernat ional money t ransfers from family living abroad.
93
See t he European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) Fact sheet on t he sit uat ion of Roma in M acedonia, page 11. See St at e Report , page 22. “ Act ive employment -seekers” are regularly sent possible offers for employment t hat fit t heir profile. In order t o st ay regist ered as “ act ive” , t hey need t o come t o t he Employment Agency on a mont hly basis, w hich – according t o Roma represent at ives – is difficult for many as t he only office in Skopje is locat ed at some dist ance from t he Roma set t lement and t ransport at ion cost s for a ret urn bus t icket must be w eighed against t he very low mont hly family budget . According t o t he Social Welfare Law , a t hree-person household receives some 60 EUR per mont h. A 10% increase has been accorded as of 2016. 95 Close t o 54,000 persons regist ered as Roma in t he 2002 census. Est imat es vary bet w een 100,000 – 150,000 Roma living in t he count ry, a significant number of t hem w it hout any document at ion (see Art icle 4). The Advisory Commit t ee w as informed by t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy t hat t he unregist ered Roma are not int erest ed in regist ering and prefer t o be in t he grey economy. 94
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M oreover, t he M inist ry of Labour and Social Policy decided t o apply t his provision ret roact ively t o 2014 w hich is cont rary t o Art icle 52(4) of t he Const it ut ion, according t o w hich law s and ot her regulat ions may have a ret roact ive effect only if it is favourable for t he cit izens. 92. Housing furt her cont inues t o remain very problemat ic for many Roma. Follow ing t he w elcome adopt ion in 2011 of t he Law on t he Treat ment of Illegally Const ruct ed Buildings, w hich paved t he w ay for t he legalisat ion of over 200,000 propert ies in t he count ry, over 1,500 applicat ions have been submit t ed from persons belonging t o t he Roma communit y, oft en w it h t he support of legal aid cent res.96 The Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes t he decision in 2014 t o render t he issuance of official papers from t he cadast ral office free of charge for social w elfare recipient s, w hich has facilit at ed t he legalisat ion process for many Roma. While in some municipalit ies such as Gost ivar and Kochani, a report ed 90% of legalisat ion applicat ions from Roma have been duly processed, t he sit uat ion in ot her municipalit ies remains uncert ain as, overall, only some 25% of t he legalisat ion cases have been complet ed.97 The sit uat ion of some 2,500 Roma (400 – 600 families) in t he Sredorek set t lement of Kumanovo is part icularly problemat ic. As t he land is ident ified as green area in t he urban plan, a special consent by t he municipal council is required in order t o move forw ard w it h t he legalisat ion request s. Over 200 fully complet ed applicat ions for legalisat ion have report edly been pending since 2011 w it hout t he municipal council even having discussed t he issue. The Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes report s t hat t he M inist ry of Transport , follow ing t he int ervent ion of t he Nat ional Roma Cent rum, request ed t he municipalit y at t he end of December 2015 t o provide informat ion w it hin five days on t he procedure and measures t aken w it h regard t o t he out st anding applicat ions.98 No act ion had been t aken, how ever, unt il t he adopt ion of t his Opinion. 93. The Advisory Commit t ee furt her not es w it h deep concern t hat t he living condit ions in many of t he Roma dw ellings remain sub-st andard, w it hout safe drinking w at er or sanit at ion facilit ies. M any families are eit her not connect ed t o ut ilit ies or not able t o pay for t hese basic services. According t o minorit y and civil societ y represent at ives, Roma are moreover oft en very poorly informed about t heir right s and t he relevant procedures relat ing t o t heir housing sit uat ion, including t heir propert y st at us, w hich makes t hem part icularly vulnerable t o discriminat ion, abuse and exposes t hem t o t he risk of evict ion. 94. The Advisory Commit t ee w elcomes import ant st eps t hat have been t aken t o promot e access t o healt h for socially and economically marginalised groups, among t hem many Roma. Ant e-nat al care has become accessible free of charge for social w elfare recipient s, for inst ance. Roma remain part icularly disadvant aged, how ever, since t here are few doct ors available in proximit y t o t he set t lement s and t he cost s involved for t he t ransport t o and from doct ors or hospit als are oft en t oo high.99 In addit ion, Roma report t hat t hey have been refused medical care by some doct ors or have received inadequat e and negligent t reat ment inferior t o t hat provided t o ot her pat ient s. The Advisory Commit t ee is pleased t o not e t he int ervent ion by t he 96
The Nat ional Roma Cent rum in Kumanovo has played a part icularly helpful role in t he provision of legal assist ance and advice t o Roma in Kumanovo and elsew here. 97 See Final Report of t he St at e Aut horized Audit or, of 20 November 2015, at w w w .dzr.mk/ Uploads/ 1_48_RU_Proces_legalizacija_divogradbi_period_2001_2014_GP2015_KOM PLET.pdf. 98 M unicipalit ies should decide on applicat ions w it hin one year. According t o Art icle 27 of t he Law on t he Treat ment of Illegally Const ruct ed Buildings, t he M inist ry of Transport can t ake measures t o supervise t he implement at ion of t he Law at local level. 99 See for background also Annual Report 2014 of t he Ombudsman, page 19.
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Ombudsperson in a number of cases w here, in part icular, Roma appear t o have been charged for services t hat should be provided w it hout cost , or w ere not released from hospit al before t he t reat ment had been paid for. Repeat ed request s for t he services of an obst et rician t o be made available t o t he approximat ely 8,000 w omen of reproduct ive age living in Šut o Orizari w ere responded t o at t he end of 2015. The M inist ry of Healt h has facilit at ed t hree w eekly visit s of pract it ioners from t he Universit y clinic for gynaecology. Concerns remain, how ever, as t hey report edly do not provide full healt h services, and do no prescribe medicat ions or make referrals t o healt h care at t he secondary or t ert iary levels. According t o minorit y represent at ives, t he unsat isfact ory sit uat ion regarding access t o basic healt h services is t he main reason for t heir need for foreign money t ransfers, w hich how ever, follow ing t he legislat ive changes in 2015 (see above), now put t heir badly needed social w elfare benefit s at risk. Recommendat ions
95. The Advisory Commit t ee urges t he aut horit ies t o int ensify t heir effort s t ow ards t he comprehensive regist rat ion of all Roma w it h t he Employment Agency, in order t o ensure t hat t hey can effect ively benefit from employment promot ion measures and receive social w elfare payment s. The amendment s t o t he 2015 Social Welfare Law must not be applied ret roact ively t o 2014 and t heir impact on economically ext remely disadvant aged groups should be reevaluat ed w it hout delay. 96. It furt her urges t hem t o promot e t he implement at ion at local level of law s and regulat ions int ended for t he benefit of cit izens, such as relat ed t o propert y legalisat ion, and t o ensure t hat Roma are not discriminat ed against in t he delivery of services, in part icular regarding healt h. Articles 17 and 18 of the Framew ork Convention Bilateral and regional co-operation
Present sit uat ion
97. A number of bilat eral agreement s w it h neighbouring and ot her st at es exist , t hat furt her co-operat ion on issues pert aining t o nat ional minorit y prot ect ion, in part icular in t he fields of cult ure and educat ion. The Advisory Commit t ee not es w it h regret t hat t he t ransit of high numbers of refugees t hrough t he count ry led t o several inst ances of t emporary closures of t he border in lat e 2015 and early 2016, as w ell as t o a pract ice of select ively allow ing only refugees from some count ries of origin t o ent er t he count ry. In February 2016, a fence is being const ruct ed t o seal off t he border w it h Greece, creat ing a blockage for t housands of individuals, including children. While aw are of t he considerable pressures involved, including from member St at es of t he European Union, t he Advisory Commit t ee recalls t he “ former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia’s” obligat ions t ow ards human right s and refugees in line w it h int ernat ional and regional inst rument s. Recommendat ion
98. The Advisory Commit t ee calls on t he aut horit ies t o maint ain a spirit of good neighbourly relat ions and promot e close co-operat ion and co-ordinat ion w it hin t he region on a variet y of issues pert aining t o minorit y prot ect ion, not limit ed t o educat ion and cult ure.
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III.
CONCLUSIONS
99. The Advisory Commit t ee considers t hat t he present concluding remarks and recommendat ions could serve as t he basis for t he resolut ion t o be adopt ed by t he Commit t ee of M inist ers w it h respect t o t he implement at ion of t he Framew ork Convent ion by “ t he former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia” . 100. The aut horit ies are invit ed t o t ake account of t he det ailed observat ions and recommendat ions cont ained in Sect ions I and II of t he Advisory Commit t ee’s Fourt h Opinion.100 In part icular, t hey should t ake t he follow ing measures t o improve furt her t he implement at ion of t he Framew ork Convent ion: Recommendations for immediate action101
Take all necessary measures tow ards building an integrated society that is firmly based on the rule of law , the protection of human rights, including minority rights, and respect for diversity, and disengage from mutually exclusive ethnonationalist politics that further the formation of parallel societies;
Take urgent measures to regain trust in public institutions and actively disengage from politically and ethnically based hate speech; ensure that all instances of hate speech and hate crime are promptly condemned and effectively investigated and sanctioned;
Take all necessary measures to build an integrated and multilingual education system; allocate an adequate budget and ensure that teachers are appropriately trained and that textbooks and curricula in all schools reflect intercultural content;
Genuinely implement the principle of equitable representation and promote the effective participation of all persons belonging to national minorities, in public life and in relevant decision-making processes at all levels.
Furt her recommendat ions102
Develop a flexible approach t o request s for t he enjoyment of minorit y right s of persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies w ho are not explicit ly ment ioned in t he Const it ut ion and ensure t hat t he right t o free self-ident ificat ion is applied in all dat a collect ion exercises, including w it h respect t o mult iple affiliat ions;
100
A link t o t he Opinion is t o be insert ed in t he draft resolut ion before submission t o t he GR-H. The recommendat ions below are list ed in t he order of t he corresponding art icles of t he Framew ork Convent ion. 102 The recommendat ions below are list ed in t he order of t he corresponding art icles of t he Framew ork Convent ion.
101
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Ensure t he proper funct ioning of t he Commission for Prot ect ion against Discriminat ion as a fully independent and professional equalit y body, equipped w it h a funct ioning Secret ariat , and t ake comprehensive measures t o promot e aw areness of applicable ant i-discriminat ion st andards w it hin t he judiciary and amongst societ y, part icularly among t he most disadvant aged;
Provide adequat e polit ical and financial support t o t he Office of t he Ombudsman and ensure t hat all vacancies are prompt ly and adequat ely filled;
Proact ively address t he inequalit ies experienced by persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies, in part icular persons belonging t o numerically smaller minorit ies and Roma, and regularly collect disaggregat ed dat a for t he design of effect ive measures for t he promot ion of equal opport unit ies, in close consult at ion w it h minorit y represent at ives;
Est ablish an effect ive and t ransparent mechanism for t he allocat ion of support for t he preservat ion and development of nat ional minorit y cult ures, and increase t he available funding opport unit ies;
Raise public aw areness of t he legal remedies available against hat e crime and hat e speech and promot e professional journalism and et hical behaviour in t he media t hrough t arget ed t raining act ivit ies;
Put in place an effect ive and fully independent supervisory mechanism t o ensure t hat t he adherence t o professional st andards by t he police is properly monit ored and all alleged infringement s are prompt ly invest igat ed and sanct ioned in accordance w it h t he law ;
Facilit at e t he regist rat ion of t he religious organisat ions of persons belonging t o nat ional minorit ies in view of ensuring t hat t hey can effect ively enjoy t he right t o manifest t heir specific beliefs in t heir appropriat e places of w orship;
Enhance support t o minorit y-language media, including independent and small media out let s, and promot e a pluralist media environment ; proact ively ensure t hat all public broadcast ing cont ribut es t o t he format ion of an int egrat ed and inclusive societ y by promot ing int ercult ural respect and aw areness;
M onit or and ensure t he effect ive implement at ion of t he Law on t he Use of Languages at cent ral and local levels, including as regards t he display of minorit y languages in t opographical signs; encourage t he use of minorit y languages in t he public sphere w here possible and refrain from relying exclusively on out dat ed st at ist ics;
Comprehensively address t he propensit y t o place Roma children in special schools and separat e classes and t ake all measures t o act ively promot e t heir inclusion in mainst ream educat ion, including t he appropriat e employment of suit ably skilled st aff;
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Pursue a close dialogue w it h nat ional minorit y represent at ives and increase effort s t o provide high-qualit y minorit y-language educat ion, including in t he languages of numerically smaller minorit ies, t hrough t he int roduct ion of modern bi- and mult ilingual t eaching met hodologies in all schools;
Ensure t hat Roma represent at ives are effect ively included in all decision-making processes relat ed t o t he promot ion of t heir socio-economic int egrat ion, including t he adopt ion and implement at ion of relevant st rat egies and act ion plans, and t ake all necessary measures t o resolve t he remaining obst acles t o t he issuance of personal document at ion, regist rat ion, and propert y legalisat ion processes.
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