Fundamental Rights and Anti-Discrimination Study Tour Brussels, Belgium - 9-11 June 2015

Report

Fundamental Rights and Anti-Discrimination Study Tour Event organised by TACSO Macedonian Office in collaboration with the Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation

Content Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Study Tour Content and Proceedings ..................................................................................................................... 6 Day I: EU Policies on Fundamental Freedoms and Anti-Discrimination ............................................................. 6 First session: Meeting with DG NEAR ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Second session: Meeting with DG JUST ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Day I: EU and International Standards for Fundamental Freedoms and Non-Discrimination ......................... 8 Third session: Presentation by European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and NonDiscrimination ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Fourth session: Meeting with Council of Europe – Brussels Office ................................................................................... 9 Day II: Field Visit to European Parliament ........................................................................................................... 10 Fifth session: Tour to the European Parliament .....................................................................................................................10 Day II: Field Visit to Interfederal Center for Equal Opportunities ..................................................................... 11 Sixth session: Presentation by Interfederal Center for Equal Opportunities ...............................................................11 Seventh session: Presentation by Equinet- European Network of Equality Bodies ..................................................12 Day II: Field Visit to Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ......................................................... 13 Eighth session: Meeting with Regional Representative for Europe ................................................................................13 Day III: EU CSOs work on Fundamental Freedoms and Anti-Discrimination ................................................... 14 Ninth session: Presentation by European Court for Human Rights ................................................................................14 Tenth session: European Roma Information Office ..............................................................................................................15 Eleventh session: Presentation by European Network Against Racism .........................................................................16 Twelfth session: Presentation by ILGA .......................................................................................................................................17 Thirteenth session: Presentation by European Disability Forum .....................................................................................17

Annex I: Agenda .................................................................................................................................................. 19 Annex II: List of Participants ................................................................................................................................ 21

Introduction This Study Tour was organised within the framework of the People to People (P2P) component of the TACSO project and had objective to provide the participants – civil society organisations active in the field of fundamental rights and anti-discrimination - with the possibility to explore the issues of fundamental rights (freedom of assembly, association and expression) and anti-discrimination (equal opportunities, rights of marginalized groups) from the perspective of legal basis, institutional frame and practices and harmonization with international and EU policies and standards. The study tour was organized as a follow-up to the Conference “Fundamental Rights, Anti-Discrimination and LGBT” that took place in Tirana on 21 November 2014. Follow-up activities to this study tour are planned on the national level in the up-coming period. During the Study Tour, through a number of presentations and meetings with relevant EU and international institutions and EU based CSOs, 12 representatives of Macedonian CSOs had a chance to improve their understanding and increase their knowledge about the international and the EU legal basis of fundamental rights and anti-discrimination; to learn about the roles of different EU institutions with regard to fundamental rights and anti-discrimination and to share know-how on advocacy and to network with EU based CSOs active in the area of fundamental freedoms and anti-discrimination. TACSO is a European Union funded project, part of the Civil Society Facility, which provides technical assistance and support to civil society organisations (CSOs) located in the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. TACSO began in 2009 and will continue until 2017. The People to People (P2P) component intends to offer CSOs from the beneficiary countries the possibility to interact and network with their national, regional and European-level counterparts and to create new partnerships as well as to visit EU institutions, in order to familiarise themselves with EU structures, policy making process, programmes, policies and best practices, to expand their knowledge about the activities of EU counterparts, through meetings with European CSOs and the opportunity to network internationally and regionally.

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Study Tour Content and Proceedings Day I: EU Policies on Fundamental Freedoms and Anti-Discrimination First session: Meeting with DG NEAR Participants were introduced to the mandate of DG NEAR regarding fundamental rights and anti-discrimination, which is related to policies relating to the alignment of accession countries with EU standards and adherence to instruments of the Council of Europe. They were also introduced to the revised methodology for the preparation of EU country progress reports which will have less perspective on countries’ progress made and more focus on the standing with regard to achievements of countries to become member state. New methodology is in pilot stage and will be applied in some areas, among which is also the freedom of expression. Participants expressed interest about the preparation of the Macedonia progress report and were informed that it is still in consultation stage, consultations are ongoing now with EU based CSOs and EU Delegations. Decision has not yet been taken regarding the recommendations for Macedonia and the same is expected for September. There was discussion in relation to the current political crisis in Macedonia and it was suggested that CSOs have an important role in overcoming it and should engage in the monitoring of the negotiation process.

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Further on participants were informed about the programming and financial assistance to CSOs to be provided under IPA 2 and about multi-country and country strategy papers. Introduction was made also to the two EU Guidelines, on civil society and media which are giving strategic directions to the programming. It was presented that portion of IPA 2 for civil society will be 3,12 % which is good progress compared to the IPA 1 amounting 1.96% . Participants were also informed about the regional on-going IPA open call for networks that includes sub-granting as well and is aimed for networks working on Roma, media freedom, social inclusion, rule of law, EU integration etc. Plans related to the TACSO project were also shared indicating that TACSO national offices will be operational by 2017 and that TACSO Regional Office will stay after that. Collaboration between the Macedonian Government and CSOs was also discussed, emphasising that although there is Government strategy for cooperation with NGOs in place, no significant action has taken place and no progress is evidenced. Participants stressed that the Government has received significant EU support for the reforms in the area and proposed that more support be directed to CSOs and to CSOs networks. Lost/notcommitted EU funds for CSOs were also mentioned, however centralisation of funds was not considered to be solution since the Government should be put in position to manage EU funds on the path to the EU. It was informed that on a monthly base TACSO will be sharing with DG NEAR an overview of the state of play regarding the CSOs context including cooperation with the Government.

Second session: Meeting with DG JUST At the beginning of the meeting participants were introduced with the DG Justice and Consumers mandate and its role to support formulation of non-discriminatory policies and legislation. It was explained that it is structured in a number of units including for gender equality, racial discrimination, sexual orientation, Roma integration. Discrimination on the ground of disability is treated by DG Employment, while discrimination on the ground of nationality is also treated by other DGs. Participants were introduced to EU legislation on anti-discrimination that includes directives related to gender equality, Race Equality Directive and Employment Equality Directive. DG JUST follows how the Charter of Fundamental Rights is implemented in the member states. DG JUST provides funding through the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme and is also providing financial support to the Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna, Equinet, ILGA etc. Introduction was given also about the Horizontal directive which is in the process of negotiation since 2008 and which should extend the protection against discrimination beyond employment. And it was explained that in line with article 19 of the Treaty on the functioning of the EU, all member states should act unanimously in the Council when acting against discrimination, which in practice means that 28 countries should agree on the legislation that is binding. Another DG JUST role presented was the task to mainstream the issue in all general policies. One of the challenges faced that was shared with the participants was data collection on discrimination which is consequence of non-existence of standard definition of grounds for discrimination. For that reason each three years public perception is measured through the EU barometer. A concrete example of the DG JUST work was shared regarding the issue of LGBTI. Data from the European Value survey and comparisons by years were presented and it was concluded that acceptance of the LGBTI people has increased through the years. Challenge faced by DG is to identify the exact size of the LGBTI population since different sources are suggesting significantly different figures.. Discussion on the state in Macedonia was opened where cases with incidents and attacks on the LGBTI centre were explained, in which despite criminal complaints, no investigation by the police and public prosecutor was opened. Political party affiliation was also emphasised by the participants as frequent grounds for discrimination in Macedonia. Participants emphasized the role of CSOs in monitoring and preparation of shadow reports for Chapter 23, which is especially relevant for the current political crisis in Macedonia. Related to the state of civil society in Macedonia, it was concluded that the basic freedoms of association, assembly and expression are in place, but the implementation is still a challenge. It was also emphasized that the Council of Europe Convention on preventing

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and combating violence against women and domestic violence was signed but not ratified by the Macedonian Parliament.

Day I: EU and International Standards for Fundamental Freedoms and Non-Discrimination Third session: Presentation by European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and NonDiscrimination Participants were introduced with the history of the policies development regarding anti-discrimination, which started from 1992 with initiative for directive for fighting against racial discrimination, then developed in 1997 with Article 13 from the Amsterdam Treaty and 2000 with the adoption of two directives (Race and Employment Quality Directives). The history of establishment of the network was introduced with the explanation that the network was set-up as a project for assessment of the legislation on the national level with regard to the directives. It was elaborated that the role of the networks is to monitor the transposition of the relevant anti-discrimination directives, to provide independent information to the EC when there are cases of improper transposition by EU member states and to

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monitor the implementation of national anti-discrimination legislation and policies. The Network prepares country reports (32 country reports are produced that identify gaps and best practices), executive summaries, comparative analysis, bi-annual European Anti-Discrimination Law Review and thematic reports. Information of the latest publications of the network was shared with participants also. On the transposition issue it was explained that 20 countries have adopted general anti-discrimination act that includes all 5 grounds (racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sex and sexual orientation), 4 countries adopted general anti-discrimination act that includes all 5 grounds in employment only and 2 countries have two acts that include the 5 grounds (employment and other fields). It was discussed that there is a trend to merge different laws in one single anti-discrimination act. Similar trends can be noticed for the equality bodies also. Only 2 countries do not have equality bodies. Some of the challenges faced in the EU that were shared were: complex legal framework and unclear procedures; not many infringement proceedings; under-reporting of the discrimination since minority groups do not know about their rights more than the others; lack of definitions of the concepts (direct, indirect discrimination); lack of mandate and effective means for the specialized bodies. Recommendations for better implementation of the legislation that were emphasized were: adequate sanctions (effective and proportionate); collective redress; systematic and continuous training of the judiciary; registering and publishing discrimination complaints; collecting data and taking multiple discrimination into account. Discussion was opened regarding the equality bodies and their acting as quasi judiciary bodies. It was commented that there is no unique approach that could be recommended as most successful. The conclusion was that regardless of the role and mandate of the body, the expertise and willingness for real combating the discrimination are the most important preconditions.

Fourth session: Meeting with Council of Europe – Brussels Office General information about the Council of Europe was shared with the participants, including its history, role, membership and structure. Participants were further introduced with the Conference of international NGOs and the role of European Court of Human Rights as a control mechanism for the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights, as well with the role of the Commissioner for Human Rights. It was explained that the Brussels Office of the Council of Europe is tasked to maintain the relations of the CoE with EU, to cooperate and to look for synergies with EU. Then the European Commission Against Racism-ECRI role was introduced and ECRI reports for Macedonia were presented. Key ECRI recommendations for Macedonia in 2010 that were emphasised were: to adopt legislation on anti-discrimination; to address the segregation of Roma children in schools and to prepare a strategy to combat intolerance. Comparison with the 2013 report was made and it was concluded that the law was adopted, Commission/body was established, however NGOs raised a concern of its impartiality; second recommendation is not fulfilled and strategy to combat intolerance was adopted in 2012, however it was partly implemented. It was further clarified that all countries are adopting conventions on a voluntary basis with the exception of the Human Rights convention which is obligatory for all CoE members i.e. it is a precondition for membership. As additional measures to influence, countries could call other countries to react but decisions are on the countries themselves. Questions were raised about the mechanisms for monitoring of the Code of Good Practices for Civil Participation in Decision-making Process and about the perspective for the EU to ratify the Human Rights convention. Participants were informed that the Code is a recommended instrument for all member countries and there is no specific mechanism for monitoring its implementation. In regards to the ratification of the Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the EU, it was clarified that the process has been started, but it will probably take significant time.

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Day II: Field Visit to European Parliament Fifth session: Tour to the European Parliament In the premises of the European Parliament participants visited the Chamber and attended an informative presentation. They were introduced to the work of the European Parliament and how decisions are made, with its structure, distribution of seats by political groups and member states and principles of the distribution, the European Parliament role in shaping EU policies and areas of work which include laws, budget, control of the use of EU funds, defence of liberty, human rights and democracy and influencing European foreign policies. Video message from MEP Ulrike Lunacek - Vice president of the European Parliament and Co-president of the EP’s LGBTI intergroup, was presented to the participants also. In her message she introduced that LGBTI intergroup consists of 140 members from all political groups and nearly all member states and it stands for the rights of LGBTI people in Europe. She expressed hope that the political crisis in Macedonia will be solved peacefully and that CSOs should be involved in that process. She believes that on their way to EU integration Western Balkan countries, among other things, should address the issue of discrimination of LGBTI people which is part of the broader human rights commitments required for accession. She thinks that Macedonian Government hasn’t progressed in this area and in line with the EU standards, legal protection against discrimination of LGBTI people should be put in place in

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Macedonia. She recommended that hate speech and hate crime should be tackled, fundamental rights, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression should improve and diversity and fight against violence with affirmative public campaigns are necessary for Macedonia.

Day II: Field Visit to Interfederal Center for Equal Opportunities Sixth session: Presentation by Interfederal Center for Equal Opportunities The presentation started with an introduction of the history of the Interfederal Center for Equal Opportunities. It was explained that ICEO is an independent institution that in the first 10 years of its existence focused on the fight against racism and the scope was broadened to other forms of discrimination since 2003. In 2014 the Center for Migration was established as a separate entity. The Anti-discrimination legal frame in Belgium was presented and it was explained that it consists of gender law, racial discrimination law and general anti-discrimination law. In addition there are many decrees in each region of Macedonia. Mandate of the Interfederal Center for Equal Opportunities was presented comprising three main tasks: processing individual reports (cases), informing and training and awareness rising. It has competences under 19 criteria

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including nationality, colour, ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, political beliefs, disability, social origin etc. It was clarified that discrimination based on language is not part of the Centre competences. Experience with processing of individual reports was shared and it was explained that in 2005 1.609 reports were received, while in 2014 the number of reports increased to 4627. However, 23% of the reports are not treated by ICEO as they are considered as not under its competency. From 1670 opened cases relating to discrimination 41% are regarding racial discrimination, 20% disability, 16% religion or belief, 5% age, 4% sexual orientation, 4% wealth and 3% health status. Related with areas 25% of cases are regarding employment, 25% regarding goods and services, 20% media, 10% education, 9% social service and 5% police/justice. It was further explained that the Centre has no intention to produce court cases, but seeks for concrete solutions primarily through conciliation. ICEO cooperation with other institutions/organisations was presented emphasising that it is looking for synergies and among others cooperates with Equinet, Fundamental Rights Agency, Council of Europe – ECRI, OSCE, OHCHR and ENNHRI. CSOs covering disability, universities and representatives from socio-economic field are involved in the Advisory committee that meets each 2 months and gives advice. Strong capacities of the Centre were also stressed indicating that it has 100 employees. A case study regarding Hate speech on the internet was also presented. ICEO receives 700 complaints per year regarding hate speech from which the majority are for racial discrimination. Social media including Facebook, Twitter and chain mails are monitored. Holocaust denial is also an issue that is followed. It was emphasised that in relation to hate speech it was necessary for the ICEO to establish a good partnership with journalists. In the future ICEO plans to work on stereotypes created by hate speech authors.

Seventh session: Presentation by Equinet- European Network of Equality Bodies

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The history and mandate of Equinet were presented at the beginning. Equinet started in 2003 as a cooperation project by equality bodies which in 2007 resulted in the creation of the network and in 2008 a secretariat in Brussels was set up. The Network receives funds from the EC and members’ contributions. It has a mission to support the work of the national equality bodies and to set standards for their work. Equinet structures and its membership were introduced. Equinet has 42 members from 32 European countries. Functions of the equality bodies that are laid down by the EU directives were explained including assistance to victims of discrimination, preparation of surveys and reports, provision of recommendations on discrimination issues, exchange of information. Main objectives of the Equinet from its strategic plan 2015-2018 were presented including contribution to the European equality agenda and the approach of organising its activities through working groups based on different topics.

Day II: Field Visit to Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Eighth session: Meeting with Regional Representative for Europe Participants were introduced with the mandate of the Regional Office of OHCHR which is dealing mainly with internal EU human rights issues. The Office serves as a liaison with EU institutions. It was explained that in regard of the enlargement it also discusses the EU progress reports together with the European Commission. Human rights challenges for Europe were outlined including the integration of Roma people which is still one of the key issues across Europe as well migrants and especially migrants at sea as a major current human rights issue for the EU. Participants were introduced to the evaluation of IPA for Roma which indicated that the biggest amount of funds were spent on return, housing and education. Participants were interested in children’s rights challenges in Europe, to which the response was that there are many aspects of this issue including reforms of the system of child protection in institutions, protection of migrant children and their return (ex. Kosovo), detention of children, Roma children that live in ghettos etc. In regard of the progress on Roma issue especially in the new members states, it was discussed that there are discrepancies in the policies in comparison to the reality and that the reason for this is that EU can’t take over responsibility since there are national laws in that regard. It was informed that a more interactive platform related with Roma issues has been created recently. Participants discussed that there is restriction of movement of Roma people and that racial profiling is happening permanently at the borders, and that this issue is not recognised also by EC. Thus, it was suggested that the Helsinki Committee prepare a statement to be communicated with the OCHCR and to raise this as a serious discrimination problem in front of relevant EU bodies, especially in relation to the preparation of the Macedonia progress report. It was also explained that OHCHR had reacted in relation to the human rights violations in regard of wiretapping case in Macedonia and the statement is on-line on the web page.

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Day III: EU CSOs work on Fundamental Freedoms and AntiDiscrimination Ninth session: Presentation by European Court for Human Rights The presentation by the representative of the European Court for Human Rights covered organisation and operations of the Court and particularities of the cases coming from Macedonia. At the beginning in the general introduction it was clarified that the European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up by the Council of Europe in 1959 as mechanism for implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1998 it has been set as a permanent court. Individuals can apply to the Court directly. It was pointed out that the Court covers 800 million peoples concerns and the Court’s case-law makes the Convention a powerful instrument for consolidating the rule of law and democracy in Europe. It was explained that judgments are binding on the countries concerned and have led governments to alter their legislation and administrative practice in many areas.

The Court structures and procedures were described including selection of judges, formation of Chambers and Grand Chambers. It was clarified that the judges are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from lists of three candidates proposed by each State. However, although judges are elected in respect of a State, they hear cases as individuals and do not represent that State. It was pointed out that the Court is in permanent

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reform and is constantly developing its practices and methodologies which make it so successful. Information was shared that in 2009 there was lagging with 160.000 cases and currently there are only 70.000 cases remaining. It was explained that most of the cases are solved with a friendly settlement - an agreement between the parties to put an end to proceedings initiated by an application and the outcome is usually that the State pays the applicant a sum of money. In cases where a friendly settlement procedure has been unsuccessful, the respondent Government may make a unilateral declaration acknowledging the violation of the Convention and undertaking to provide the applicant with redress. Composition of the Court formations were elaborated including that the Chamber consists of seven judges and the Grand Chamber has 17 judges and is called when there are new type of cases which may establish new practices (ex. El-Mastri vs. Macedonia). Regarding applications from Macedonia it was explained that there are about 400-450 cases on a yearly basis and currently 160 are in procedure. The Macedonian team in the Court consists of 1 permanent employee and 2 part time-staff, all lawyers. In addition to the team itself, each case is processed by 30 people when there is Chamber and about 60 people when the Grand Chamber is called. It was commented that observing the Court practice, cases coming from Macedonia are related with all articles of the Convention. The majority of the cases are related to article 6 – right to a fair trial. There are many cases related to detention, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. It was stressed that the Court has significant experience with cases related to discrimination, racial discrimination, discrimination based on sexual orientation, social justice etc. Recommendations for Macedonian CSOs were shared: it is very important for CSOs which represent victims in front of the Court to take care and raise the issues related with the human rights violations in front of the National Courts also when preparing their applications. Then, it is of crucial importance that the applications are well prepared. It was discussed that cases related with centres for social protection resulted in general recommendations for Macedonia to improve their work. It was further debated whether judges in Macedonia follow the Convention and the Court’s work and it was concluded that the practice of the ECHR should be part of the education curricula in the higher education.

Tenth session: European Roma Information Office In the introduction it was explained that ERIO was established in 2003 when with the enlargement process the Roma issue become problem also for EU, although it was thought that it is problem of Central Europe only. ERIO’s mandate to provide information to the EC on the situation in the countries regarding the situation of Roma people was presented. It was stated that EC needed someone to formulate policy messages and advocate for Roma, thus ERIO is also advocacy organisation which identifies Roma specific issues. The ERIO structure was presented and it was explained that it has created a large non-formal network of 150 organisations from EU countries, EU candidate and potential candidate countries. Some of the achievements of the ERIO activities were shared including influence to European Parliament resolutions, framework for Roma Strategies which was designed and then all member states adopted a Roma strategy on the national level. Future challenges were also discussed: how to transfer Roma strategies on the local level, under reporting of Roma discrimination (few cases officially registered per year while CSOs report on hundreds of cases), weaknesses in the legal frame (Race Equality Directive does not cover discrimination based on nationality, segregation directive was refused by the EC). The discussions among the EC and CSOs on anty-gypsism and the conference organised by ERIO “Anti-Gypsism and the Holocaust: Remembering the past and shaping the future” where many issues were raised among which: how to eliminate the on-going discrimination? how anti-discrimination laws work for Roma? how to compensate for the past discrimination? etc were shared. Further concerns regarding Roma integration were discussed including Roma participation in policy making, where Roma input was not taken into account in many cases and many projects have failed. Information on infringement procedures of EC against Czech Republic (for not taking into account the race equality directive) and Slovakia (for placing Roma children in segregated schools) were presented. 14

Eleventh session: Presentation by European Network Against Racism The ENAR representative presented the history of the Network, which started with the European year against racism in 1997 and establishment in 1998 with the mission to influence the EU political agenda regarding the fight against racism. The Network has members from 27 EU countries including Iceland, and includes organisations with different profiles that are involved in the fight against racism (grassroots organisations; advocacy organisations; faith-based organisations; migrants’ organisations). ENAR strategic objectives were further presented: adoption of more comprehensive EU legislation on racist crime; addressing Afrophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-Gypsyism; pressure on the states to collect equality data to prove discrimination and assess efficiency of public policies; promote diversity in employment and empower communities. Examples and case studies of ENAR practical work were shared with the observation that Inter-groups that exists in the European Parliament are a very good option for CSOs to address certain issues and it was informed that 23 such groups exist, among which are the anti-racism and diversity inter-group. It was outlined that ENAR is permanently monitoring the EU migration agenda also and in the light of new developments (Border Control Operations; Smart Borders; Blue Card Directive) it has a number of concerns to be addressed including basic rights protection, non-criminalization of migrants, saving lives, discriminatory stopping – racial profiling etc. Opinion was shared that race equality directive is not effectively implemented for years as well the free movement directive.



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Twelfth session: Presentation by ILGA ILGA representative focused on the EU equality strategies observing that these are good and in place, however with no budget for implementation. Nevertheless, progress has been achieved in many countries. Key issues and worrying trends that were emphasised regarding LGBTI were: ban on homosexual propaganda in Russia, law with black listed NGOs as foreign agents in Russia (similar laws proposed in other countries but not adopted), restrictive definitions of the marriage, homophobic media articles, violent attacks where trans women and sex workers are particularly vulnerable and shrinking space for CSOs (discriminatory laws and policies). In regard of the EU policies key issues pointed out were: EU does not have effective mechanisms to impose on its member states implementation of its policies, coherence between EU external and internal policies, implementation of LGBTI Guidelines and financial support to LGBTI CSOs.

Thirteenth session: Presentation by European Disability Forum The role and mandate of the European Disability forum were presented stating that it is an umbrella organisation of national platforms and European federations of persons with disabilities and represents 80 million persons with disabilities in Europe including persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. It was informed that the National Council of Disability Organisations of Macedonia is an observer member of EDF. EDF has the mission to promote and guarantee the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities at the European Union and international level through an active participation of persons with disabilities. EDF advocates to the EU institutions, discusses with NGOs, industry and social partners, delivers expertise of persons with disabilities to the EU decision makers

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policy areas such as transport, ICT, social protection, employment, education, justice, fundamental rights and nondiscrimination. UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UN CRPD) was further introduced as an internationally agreed document that recognizes universal human rights of all persons with disabilities, including persons with psychosocial disabilities and identifies obligations for States to promote and protect human rights, but also for private entities. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, entered into force in 2008 and since then 154 countries have ratified it. European Union ratified it in 2010 and it is example where first time in history EU is party to an international human rights treaty. Now, the EU is bound to implement the CRPD together with its Member States (28 have signed and 25 have ratified). The Convention is monitored by UN Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities and the EU Report on the implementation of CRPD in the EU was submitted in June 2014, while in 2015 it was reviewed. Disabled People’s Organisations and NGOs had the possibility to submit information on the situation of the rights of persons with disabilities in their countries and an EDF alternative report was submitted to the UN Committee. Important items on EU fundamental rights agenda for persons with disabilities were further discussed including need for an overall strategy related to UN CRPD, need for structured dialogue with organisations of persons with disabilities, review of new EU proposals of legislation and policy and equal treatment legislation in all areas of life.

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Annex I: Agenda Day 1: 9 June 2015 EU Policies on Fundamental Freedoms and Anti-Discrimination 09:30 - 10:45

Meeting with DG NEAR – D3, D7 Nicola Bertolini, Karl Giacinti, Chloe Laurens Dinsdale, Maandi Karin Anna

10:45 - 11:00

Coffee Break Meeting with DG Justice and Consumers

11:00 - 12:30

12:30 - 14:00

Wester Meijdam, Andrew Chapman Lunch

EU and International Standards for Fundamental Freedoms and Non-Discrimination 14:00 - 15:00

Presentation by European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination Isabelle Chopin

15:00 - 15:30

15:30 – 16:30

19:30

Break Presentation by the Council of Europe-Brussels Office Ilya Subbotin Social Event

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Day 2: 10 June, 2015

Field Visit: European Parliament 10:00 - 10:30

Registration

10:30 – 12:00

Tour of the European Parliament

12:00 - 13:30

Lunch

Field Visits: Interfederal Center for Equal Opportunities and OHCHR Meeting with the Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities and Equinet 13:30 - 15:30

Jozef de Witte (ICEO) Ilaria Volpe (Equinet)

16:00 - 17:00

Meeting with Regional Office of OHCHR Jan Jarab

Day 3: 11 June 2015 09:00 - 09:30

Registration and coffee

EU CSOs work on Fundamental Freedoms and Anti-Discrimination 09:30 - 11:00

Presentation by European Court for Human Rights Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska

11:00 - 11:30

11:30 - 13:00

Coffee Break Presentations by European Roma Information Office and European Network Against Racism Ivan Ivanov (ERIO), Juliana Wahlgren (ENAR)

13:00 - 14:00

Lunch

14:00 - 15:00

Presentation by ILGA Lilit Poghosyan

15:00 - 15:30

15:30 - 16:30

16:30 - 17:30

Break Presentation by European Disability Forum An-Sofie Leenknecht Closing feedback session

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Annex II: List of Participants Name

Organisation

Contact

Aleksandar Jovanoski

European Policy Institute

Address: Ul.Antonie Grubisic 2/2a, Skopje Tel: +389 32 801 00 E-mail: [email protected]

Blagorodna Shopova

National Council for Gender Equality

Address: 11 Oktomvri 17, Skopje Tel: + 389 2 313 4390 E-mail: [email protected]

Borche Bozinov

STAR-STAR

Address: Nikola Karev 9/3-17, Skopje Tel: +389 2 323 2411 E-mail: [email protected]

Boris Sharkovski

Local Community Development Foundation Stip

Address: Sremski front bb, Stip Tel: + 389 32 383 116 E-mail: [email protected]

Elena Brmbeska

Macedonian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights

Address: Naum Naumovski Borce 83 Tel: +389 2 311 9073 E-mail: [email protected]

Kristina Doda

Institute for Human Rights

Address: Rajko Zhinzifov, 49 A, Skopje Tel: +389 70 456 500 E-mail: [email protected]

Metin Muaremi

Center for Education and Development

Address: Old School Building, Tearce Cell: 389 70 838 148 E-mail: [email protected]

Natasha Najdenova Levikj

Women’s Action

Address: Radovan Kovacevikj, 67, Skopje Tel: + 389 2 255 5023 E-mail: [email protected]

Sasho Kochankovski

Centre for Human Rights “AMOS“ Bitola

Address: Skoevska 114, Bitola Tel: +389 47 252 307 E-mail: [email protected]

Tomislav Ortakovski

Polio Plus – Movement against Disability

Address: Blvd. AVNOJ 64, local 2, Skopje Tel: +389 2 240 0544 E-mail: [email protected]

Verica Krzovska

Association Initiative for Social Change InSoC

Address: Miladin Popovikj 4-1a, Skopje Tel: +389 2 614 2690 E-mail: [email protected]

Emina Nuredinoska

TACSO Recourse centre, Macedonian Center for International Cooperation

Address: Nikola Parapunov 41A Skopje Tel: + +389 2 306 5381 E-mail: [email protected]

Suncica Sazdovska

Resident Advisor, TACSO

Address: Nikola Parapunov 41A Skopje Tel: + 389 2 322 5340 E-mail: [email protected]

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