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IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW FOR PREVENTION AND PROTECTION FROM DISCRIMINATION
  
The Government of RM is seriously working on the preparations for the entering in EU approaching its institutions and legislature towards their standards. A particular attention is focused on the corpus of questions for the human rights and freedom as well as the equal possibilities for every citizen. In that sense, the Government is also working on the field of preventing and protection from every kind of discrimination, conscious that the real democratization of the country is not possible without absolute respect on the human rights and freedom. One of the ways to eliminate the discrimination is to mobilize all the factors in the society with a purpose to contribute the basic concept of the social equality, human rights and democracy, but also prevention and protection from every kind of discrimination through a fully implementation of the Law for prevention and protection from discrimination.
In that way, the Ministry for labor and social policy in cooperation with the British Council and municipal sector are contributing activities within the program which is supported by the European Commission. One of the goals of this program is stimulating initiatives for promoting the concept of non-discrimination through promotion of 12 Municipalities as examples for municipalities without discrimination. One of them is the Municipality of Stip.
With a purpose to promote the cooperation with the British Council, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the citizen’s sector, Municipality of Stip represented by the Mayor Zoran Aleksov PhD has signed a memorandum for cooperation in which the activities and the obligations of all the participants in the project are clearly defined to implement the Law for prevention and protection from discrimination.
Carrier of the project: British Council
Partners for implementation: MLSP, municipal sector
Donator: European delegation
The general goal is to contribute in promotion of the protection from discrimination, social inclusion and social rights, including the minorities, especially the Roma population in Macedonia.
Specific goals:
- Creating a firm platform for cooperation between the Municipalities, the institutions on a national and local level for improvement of the rights of the marginalized members in the communities;
- Strengthening the capacities of the local community, Municipalities and the citizen’s organizations for implementation of the Law for prevention and protection from discrimination;
- Stimulating the citizens, especially the subjects of the vulnerable and marginalized groups,how to act against the discrimination and how can they protect themselves.
Target groups:
- 12 local self-governments (12 municipal Commissions for equal possibilities of man and women and 12 municipal coordinators for equal possibilities from Strumica, Kumanovo, Stip, Delchevo, Ohrid, Debar, Bitola,
- 12 local NGO’s – and
- 240 leaders of the communities (representatives of the citizen’s organizations and municipal state citizen’s services: social, health, education – professionals and representatives from the police departments.
The project is directly connected to these target groups and refers to building and promoting their work.
Users of this are also the vulnerable and marginalized groups of citizens on a local level in 12 pilot municipalities who are subjects to discrimination, especially in the approach of the formal education on the traditionally passive ethnical groups (Juruci and Roma population), the role of women in the rural areas in the traditional passive ethnical groups (Roma, Juruci and Torbeshi) as well as other vulnerable groups identified by the municipal NGO’s and leaders in 12 pilot municipalities.
Activities and their efficiency:
- Establishing a network of a strategic cooperation in the area of anti-discrimination of the local citizen’s organizations, municipal and central authority which results with signing a tripartite memorandum for implementation of the Law for prevention and protection from the discrimination.
- This will be provided with a dedication and report from all the relevant parties which are included in the implementation of the project and will contribute for its long-term plausibility.
- The expansion of the current mandate of KEM and the local coordinators for equal possibilities of the women and man for treating on the entire basis for discrimination from LPPD. Using the already set structure (network of training from KEM) will be achieved a rationalization of the time and the available resources. Besides that, giving them a leading role in this network of trainers, they will additionally be motivated.
- Training for the legislative frame for anti-discrimination to about 320 people from the community (NGO, social services, KEM) in 12 municipalities. The establishing of the network to the trained people from the non-governmental organizations and the institutions which will be a key factor in the realization of the cascade trainings.
- A guidebook has been prepared for the contribution of the Law for prevention and protection from discrimination (with good practices) intended for KEM, the local coordinators (with annex from the Law for a broader usage). The guidebook will enable the existence of the law regulations and their implementation to be transferred on 4000 people and will also be available to the citizens who don’t belong in these pilot municipalities.
- The import of this working model in 12 municipalities: Strumica, Kumanovo, Stip, Delchevo, Ohrid, Debar, Bitola, Negotino, Struga, Tearce, Radovish and Lipkovo, strategically chosen because of the high ranking and attendance of the marginalized groups on the recommendation of the Ministry of Labor and social policy, Department for equal possibilities.
- In the events on a level of municipality will jointly be included the citizen’s organizations and representatives of the local self-government to ease the making and the development of the local action plans. The work of the common initiatives will help in the destruction of the barriers between the different groups and will contribute for a social cohesion.
- The raising of the awareness in different kinds of discrimination, how to protect from it with the usage of the law instruments will be achieved with the help of contributing the mini projects from the NGO’s. These mini-projects include, but are not limited for the approach of the education, the social services and legal help, as well as encouraging participation of the Roma children in the obligatory education (especially in the high school education), training of unemployed mothers on the age under 25 years, and the women victims of the violence and people trafficking, participation in projects for raising the consciousness and similar.
- Making web-page for non-discrimination and its promotion for a broader publicity (in Macedonia), with a focus of the chosen municipalities.
The realization of this project is especially important in relations with the goals and the priorities because:
- The activities are directly oriented towards the support of a successful and efficient implementation. The law for prevention and protection from discrimination, contributing the minorities and the vulnerable groups offers them to enjoy their rights as citizens and relieving their inclusion in the Macedonian society.
- This project will strengthen the role of the citizen’s society in promoting the human rights and the democratic reforms (LPPD). Because of the fact that it is based on an existing legislature and supports it, there will be a motivation from and to the state and the citizen’s society to provide its successful implementation.
Expected results:
- Memorandum for cooperation between the MLSP, the Mayors and the non-governmental organizations for implementation of the Law.
- Strengthened capacities of the representatives of the institutions on a national and local level for contribution of the Law for prevention and protection from discrimination.
- The capacity and the mandate of KEM and the local coordinators are to extend and to refer to more conditions of the citizens like: counseling, information, legal help for antidiscrimination.
- The capacities of the citizen’s organizations for solving the abuses made against the minorities and the vulnerable groups on a population to extend.
- Development of a practical model for an efficient implementation of the law in 12 pilot municipalities.
- Raising of the awareness for the LPPD between the institutions on a national and local level as well as in the NGO’s
- KEM affects positively in the area of anti-discrimination.
- Raised awareness for the concept of anti-discrimination and the mechanisms for protection between the members of the marginalized (vulnerable) groups from the population, and especially in the municipalities with Roma population.
- Raised awareness for the Law LPPD in the population.
More precisely, the realized activities will support the efficient implementation of the recently brought law regulative with raising the consciousness of the marginalized and strengthening capacities of those who are responsible for its contribution.
The impact of this project will be felt on many different levels:
- Marginalized groups like the Roma population will become aware of their rights to be included in the formal education.
- KEM and the coordinators will be authorized to treat all the forms of discrimination with the expansion of their mandate.
- The Government will receive recognition after the bringing of the progressive law regulative for anti-discrimination.
Besides the fact that in RM there is a law frame, the discrimination is still a frequent appearance especially towards the less educated people, the minorities and the vulnerable groups of the population.
LPPD was brought in April 2010. But this was not enough, so this project will direct towards the specific problems like:
- Lack of knowledge and understanding of the existing laws, EU anti-discrimination laws, as well as lack of capacity for efficient contribution of the law mechanisms for protection of the citizens from all the forms of discrimination on all the levels:
This includes the central and the local authority, political parties, non-governmental organizations and the citizens. The national attorney has local offices in only few municipalities, so beginning from here the mechanisms of the LPPD don’t function efficiently on a local level.
- Lack of efficient mechanisms for contribution of the legislature:
There’s absence of mechanisms and deficient capacity for distribution of the existing knowledge for the new LPPD from central and local level. KEM and the local coordinators don’t have programs and precise activities in the area of anti-discrimination, and their role is not directed towards the support of the citizens, because of the priorities which are given to the other problems, like the communal problems.
- Lack of capacity in the citizen’s organizations who work in the area of anti-discrimination:
NGO’s which appear mainly on a local level, active in the area of anti-discrimination, aren’t aware of the different forms of discrimination. They are focused on discriminations based on the gender. These organizations work non-systematically and don’t include line of basis of discriminations which are not predicted in the law. Besides that, those citizen’s organizations which work in the area of the human rights, the vulnerable groups and the generic equality of rights, aren’t financially maintainable and depend on the donation’s help for their functioning. So, starting from here their current activities cannot bring significant changes.
- Lack of awareness in the different forms of discrimination:
Generally speaking, the citizens aren’t informed for the appearances of discrimination as well as for the mechanisms for protection, they don’t know where to address so that they will accomplish their rights guaranteed with the law. The citizens have limited approach to the attorneys to turn in the abuse based on discrimination (it is not enough for the local offices to serve all the 84 Municipalities). The most vulnerable groups from the population aren’t aware for their rights so this is why they don’t ask for them.
As a result of this, there’s a small probability that the condition will soon change positively, except if we don’t affect the following needs:
- Understanding and raising the public awareness for all the forms of discrimination and respecting the appropriate legislation in all the levels of the society.
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