NATIONAL REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA ON THE FOLLOW-UP TO THE WORLD SUMMIT FOR CHILDREN
A. Introduction and Background:
On 10 November 1993, as a country-successor to the SFRY, the Republic of Macedonia acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Republic of Macedonia submitted the Initial Report for review by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in December 1996. The Initial Report (CRC/C/8/Add.36) was reviewed at the 23rd regular session of the Committee held on 10-28 January 2000, in Geneva. The final considerations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child are contained in the document (CRC/C/15/Add.118), dated 28 January 2000.
B. Process established for the End-decade Review:
In accordance with the Long-term Social Plan of the Republic of Macedonia for the period of 1986 to 2000, and in order to create a single active population policy which is to provide for the rational biological reproduction based on more moderate birth rate, then to decrease the infant mortality rate and that to provide for the population increase in accordance with the existing economic and social development conditions, in 1989 Resolution on the Population Policy was adopted.
The direction of the biological reproduction or the population is a complex and long-term process, which needs to include all social subjects. According to the obligations determined by the measures and activities in the Resolution (child support allowance, employment, housing, scholarships, tax benefits and exemptions) families with three children at most will be supported in order to attain the established model of a modern family.
During the last decade numerous projects have been realized in accordance with the implementation of the Plan of action.
In the field of child protection:
- Introduction of new methods and techniques of work with children especially in difficult circumstances;
- Development and application of the protection of children without parents and children without parental care by their accommodation in a foster family;
- Enhancement of the level of care, raising and education of children placed at the Infants’ and Children’s Orphanage, Bitola;
- Promotion of the expert work of the staff working with children and juveniles accommodated at the “11 Oktomvri” Children’s and Juveniles Orphanage;
- Analysis and establishment of ways of improving the care for children with impeded development; This project also encompasses the Campaign for public awareness raising about mental handicaps through the media in order to better informs citizens. The campaign encompassed not only social work institutions, but also a certain number of primary schools in the state in order to acquaint teachers with the mental handicaps through the disseminated brochures.
- As part of the project entitled “Local resources and possibilities for care of children with impediments in their development” in 1997 there was a social protection research conducted.
Health:
Currently there is the procedure for establishment and adoption of the Strategy for the development of the health protection system of the Republic of Macedonia. One of the commitments contained in this Strategy is the promotion of health protection of children and women. The Strategy contains the following commitments:
1. Promotion of the health protection of the young population until the age of 18 by providing appropriate, available and quality health protection
2. Promotion of the health protection of mothers and children, especially in order to decrease the infants’ mortality rates.
Furthermore, as a part of the Project for transition of the Health Sector, credited by the World Bank, the chapter dedicated to the Basic Health Care Services envisages the pilot project, for Continuous Medical Education of Doctors in the Primary Health Protection. One of its the modules elaborates the issue of the rights of patients; with a special stress on the most vulnerable population groups - children and women.
Education:
The Government of the Republic of Macedonia has finalized the Project on technical cooperation in the field of human rights with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The project is fully dedicated to the introduction of adequate human rights issues (according to the age of students) and civil society values in the curricula for primary and secondary education. The project is supplementary to the already commenced process of updating the curricula for primary and secondary education in this respect. With the undertaken reform in this field, special attention is paid to the wider scope education on the rights of the child, as fundament of the civic society.
In June 2000 the Ministry of Education promoted the Government strategy for education development. This document envisages the basic directions of education development in the Republic of Macedonia. Taking into consideration the social parameters, special stress is placed on the decentralization and liberalization of education, quality and connectivity to the labor market, transparency of the education process, promotion of the equality in education, achievement of social cohesion and integration through education.
Civil society:
In addition to other children's non-governmental organizations in 1998 a Children's Parliament of Macedonia was established in Skopje whose work is based on the principles of the UN and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
This international children's association has several clubs, uniting the children of the world and cooperates with international organizations and associations in the development of the commitments to the peace and cooperation.
The Children's Parliament of Macedonia is carrying out activities in the primary and secondary schools, in which priority is given to the education of children about their rights.
There are about 10 NGO's in the Republic of Macedonia which are engaged on the promotion and protection of children's rights and they are civil forms of associations of children and youth in order to realize interest in given fields.
In this regard a project of the UNHCR Office in the country aimed at the dissemination of international human rights instruments should also be mentioned. On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in cooperation with the UNDP a project entitled "Helping the communities together" was realized. The project consisted of awarding small grants to local associations of citizens and NGO’s to realize projects in the human rights field.
Last year assistance was allocated to projects elaborating the issue “Women and Children”. The realization of the projects, inter alia, affirms the rights of the child, while the Convention on the rights of the Child was disseminated in a form adjusted to the age of children. One of the projects was focused on the work with children at orphanages. It is planned that this year the Project “Helping the community together” will continue on the same issue “Women and Children”.
D. Specific Actions for Child Survival, Protection and Development
a) In accordance with the Constitution ratified international treaties are part of the internal legal order and may not be amended by law (Article 118 of the Constitution). According to the provisions of Article 2 of the Law on Courts, the courts judge on the basis of the Constitution, laws and ratified international agreements. After the ratification, the international agreements, as well as all other regulations, are published in the Official Gazette and thus become law available to all citizens.
Upon the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child several measures have been undertaken for implementation and monitoring of the legislative framework governing the exercise of the rights of the child. Only part of such activities will be referred to here.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the institution Ombudsman on Children’s Rights has been established in the Republic of Macedonia. The Ombudsman on Children’s Rights is one of the deputies of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Macedonia, and is exclusively engaged on the implementation of the rights of the child in the state and to undertake all necessary measures in cases of children’s rights violation by the organs of the state administration of organs and organization with public mandate.
There are several specialized bodies within the ministries, as well as several semi-governmental organizations tasked for the every day implementation of the legislative framework relevant for the rights of the child and for the child's special status.
In accordance with Article 14 of the Law on the Family, all affairs related to the special protection and assistance to the family, then to the adoption and custody affairs, are managed by the Social Work Center, the activities of which are performed according to the methods of expert, counseling and advisory inter-disciplinary team work.
The Social Work Centers form the core of social care for children. There are 30 Social Work Centers in the Republic of Macedonia, with about 350 employees. They are of different size, technical equipment and expert staff, depending on the number of beneficiaries they cover. As a rule, all Social Work Centers have expert teams consisting of social workers, psychologists, pedagogues and lawyers. The Social Work Centers have social functions, perform expert activities and have a public mandate.
The basic competency of the Social Work Center is to supervise the exercise of parental rights and is obliged to undertake special measures for the protection of the person, rights and interest of the child.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy supervises the legality and the expert work of the social protection institutions through its body called Social Work Institute.
The Social Work Institute, a body of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, undertakes research projects in the field of social work, thus designing the social policy and promoting the social status of citizens. In the realization of its program the Institute closely cooperates with the Institute for Social Affairs and Social Policy at the Faculty of Philosophy, then with UNICEF and other relevant UN agencies, as well as with other international organizations. The program of the Social Work Institute encompasses projects on the status of children in the state.
The Association for Care and Education of Children is a semi-governmental organization working on the promotion of the status of children. This Association bases its activities on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As early as 1990 the Union prepared the first translation into the Macedonian language of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was distributed to all primary schools in Macedonia. The 1999 program of the Union was dedicated to the 10 anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while the year 2000 program was dedicated to the 10 anniversary of the first World Summit for Children.
The State Committee on the Protection or the Rights of the Child is a body established almost a decade ago as part of the Association for Care and Education of Children of Macedonia. Its members are renowned experts in the field of education, health care, judiciary, journalism, business and other fields, which can have influence in the communities for the purpose of improving the status of children. In municipalities there are Municipal Committees for the protection of the rights of the child. The Association regularly cooperates with the Social Work Centers in the resolution of certain cases, then in the realization of projects, etc.
In addition to their regular activities, these bodies have special activities in the course of Week of the Child and especially with respect to the Children’s Day. Their most elaborated issue is the improvement of the status of the child in the education process and provision of larger level of rights with respect to health care. Special care is given to the protection of children with special needs, i.e. of children with impediments in their development, then with respect to establishment of possibilities for lowering the prices for toys, children's food, clothes, shoes, by lowering the taxes etc. The State Committee on the Protection of the Rights of the Child is a respectable body in the drafting or amending the legislation relevant for the enjoyment of children’s rights and for the improvement of their status in society.
The implementation of the rights related to health care for children and mothers is part of the competencies of the Ministry of Health, which undertakes all necessary measures for the appropriate health protection of all children in the Republic of Macedonia as part of its programs of primary health protection.
Copies of the Convention have been distributed to the Association of Pediatricians of the Republic of Macedonia in order that health care workers in this field who have every day contact with children are informed about its contents.
There are three specialized institutions dealing with the mental health of children and young people: The Mental Health Institute for Children and Youth; the Clinic for child and adolescent psychiatry and Addiction Illnesses Center.
The following institutions are engaged on children subject of juvenile justice: “25 Maj” Organization for Care and Education of Children and Youth; “Ranka Milankovik” Institute for Care and Education of Children and Youth; the Educational-Correction Home in Tetovo.
In primary schools expert teacher (pedagogues, psychologists) work continuously on the implementation of the Convention by undertaking the following: