Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
List of issues in relation to the combined second to fourth periodic reports of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia *
I.General information
1.Please provide information on cases in which the Covenant has been invoked before or applied directly by domestic courts. Please also provide information on any training for legal professionals, including judges, lawyers and prosecutors, on the Covenant.
2.Please provide updated information on public spending in the areas of social security, social housing, health care and education.
II.Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1-5)
Article 2 (2) – Non-discrimination
3.Please inform the Committee about the results of the evaluation of the Law on the Prevention of and Protection against Discrimination (2010) that was conducted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in 2013 and the steps taken to follow up on the evaluation.
4.Please describe the efforts that the State party has been making to protect migrants and asylum seekers, in accordance with relevant international human rights and humanitarian standards, at its borders with neighbouring countries and in its territory. Please specify the measures taken by the State party in particular to protect unaccompanied minors seeking asylum. Please also describe the concrete steps taken or envisaged to ensure equal access by refugees to employment, social protection, health-care services and education in the State party, as provided for in the legislation.
Article 3 – Equal rights of men and women
5.Please indicate the efforts made by the State party to address gender stereotypes and to support both men and women in sharing their family responsibilities, including childcare, while continuing their careers.
6.Please provide information on the concrete steps taken to narrow the gender pay gap. Please also provide information on the outcome of the implementation of the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (2006) in this regard.
III.Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6-15)
Article 6 – Right to work
7.Please provide information on the impact of the measures taken to increase employment opportunities, as mentioned in paragraphs 22 and 23 of the State party’s report (E/C.12/MKD/2-4), particularly with regard to young people, long-term unemployed persons, women, persons with disabilities and Roma. Please describe the steps taken to increase employment in the formal economy.
8.Please provide information on the criteria used to categorize the unemployed as active and passive jobseekers and on the employment support programmes applied differently to each group. Please also clarify whether unemployment benefits are applied differently to these groups.
Article 7 – Right to just and favourable conditions of work
9.Please indicate whether the minimum wage is applicable to all workers regardless of type of contract. Please also indicate whether a minimum wage is applicable to workers in the informal economy. Please explain why the minimum wage is different in various industries, such as the textile and leather industries. Please provide information on the steps taken and envisaged to regularly review and adjust the level of the minimum wage so as to ensure a decent living for workers and their families, as well as to enhance the enforcement of the 2012 Law on the Minimum Wage.
10.Please provide information on the measures taken and envisaged to improve occupational safety and health, particularly for those in the agricultural sector.
Article 8 – Trade union rights
11.Please provide information on any legislative measures taken to lift the limitation on the right to strike, in accordance with the Committee’s previous recommendation (see E/C.12/MKD/CO/1, para. 37).
Article 9 – Right to social security
12.Please explain to what extent the decentralization of social protection services has been implemented and how the central Government ensures that social protection services delivered by municipal governments reach all eligible persons, particularly disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups. What are the main challenges faced in decentralizing social protection services to municipal governments and what efforts has the State party made to overcome those challenges?
13.Please describe the efforts made to provide unemployment benefits to persons who do not have a job, in accordance with the Committee’s previous recommendation (see E/C.12/MKD/CO/1, para. 38). Please provide updated information on the non-contributory social assistance programmes that are funded by different levels of governments, including eligibility requirements, coverage and amount of benefits, as well as the level of funding allocated to each of these programmes by the central and municipal governments.
Article 10 – Protection of the family, mothers and children
14.Please provide information on the progress made in providing victims of domestic violence, including teenage mothers and Roma women, with necessary support, including legal aid, medical and psychological treatment and shelters. Please also provide information on the impact of the National Strategy for the Prevention of and Protection against Domestic Violence, 2012-2015, and also indicate the funding allocated thereto. Please further provide information on the sanctions imposed on the perpetrators of domestic violence and describe the concrete steps taken by the State party to improve data collection on domestic violence.
15.Please provide information on the achievements made through the National Strategy for the Fight against Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration, 2013-2016, particularly with regard to identification of victims of human trafficking, provision of remedy and support for the victims, in particular child victims, and punishment of perpetrators.
Article 11 – Right to an adequate standard of living
16.Please provide information on the specific measures taken and envisaged under the revised National Strategy for the Reduction of Poverty and Social Exclusion, 2010-2020, which was released in 2013, to address the extreme poverty facing about 10 per cent of the population as well as the chronic poverty among the Roma population.
17.Please provide information on the number of applications submitted as well as the number of constructions legalized under the Law on the Legalization of Illegally Constructed Buildings, including the number of applications made by Roma. Please inform the Committee about the measures taken to facilitate submission of such applications by those requiring assistance. Please also provide information on the measures taken to improve the living conditions in informal settlements, including access to safe drinking water and sanitation, health-care services, education and other public services.
18.Please provide information on the legal framework establishing the requirements and appropriate procedures to be followed prior, during and after evictions. Please also provide information on the coherence between urban planning and the Law on the Legalization of Illegally Constructed Buildings, in particular with regard to Roma settlements in urban localities (greenbelt zones).
Article 12 – Right to physical and mental health
19.Please provide information on the impact of the transition from the public provider to private providers of primary health-care services on the accessibility and availability of those services, particularly among the most disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups. Please explain how the State party ensures that private health-care service providers comply with the concession agreements and provide information on the measures taken by the State party in cases of non-compliance, for example charging fees for prenatal health-care services or for childbirth, which should be free of charge in the light of the law in force.
20.Please provide information on the progress made through measures, including the Strategy for Safe Motherhood (2010) and the Action Plan for Reducing Maternal, Prenatal and Antenatal Mortality (2013-2014), taken to reduce infant mortality, mortality of children under 5 years of age and maternal mortality, particularly among the Roma population, and include relevant statistical data.
21.Please provide information on the progress achieved with regard to the provision of health-care services to Roma and on the results of the review of the programmes carried out in that regard within the framework of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, 2005-2015.
Articles 13 and 14 – Right to education
22.Please provide statistical data for the past four years, disaggregated by sex, ethnicity and disability, on the enrolment and attendance rates at the primary and secondary school levels, and include the same data for foreign nationals and stateless children. Please also provide information on the measures taken and the progress made to reduce the number of children who do not attend school, particularly Roma children, children with disabilities and other disadvantaged and marginalized children.
23.Please provide information on the progress made, particularly through the National Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion for the period 2010-2015, to combat segregation of Roma children in education, particularly the overrepresentation of Roma children in special education schools and special classes in mainstream schools. Please also provide information on the outcome of the audit carried out by the government commission in that regard.
24.Please provide information on the steps taken and envisaged to introduce inclusive education for children, including Roma children, children with disabilities, refugee children and children who are not nationals of the State party.
25.Please provide information on the progress made to help adults complete primary education, particularly through the Programmes for the Completion of Primary Education by Excluded Persons (October 2011-July 2013) and include relevant statistical data.
Article 15 – Cultural rights
26.Please provide information on the steps taken and the progress made in providing education in the minority language and culture and on the steps taken and envisaged to introduce integrated multilingual teaching at all levels of the education system.
27.Please provide information on Internet access and coverage in the State party, particularly by people living in rural areas, Roma and other ethnic minority groups.