REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA OMBUDSMAN ANNUAL REPORT ON THE DEGREE OF PROVISION, RESPECT, ADVANCEMENT AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 2019 Skopje, March 2020 CONTENTS DEGREE OF REALIZATION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS IN SEPARATE AREAS 7 FROM THE WORK IN 2019 . 9 PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM BY AREAS . 20 Social security and protection . 20 Pension and disability insurance . 24 Health insurance and protection . 25 Children’s rights . 28 - Children’s rights in the family . 29 - Care and upbringing in a preschool institution (Kindergarten) . 30 - Education of the child in primary and secondary schools. 32 - Right to protection from violence . 33 - Children’s healthcare . 34 - Right to monetary funds for a child . 35 - Protection of the rights of children belonging to vulnerable and marginalized groups. 36 - Rights of children and persons with disabilities . 38 Rights relating to higher education . 43 Labour relations . 45 Nondiscrimination . 47 Judiciary . 51 - Procedures before the Public Prosecutor’s Offi ce . 53 - Procedures before the enforcement agents . 54 Property and legal relations . 57 Urban planing and construction . 60 Housing area . 61 Environment . 62 Finance . 64 Consumer rights . 65 Police authorisations . 70 Citizens-related situations . 74 Penitentiary and correctional and educational and correctional institu- tions . 77 Election rights . 82 Rights of migrants/refugees and asylum seekers . 84 Other rights . 85 Local self-government . 86 - Urban planning and construction . 86 - Consumer rights . 89 - Labour relations . 91 - Finance and taxes . 94 - Environment . 95 EXAMPLES FROM THE PRACTICE . 97 PROMOTION OF HUMAN FREEDOMS AND RIGHTS (PROJECT WORK) 111 OMBUDSMAN - NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHA- NISM 115 OMBUDSMAN-FRIEND OF THE COURT (AMICUS CURIAE) 119 OMBUDSMAN - MECHANISM FOR CIVIL CONTROL 125 OMBUDSMAN IN THE FUNCTION OF A NATIONAL RAPPORTEUR ON TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BE- INGS AND ILLEGAL MIGRATION 129 RESEARCH, SPECIAL REPORTS, OPINIONS, INI- TIATIVES 133 COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION OF THE OMBUDSMAN WITH INTERNATIONAL BODIES AND ASSOCIATIONS 139 Cooperation with international institutions and bodies in Europe and the world . 141 Cooperation in the region . 144 STATISTICAL DATA 147 Data by areas . 153 Action . 156 Determined violations and measures taken . 159 ABOUT THE INSTITUTION 161 Organization and manner of operation . 163 Staffi ng status . 164 Operation funds . 164 Dear All, Every year, the Ombudsman informs the public and MPs, extensively and statistically accurately, about the degree of en- suring respect, promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms, and his data and fi ndings provide a good basis for drafting legislation that guarantees equality, rights and justice for everyone in the society. The report covers all segments of life that directly or in- directly aff ect the rights of citizens, and it is also a refl ection of their perception of how the administration functioned in the pre- vious year through the number of submitted complaints. There is no better benchmark for the (non) functioning of the institutions than the complaints of the citizens who are trying every day to exercise their rights as guaranteed by the Constitution and the law. I would say that there is no more accurate address than that of the Ombudsman who acts impartially and effi ciently upon these complaints, alerts and points out the facts, and gives general recommendations on how to improve such states. Statistics show that last year the problems faced by citizens in exercising their rights in general remain the same, although there is an increase in complaints in the areas of social af- fairs, healthcare and children’s rights. It is indisputable that still the most of the complaints are related to the work of the en- forcement agents. The problems in this domain have remained the same for years. Citizens mostly complain that they were not notifi ed of the initiation of enforcement proceedings, forc- ing them to pay several times more than what appeared to them as a debt. When it comes to the fi eld of justice, unfortunately, as last year, there is a practice of poor communication between the state administration and the administrative judiciary, which is detrimental to ef- fective justice, so citizens are still forced to wait for years to achieve their rights. The new Law on Social Protection, instead of promoting the rights of a certain category of citizens, on the contrary, additionally worsened their position, so due to the inactive work of the centres for social work regarding the transferring/ harmonization of social protection rights many of them were left without protection from higher instances, and thus without social as- sistance even though it is their only source of income. The measles epidemic for many unvaccinated children has closed their doors to kinder- gartens, but even after the epidemic ended, about 200 children were left out of the educational process, being happy in vain on the fi rst day of school. The Ombudsman appealed that a solu- tion must be found to this situation, but none of the competent ministries showed any interest in it, which seriously questions the right to education and respect for the principle of the best interests of the child. Thirty years have passed since the adoption of the Convention guaranteeing the rights and duties of children, which are still being violated. Concerns have been raised about peer violence, which has sparked a red alert for swift and eff ective action to combat it. Inclusive- ness as a basis for involving all children in the regular educational process from the beginning of the school year showed the weaknesses, which indicates that this process requires good and complete preparation, and not just adoption of a new law. Complaints in the health sector are on the rise, and the problems remain the same. Illegal collection of fees for gynaecological examinations, the lack of action of the Medical Chamber when it comes to examining cases referring to complaints about the work of doctors, as well as the length of proceedings before the Health Insurance Fund, when citizens should be reim- bursed. Discrimination, on all grounds, but especially the mobbing, is still present in society, and employment rights have been violated, especially in the Ministry of Interior, where com- plaints from citizens about illegal redistributions are noted. There are no changes in the area of property and legal relations, where denationaliza- tion remains a “never-ending story”, and the presidential election reaffi rmed the need for substantial changes to the Electoral Code, so that all citizens have the right to vote. Last year, the Ombudsman began implementing the new mandates-mechanism for ci- vilian control, monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the National Rapporteur on Traffi cking in Human Beings and Illegal Migration. In the forthcoming period, these new mandates are expected to give rise to signifi cant results in these areas, control of the work of the police and prison police, an issue for which there was almost no report of the European Commission in which the country was not strongly criticized for not punishing these persons, consistent observance and implemen- tation of the Convention, so that persons with disabilities will be able to actively participate in all fl ows of society and will be able to exercise their rights, as well as increase the protection of those who due to various reasons became traffi cking victims. I hope that these pages will be a good material for the adoption of specifi c measures by the MPs, and that those who will be addressed will take them into consideration and will implement them with utmost seriousness. OMBUDSMAN Ixhet Memeti DEGREE OF REALIZATION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS IN SEPARATE AREAS НАРОДЕН ПРАВОБРАНИТЕЛ ANNUAL REPORT 2019 FROM THE WORK IN 2019 EVERY CHILD HAS THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION, BUT DESPITE THAT 200 CHILDREN REMAINED UNREGISTERED AT SCHOOL During the entire reporting period, the Ombudsman continuously monitored the situation with the declared epidemic of measles in the country, as well as the enrolment of children in primary education, wherefore in the meantime the parents submitted a number of complaints. Pointing out to the competent Ministry that the right to education should not be neglected as a fundamental right of every child, the Ombudsman with special information sent to the Gov- ernment requested that this issue be considered at a higher level, with all children left out of kindergartens and from the schools, to be individually checked by a multidisciplinary team, and consequently to fi nd ways and mechanisms that will enable the realization of the right to health, but also the right to education of each child. The Ombudsman also recommended taking measures to fully and comprehensively inform parents about the importance of immunization, its eff ects, emphasizing that it is especially im- portant to remove doubts about the quality and safety of vaccines. In this context, pointing out that it is not in the best interest of the child to make the right to education conditional, the Ombudsman reminded that the commitment of all bodies and in- stitutions, including parents, should be to protect children and their health and life, and to en- able unprevented education of each child, which is why he recommended fi nding a constructive solution that will overcome all misunderstandings and will be guided by the