MINELRES: Macedonia: Roma Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Issues

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Original sender: European Roma Rights Centre <errc@errc.org>


Roma Rights Organisations Provide Input to UN Treaty Body Review on
Concerns in Macedonia

Budapest, Kumanovo, Geneva, 13 November 2006. The United Nations
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today reviews
Macedonia's compliance with the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Political Rights (ICESCR). In advance of today's hearing, the
European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the National Roma Centrum (NRC)
submitted written comments highlighting Roma rights concerns in
Macedonia in areas of relevance to the Covenant.

The ERRC/NRC report highlighted concerns in the following areas:
* The lack of comprehensive and effective legal protections against
discrimination;
* The systematic and determined failure to provide certain categories of
Roma - including refugees and stateless persons - with legal status
guaranteeing fundamental human rights;
* The failure of the Macedonian government to effectively implement
programmes and policies concerning Roma;
* Widespread and chronic unemployment of Roma and discriminatory
practices by employers against Roma;
* Barriers to full enjoyment of state-sponsored health insurance and
social benefits experienced by Roma;
* Substandard housing conditions in which Roma in Macedonia live and
concerns related to forced evictions of Roma from housing;
* The poor health situation of Roma in Macedonia, coupled with
discriminatory treatment by medical practitioners and substandard
treatment;
* The effects of widespread exclusion from education of Romani pupils
and practices of racial segregation and other forms of discrimination in
this area; and
* Concerns related to the ability to use the Romani language in state
institutions.

The partners' concerns were raised within the context of the Macedonian
government's failure to effectively address the issues noted above and
to provide adequate information to the CESCR in this regard. The
partners also include a number of recommendations in the report
submitted in September 2006.

The full text of the ERRC/NRC submission to the UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is available at:
http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=2138.

ERRC/NRC action in Macedonia, including work toward the production of
today's submission, has been supported during 2005 and 2006 by a grant
from the European Commission.

For additional information, please contact the following:
* Tara Bedard (ERRC Projects Manager): tara.bedard@errc.org, +36 1 41 32
246
* Claude Cahn (ERRC Programmes Director): ccahn@errc.org,
+36.20.983.6445
* Asmet Elezovski (NRC President): elezovski@nationalromacentrum.org,
+389.31.427.558
_____________________________________________

The European Roma Rights Centre is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Centre, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Centre
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary
Tel: +36.1.413.2200
Fax: +36.1.413.2201

_____________________________________________

The National Roma Centrum is a professional Romani non-governmental
organization based in Kumanovo, Macedonia, which represents and
stimulates the active participation and integration of Romani people on
the principles of the modern multiethnic European society. Its
activities focus on human rights, lobbying, education and employment.

National Roma Centrum
Dove Bozinov 11/5
1300 Kumanovo
Macedonia
Tel/Fax:
+389.31.427.558

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