COVID-19 disrupted nearly all aspects of social life and had an especially negative impact on the freedoms and rights of citizens, Ombudsman Naser Ziberi said on Wednesday during the presentation of the Fundamental Rights Report 2021 by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, organized by the European Policy Institute (EPI).
According to him, the pandemic affected most the vulnerable categories of citizens, such as children, people with disabilities, social risk groups and the Roma population.
“Research shows that domestic abuse increased during the state of emergency, curfew, etc.,” Ziberi told the event.
He underlined that the past year taught the Ombudsman’s Office and other stakeholders what steps should be taken in the future.
“Our recommendations in the annual report focus on improving the quality of protection and promotion of human rights and freedoms, in light of defects related to vulnerable categories, domestic abuse, prison conditions and other aspects that require special attention from the Ombudsman’s Office,” Ziber added.
Public health protection measures, he stressed, disrupted the regular activities of institutions – many of them were closed or had reduced working hours, access to justice was limited, as were institutions’ capacities so they couldn’t respond to citizens’ needs.
Moreover, the Ombudsman had registered a series of weaknesses at institutions in charge of taking measures aimed at raising the quality of protection.
Justice Minister Bojan Marichikj also addressed the event, stressing the government’s interest in human rights.
“The government pays attention to every report that registers progress, but also to those that point out the weaknesses in our human rights protection and promotion system, whether it’s a report of the European Commission, international NGOs, the State Department or the Ombudsman’s Office,” Marichikj said.
According to the Minister, the government takes all these reports seriously and makes decisions based on them.
“In that regard, in the past four years, and especially in the past ten months, we’ve been working on promoting and improving human rights in all areas, including eliminating all forms of discrimination, protecting marginalized groups, implementing the Istanbul Convention and enhancing human rights’ protection through legal instruments and the Criminal Code,” Minister Marichikj noted.
EPI head Simonida Kacarska said that Wednesday’s event will focus on discussing with the Justice Ministry and the Ombudsman the report’s key findings and ways to improve policies in different areas in the upcoming period.
“The report’s key findings focus on the pandemic year, which was an especially tough year for human rights. It uncovered major weaknesses in human rights protection systems in Europe and North Macedonia. This report holds EU member states and candidate countries to the same standard and represents a foundation for the European Commission’s progress report for North Macedonia, set to be published in the fall,” Kacarska underlined.
Moreover, she recommended strengthening national human rights institutions, including the Ombudsman’s Office and finalizing the lineup of the new anti-discrimination committee, as these will play a key role in building a more resilient society, focused on human rights protection.
