Jovana Trencevska of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies took part in the panel discussion “Discrimination and employment in the public and private sector” organized by CIVIL as part of the “Europe is our home” project, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Federal Republic of Germany, with her speech about the Law on Prevention and Protection Against Discrimination.
Trencevska: Thank you for the invitation to be a part of this discussion, which covers a very sensitive issue, and that being the issue of discrimination, and as a representative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, for creating policies of equal opportunities and non – discrimination, I would like to reflect on what is included in the Law on Prevention Against Discrimination. We know that in the past, the decision of the Constitutional Court to abolish the Law on Prevention and Protection Against Discrimination caused fierce reactions, and even emotions, not only among professionals and activists dealing with this issue, but also among citizens, as the issue this law addresses is reflected quite a bit in the everyday lives of the citizens, and in exercising, and in the approach to realizing the fundamental human rights and freedoms.
From that aspect, I would like to say that we live in a time in which the main option and direction should be towards building a social, democratic, fair and contemporary state, society, in which respect for human rights, equality, and non-discrimination should be a fundamental value. Starting from there, at this moment, we do not have a complete legal regulation in the country that would be dedicated to discrimination and equal opportunities, and that is why with the program of the government to 2024, one of the top priorities is precisely the adoption of the Law for prevention and protection against discrimination.
That priority has already been realized and at one of the first sessions of the government, the draft text of the Law on Prevention and Protection Against Discrimination has been reviewed and is already in parliamentary procedure. The Committee on European Affairs has been scheduled for October 5 where the text for the draft law will be reviewed, and already the next day, October 6, is the first reading at the Parliament session. Why is it important to have this law and what does it regulate also in regards to the issue of this debate which we are attending today. The Law on Prevention and Protection Against Discrimination includes all European and international instruments and standards in relation to respect for human rights and freedoms, that is, in regards to equality and non – discrimination.
The draft law was positively assessed by the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe and the European Commission, and also that it is a contemporary European law, and that gives me the right to say that with its adoption by Parliament, we really will have an improved, effective protection against discrimination on any ground, which is included in the provisions of the law. The law will be applied in both the private and public sphere, and areas in which there must be no discrimination are explicitly listed in the provisions of the law, among which, one of the listed is precisely work and labor relations. What will not be considered as discrimination, that is, popularly known exception to discrimination, or measures that are not considered as so are also explicitly stated, what in the public and private sector as a measure, as a law, as a rule, will be enacted but not considered as discrimination. This is that positive discrimination, actions that will not be considered as discrimination taken for the sole purpose – eliminating unequal human rights and freedoms, as long as an effective, namely, factual equality of a person or group is not achieved, if the difference is justified and objective and if the means for achieving that purpose are proportional, or appropriate and necessary. Such is the different treatment of persons who are not citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia, in relation to enjoyment of rights and freedoms determined by the Constitution of the RNM and the laws, and in all international conventions and agreements that the Parliament has ratified, and which indirectly result from citizenship of RNM.
Furthermore, a measure that will not be considered discrimination is the different treatment of a person or some of the fundamentals that are included in the law, due to the nature of the occupation or activity, or due to the conditions in which that occupation is carried out, and which is an essentially decisive request. In that case, the purpose needs to be legitimate, and for the condition not to exceed the necessary level of its realization. Those are the measures that are part of the law, and part of the measures that refer to the quotas for equal representation of women and men that are incorporated in the Electoral Code. It is that measure that would not constitute discrimination, and also in order for us to be able to introduce those measures. They are temporary measures, until a historical injustice is inflicted, such as the example with women and men in the Electoral Code, until equal representation is achieved. That means they have limited duration, and once that equal representation is established, the measures should be cancelled, otherwise they would be discrimination.
In terms of the lack of documents for personal identification and the inexistence of citizens from the Roma ethnic community in the system (phantoms), Trencevska explained the procedure they have undertaken with the support of the civil sector for their identification.
In regards to the Roma, which you mentioned, namely those who had no names and last names, or popularly called “phantoms”, were identified with the help of the civil sector, there were several announcements in the ministry of MLSP, but also in the registry office, calls for these people to call and for us to determine their number. We arrived to a certain number of people who have no identification documents and that is why they do not figure in the system. The law was amended, and these persons will be issued temporary ID cards, so that they can realize their rights to social and health care and labor relations.
Currently, rulebooks are being developed, according to which these ID cards will be issued, to translate the law into secondary acts. I would like to add that very soon people will be able to realize their basic rights in the area of health care, social protection, and we will be able to include them in social protection, in a guaranteed minimum income if they are unemployed, and certainly they are unemployed, and for us to be able through GMP to include them in the labor market so that they can realize their basic, existential needs, stated Trencevska.
Text editing: Diana Tahiri
Camera: Atanas Petrovski
Editing: Arian Mehmeti
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
