Presentation of the Alternative Report of the Non-Governmental Organizations on the State of Children’s Rights in Macedonia

Presentation of the Alternative Report of the Non-Governmental Organizations on the State of Children’s Rights in Macedonia

Skopje, December 9, 2020 – Ahead of marking the International Human Rights Day on December 10, the First Children's Embassy Megjashi presented Alternative Report of the Non-Governmental Organizations on the State of Children’s Rights in Macedonia.

The preparation of the report was led by the Children's Embassy Megjashi, while more than thirty organizations and informal civic groups contributed, most of which are members of the Macedonian National Coalition for the Rights of the Child.

The report was submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, within the periodic reporting cycle on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the country. It provides a detailed analysis of a wide range of issues related to children's rights of the last ten years, structured in eight topics: general measures of implementation, general principles, civil rights and freedoms, violence against children, family environment and alternative care, disability, general health and well-being, education, rest and cultural activities and special protection measures.

The report points to a number of issues in these areas, including:

General measures for implementation

-       Lack of strategic documents for protection and promotion of children's rights at national and local level, and a coordinating body to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

-       Poor law enforcement and limited financial, human and technical resources as major obstacles to the full realization of children's rights.

General principles

-       Frequent cases of inaction in accordance with the best interest of the child by the institutions, and especially the centers for social work.

-       Existence of discrimination of children on the basis of age, gender and financial status of their family, segregation of Roma students, exclusion of children from socially disadvantaged families from the educational process during the Covid-19 pandemic and numerous obstacles faced by children with disabilities in accessing educational, health and other services. Access to school buildings, interiors and appropriate teaching aids are not provided to a satisfactory extent. Professional teams are incomplete in many schools and kindergartens, and teachers do not have the appropriate knowledge and skills to work with disabled students.

Civil rights and freedoms

-       There are still children who are not registered in the birth register, most of whom are Roma, but their exact number is unknown.

-       The state has not taken measures to eliminate the practice of secret adoption, which is not in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

-       The form of association of high school students and their participation in decision-making of collective interest are not legally regulated. Children do not fully enjoy their right to peaceful assembly, some of the high school students participating in protests in the past faced threats from school authorities, as well as attempts at party labeling in the general public.  

-       Violation of the privacy of children in cyberspace is an increasingly relevant problem, especially the misuse of personal data of children on social networks.

Violence against children

-       Ten percent of children were victims of violence, while more than 20% know a peer who has been a victim of violence. Children often cite examples of peer violence/bullying in schools. There is still a high rate of violent discipline in homes.

-       Megjashi's SOS Telephone for Children and Youth is not financially supported by either the state or the telecommunications operators, which is a major obstacle to providing a free 24-hour helpline and a six-digit number in accordance with European practices and the Committee's 2010 recommendations.

Family environment and alternative care

-       The violation of the right of the child to have personal and direct contacts with the parent with whom he / she does not live is the most common reason for the complaints to the Ombudsman, as well as for the calls on Megjashi’s SOS Telephone for Children and Youth in the past years.

-       An effective system has not been set up to provide child support by a parent who has not been given custody of a child after divorce. There are numerous cases where a solvent parent fails to pay the specified monthly financial support.

General health and well-being

-       There is a serious concern about the low human capacity in the health sector, especially the reduced number of pediatricians and inadequate provision of doctors in the field of health care for school children and youth. The children cite numerous cases where their peers have not received adequate medical care, especially since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

-       Caring for children's mental health is not a public health priority, and is below the level of physical health care. Mental health services for children and young people and their quality have been significantly reduced, and there is no adequate plan for their development.

-       Air pollution in urban areas is continuously above European standards and is an alarming problem. Enormous air pollution in the winter is a problem for 2/3 of the children, who point out that it affects their physical and mental health, restricts their daily functioning and forces them to stay in their homes.

-       Every third child in the country lives in poverty. The monetary value of social benefits is too low, while the existing social care and support services are underdeveloped and do not provide an adequate standard of living for children.

Education

-       Despite the trend of increasing the coverage of children with preschool education, it is at an unsatisfactory level.

-       Access to education is a particular challenge for Roma children, also children who have not received the necessary vaccines remain outside the education system, for which no adequate solution has been found.

-       The Covid-19 pandemic significantly hampered the educational process, not all students were able to attend online classes (due to lack of technical devices and internet) and receive the same level of support at home.

-       The past educational reforms usually took place without consulting the main stakeholders (teachers, children and parents), due to which they did not fully achieve the set goals. Students' competencies in reading, math and science are below the international average.

Special protection measures

-       There is no precise record of the number of street children / street children, most of whom are Roma. Street work is the most common form of child labor abuse and is rarely sanctioned. There is no systemic response from the state for adequate protection and support of this group of children and their families.

-       The state does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. There are several negative practices in the existing system.

-       Numerous challenges remain in the justice system for children, such as non-fulfillment of the legal obligation to establish councils for prevention of juvenile delinquency in the lowest part of the municipalities, non-application of forms of restorative justice by courts and public prosecutor's offices, lack of provision of State Council for Prevention of Child Delinquency with appropriate spatial, material and technical and administrative working conditions. Measures of prevention, institutional and non-institutional treatment remain below international standards.

The full report can be accessed through this link:

https://childrensembassy.org.mk/content/pdf/Megjashi%20State%20of%20Childrens%20Rights%20NGO%202020.pdf