Tuesday, 23 February 2010, Standing Inquiry Committee for Protection of Civil Freedoms and Rights
Public Debate on the Law on Prevention and Protection from Discrimination
Realizing the importance and the need for adoption of legislation against discrimination, on 22 February 2010 the Standing Inquiry Committee for Protection of Civil Freedoms and Rights organised a public debate on the Draft-law on Prevention and Protection from Discrimination.
Having in mind the opinions, recommendation and discussions of the participants in the debate, the Standing Inquiry Committee for Protection of Civil Freedoms and Rights adopted the following recommendations:
1. The Standing Inquiry Committee for Protection of Civil Freedoms and Rights supports the necessity for urgent adoption of a Law on Protection from Discrimination, in accordance with the European Council Directives 2000/43/ЕC and 2000/78/ЕC on implementation of the principle of equal treatment of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia on all ground, in accordance with the recommendations from the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, ODIHR, and the concluding remarks of the specialised bodies of the UN, the international standards and the European legislation, a Law that will provide efficient protection from all forms of discrimination guaranteed with the Constitution, the laws and the international agreements ratified by the Republic of Macedonia;
2. Based on the expressed points of view, opinions and the discussions of the experts on human rights, representatives from the EU member-states, representatives from the civil sector and the scientific community, the Committee considers that the Government of the Republic of Macedonia should withdraw this Draft-law and submit a harmonized version of the text to the Members of Parliament in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, because of the fact that the current Draft-law cannot be improved with amendments;
3. In accordance with the Paris Principles, as the fundamental international standards for the national institutions responsible for the field of human rights, the Committee emphasized the need for establishing the institutional framework for the Committee for Equality that will guarantee its full independence from the government institutions in its establishment, competences, financing and administrative and technical support.