Positive action (article 5 Directive 2000/43, article 7 Directive 2000/78)

• Author: Biljana Kotevska
• Pages: 52-53

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5 POSITIVE ACTION (Article 5 Directive 2000/43, Article 7 Directive 2000/78)

a) Scope for positive action measures

In North Macedonia, positive action is permitted in national law in res pect of all grounds

protected by law, including all grounds contained in the directives. In addition, the national

legal and policy frameworks envisage specific positive actions. Am ong these, the main

emphasis is placed on positive action with respe ct to ethnic origin, disability and age. The

positive action measures currently in force do not target religion or belief or sexual

orientation. Although beyond the scope of this report, it is also worth noting that there are

public policies on positive action pertaining to gender equality.

Article 7 of the Anti-Discrimination Law, entitled ‘Measures an d actions which are not

discrimination’ includes positive action measures. Its first two paragraphs include the

following:

‘Measures an d actions taken for the sole purpose o f eliminating any unequal

enjoyment of h uman rights and freedoms until equality in fact is achieved for

all persons and gr oups shall not b e deemed discrimination, p rovided that the

distinction is justified and objective and the means for the achievement of the

objective are proportionate, that is adequate and necessary.’ гpara.мд

‘The measures and actions referred to in parag raph гмд of this Article shall be

of limited time duration and applicable until equality in fact is achi eved for

persons or a group in terms of the enjoyment of their rights.’ гpara.нд

Ethnic origin seems to be the dominant ground for un dertaking positive action and has its

basis in the 2001 amendments to the Constitution, which were tailored according to the

Ohrid Framework Agreement (a political agreement ending the 2001 conflict).

Several institutions are tasked with ensuring the proper implementation of these measures,

the main ones being the Secretariat for Implementation of the Ohrid Framework

Agreement, the Committee for Inter -Community Relations and the Agency fo r Realisation

of the Rights of the Communities. The Committee for Inter-Community Relations considers

issues of inter-community relations in the Repu blic and makes appraisals and proposals

for their resolution. It can also propose positive action measures t o Parliament, which

decides in plenary on such matters. Parliament is obliged to take int o consideration the

appraisals and proposals of the committee and to make decisions regarding them. In the

event of a dispute among Members of Parliament regarding the application of the voting

procedure specified in Article 69(2), the committee will decid e by majority vote whether

the procedure applies. The Committee for Inter-Community Relations consists of seven

members from each of the ranks of ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians within the

Parliament, and five members from among the ethnic Turks, Serbs, Vlachs, Roma and

Bosniaks. The members of the Committee are elected by the Parliament.

On disability, the main instrument for positive action measures rela ted to people with

disabilities is the Law on Empl oyment of People with Disabilities.224 Its main goals are the

integration of people with disabilities in the working environment and their safety in the

workplace.225 A new draft law was initiated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

almost four y ears ago, but it has still not entered parliamentary proce dure, although th e

224 Law on Employment of Persons with Disabilities, 2000, Article 2.

225 In relation to the implementation of this law, in a 2017 statement, the director of the State Agency for

Employment said that, from the start of the implementation of this law until the end of 2016, almost EUR 34

million (MKD 2 088 660 трпд was spent on the ‘employment of persons with disabilitiesз adaptations of

workplaces, purchase of equipment, training of persons with disabilities as well as construction and

expansion of working space.’ Source: Ministry of Labour and Social Policy – news archive (in Macedonian

language only), http://www.mtsp.gov.mk/fevruari-2017-ns_article-zapocnuva-proektot-centar-za-

vrabotuvanje-na-lica-so-hendikep.nspx.