CRC/C/15/Add.140 page 4 2. General principles Best interests and consideration of views of the child 17. The Committee notes that the Constitution of Slovakia and other legislation provide adequate protection for the child and his or her family, which ensures the child’s well-being. However, the concept of the best interests of the child and consideration for the views of the child are not explicitly included in legislative and administrative measures. While welcoming initiatives like the Children’s Parliament, the Committee is concerned that respect for the views of the child remains limited owing to traditional societal attitudes towards children in schools, care institutions, the courts and, especially, within the family. 18. The Committee recommends that the State party review its legislation and administrative measures to ensure that articles 3 and 12 of the Convention are duly reflected therein. The Committee encourages the State party to promote and facilitate within the family, the school, care institutions and the courts respect for the views of children and their participation in all matters affecting them. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the State party develop skills-training programmes, in community settings, for teachers, social workers and local officials, in assisting children to make and express their informed decisions and to have these views taken into consideration. Non-discrimination 19. The Committee notes the guarantees of equality and non-discrimination in article 12 of the Constitution and in the 1990 Charter of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, and the provisions of the Penal Code concerning racism. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the Government’s Plenipotentiary for Addressing Roma Minority Issues and the approval by the State of the 1999 Strategy for the Solution of the Problems of the Roma National Minority and the Set of Measures for its Implementation. In spite of continuing efforts by the State, the Committee is concerned that children belonging to the Roma minority experience de facto discrimination vis-à-vis several provisions of the Convention, particularly the right to the highest attainable health (art. 24), the right to an adequate standard of living (art. 27) and the right to education (art. 28). 20. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure that all children within its jurisdiction enjoy all the rights set out in the Convention without discrimination, in accordance with article 2. The Committee endorses the recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its concluding observations (CERD/C/57/CRP.3/Add.4), and its general recommendation XXVII on discrimination against Roma, and recommends that the State party implement them. The Committee requests information on the progress of the implementation of the 1999 Strategy in its subsequent reports. 21. The Committee is concerned that the right of the child to be protected from discrimination by all appropriate measures is not implemented in conformity with article 2 of the Convention as the State party has not taken affirmative actions for the benefit of certain