CERD/C/MKD/CO/7
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(c) Ensuring, to the extent possible, adequate opportunities for
Roma children to receive instruction in their native language;
(d) Ensuring that Roma children have access to Macedonian
language classes in order to prepare them for entry into the school
system;
(e) Organizing special training for teachers to increase their
knowledge of Roma culture and traditions and to raise their sensitivity
to the needs of Roma children;
(f) Facilitating the recruitment of Roma teachers.
19. The Committee notes with concern that criminal law provisions punishing acts of racial
discrimination, such as Articles 137, 138, 319 and 417 of the Criminal Code, are seldom invoked
in national courts, allegedly due to a general lack of knowledge of these provisions and lack of
confidence in the justice system (arts. 4 (a) and 6 of the Convention).
Drawing the attention of the State party to its general recommendation
No. 31 (2005) on the prevention of racial discrimination in the
administration and functioning of the criminal justice system, the
Committee recommends that the State party ensure the effective
implementation of criminal law provisions punishing acts of racial
discrimination, in particular by providing specific training for those
working within the criminal justice system – police officers, lawyers,
prosecutors and judges – in order to increase their awareness of the
relevant provisions of the Criminal Code (such as Articles 137, 138, 319
and 417), as well as about the Convention. The Committee also
recommends that the State party undertake information campaigns to
raise awareness among the public of the mechanisms and procedures
provided for in national legislation in the field of racism and
discrimination.
20. The Committee strongly recommends that the State party ratify the amendments
to article 8, paragraph 6, of the Convention, adopted on 15 January 1992 at the
fourteenth meeting of States parties to the Convention and endorsed by the General Assembly in
resolution 47/111. In this regard, the Committee refers to resolution 59/176 of 20 December
2004, in which the General Assembly strongly urged States parties to accelerate their domestic
ratification procedures with regard to the amendment, and to notify the Secretary-General
expeditiously in writing of their agreement to the amendment.
21. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account the relevant parts of the
Durban Declaration and Programme of Action when implementing the Convention in the
domestic legal order, in particular in respect of articles 2 to 7 of the Convention, and that it
include in its next periodic report specific information on action plans or other measures taken to
implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the national level.
22. The Committee recommends that the State party’s reports be made readily available to the
public at the time of their submission, and that the observations of the Committee with respect to
these reports be similarly publicized.