The Network for Protection against Discrimination within the project “Joint Action for Promotion of Equality and Social Justice of Marginalized Communities” and financially supported by the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia, prepared a Report on monitoring the implementation of the Law on Social Protection regarding social services in the period June 2019 – June 2021.
Providing quality social services is of particular importance for alleviating poverty and promoting the independent and decent living of citizens. The Republic of North Macedonia is a welfare state, in which social justice is raised to the level of a fundamental value of the constitutional order, and all citizens are guaranteed equality in freedoms and rights before the Constitution and laws. The welfare state corrects inequality, protects those categories of citizens who are in a difficult financial situation and promotes social justice.
In 2019, with the adoption of the new Law on Social Protection, a legal basis was provided for the establishment of new services that will help individual groups to be more easily informed, integrated, resocialized and in general, to function more simply in the community in which they live. The primary responsibility for providing social services lies with the centers for social work, but in this process, the opportunity is given to involve the local self-government, citizens’ associations, individuals and the private sector in the provision of services in the community.
Social protection is an area that requires constant adaptation, both to the needs of users and to the real possibilities of the system and the state for the implementation of policies.
This report assesses the functionality of the existing social protection services, with reference to the implementation of the existing Law on Social Protection and the functionality of the centers for social work and other social service providers. The report focuses on three target groups, namely Roma, women victims of violence and people with disabilities, precisely because of their specific position in society. Due to the specific position of these groups in society, they face discrimination and the inability to integrate into society on a daily basis and are largely dependent on social transfers.
You can download the report at the following link.
Below are presented the key findings, conclusions and recommendations through infographics.
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1 March 2022