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the list of issues(E/C.12/Q/BUL/1) to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the third periodic report of BULGARIA concerning the rights referred to in articles 1-15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/1994/104/Add.16)
Introduction
1.Since the submission of the Third periodic report of the Republic of Bulgaria under article 16 and 17 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, further considerable changes took place in Bulgaria in the political, economic and social spheres. In particular, a number of amendments to the country's legislation were adopted by the National Assembly, which are relevant to the economic, social and cultural rights proclaimed in the International Covenant.
Such changes are inevitable in every society going through a period of transition. Therefore, in addition to its responses concerning the issues identified by the Pre-sessional Working Group, the Bulgarian Government deems it necessary to provide the Committee with information on the most significant of these changes, which are of major importance with regard to the implementation of the rights established in the Covenant.
2.In order to give a more detailed picture of the implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, it would be necessary to provide some updated demographic information about the Republic of Bulgaria.
a. The Structure of the population in accordance with the latest census (1992), based on permanent population is as follows:
Percentage of urban population - 67,2 %
b. Main demographic indicators for the country:
c. GNP (main trends)
d. Social expenditure as a percentage of the consolidated state budget and of GNP:
(National Human Development Report. Bulgaria 1998. The State of Transition of the State. UNDP, Sofia, 1998)
3. The main internal and external factors characterising social development in Bulgaria during the last several years include: introduction of the currency board (1997), an unstable structural strategy, a decline in production, aggravation of the financial situation of enterprises, limited investments requirements, high inflation rate (1996-1997), rapid development of the private sector, a sharp decline in incomes and consumption, enhanced economic differentiation, unfavourable demographic trends, a substantial budget deficit, reduced currency reserves, repayment of the accumulated considerable domestic and foreign debt.
4. The responses that follow reflect Bulgarian legislation and practice as at September 30, 1998.
I. GENERAL FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH THE COVENANT IS IMPLEMENTED
1. Please indicate which of the rights set forth in the Covenant and guaranteed by Bulgaria's 1991 Constitution and legislation (paragraphs 42 to 44 of the core document, HRI/CORE/1/Add.81 and paragraph 32 of the report) can be invoked before the courts and whether there is any relevant case law.
1.1. All the rights, set forth in the Covenant, can be invoked before the courts. By virtue of Art. 5, Paragraph 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the provisions of the Covenant are considered part of the domestic legislation and thus directly applicable.
Furthermore, they supersede any provisions of the relevant domestic legislation stipulating otherwise. The rights proclaimed by the Covenant also represent part of Bulgaria's national legislation because they are incorporated in and guaranteed by the Constitution, the provisions of which apply directly by virtue of its Art.5, Paragraph 2.
They are also regulated in the national legislation. Art. 56 of the Constitution states that "Everyone shall have the right to legal defence whenever his rights or legitimate interests are violated or endangered". According to Art. 117 of the Constitution the rights and legitimate interests of the citizens are safeguarded by the judicial authority. Therefore, all the rights of the citizens, including social, economic and social rights, are subject to legal defence according to the provisions of the Constitution.
1.2. Legal defence of the fundamental rights of the citizens is also provided for under the acting legislation with regard to the specific cases of violation. This is necessary because it is the acting legislation that determines the rules and the conditions with regard to the exercise of the fundamental rights of the citizens, except if they are not of the self-executing category.
The following legal provisions are of particular importance in this regard:
Judicial Power Act
Art. 2, Paragraph 1: "The justice shall safeguard the rights and the legitimate interests of citizens, legal entities and the state".
Art. 9, Paragraph 2: "The citizens ... may contest before the court every administrative act, affecting their rights or legitimate interests, with the exclusion of those explicitly specified by law".
Civil Procedure Code
Art. 2, Paragraph 1: "The courts shall be obliged to consider and decide on every request for defence and assistance received with regard to personal and property rights".
Administrative Procedure Act
Art. 33, Paragraph 1: "The administrative acts may be subject to appeal before the court with regard to their legality".
Paragraph 42 of the Core document is also relevant in this case.
1.3. There are cases in the judicial practice when disputes arise with regard to basic economic, social and cultural rights (most often concerning the right to work, the right to health and safety at work, the right to leave, the right to social security, the right to strike, etc.). They are related to specific violations and the court has always decided the disputes in conformity with the law with due consideration of the specific circumstances of the case.
The concrete rights, specified in paragraph 32 of the report relating to the exercise of the right to work, are subject to legal defence by virtue of Art. 357 in connection with Art. 360 of the Labour Code, which provides that labour disputes (i.e. disputes relating to the establishment, amendments and termination of labour relations between or the employee and the employer) shall be considered by the courts.
There are many cases of such disputes in judicial practice and it is not possible here to provide an exhaustive list of all of them.
Following are several examples: the Decisions of the Supreme Court NN 793-90-III and 1279-95-III concerning the right to leave; No 814-90-III, ÒÐ No 79-65-ÎÑÃÊ, No 54-97-IV concerning the right to remuneration; No 786-91-III, No 2657-94-III concerning the right to safe and healthy working conditions; No 961-91-III, 903-95-III, 1288-95-III, 1570-95-IV concerning protection in cases of dismissal, and numerous others.
2. The Committee would appreciate information on the extent to which the opinions of the human rights non-governmental organisations were taken into account in the preparation of the report, as well as to publicising it among the population.
2.1. The preparation of the Third periodic report of Bulgaria was carried out with the broad participation of non-governmental organisations among which the trade unions and employers' organisations, the Committee on human rights, the Democratic Women's Union, etc. Most active were the representatives of the trade unions and employers' organisations, in particular the Independent Trade Unions Confederation in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bulgarian Economic Chamber, the Union for Economic Initiative of the citizens. Their views and proposals were duly taken into consideration and incorporated in the final report.
2.2. The complete report, which was submitted to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, was also placed at the disposal of these organisations (in Bulgarian language).
2.3. It is envisaged to publicize the report together with the concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights among the population in the appropriate forms.
3. The Committee would be interested to know what the Government's position is towards an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to permit the submission of complaints about violations of the rights enshrined in the Covenant, in conformity with the recommendation adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights.
3. Bulgaria considers the existing international human right control and monitoring machinery as an important element of its national human rights protection system and as an additional guarantee for effective protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. For that reason in the period 1990-1991, Bulgaria withdrew all its reservations and made the required declarations, thus recognizing the competence of the international control mechanisms to review cases of violations of the rights enshrined in the respective international instrument. In this context Bulgaria would in principle consider favourably the adoption of such an Optional Protocol.
II. ISSUES RELATING TO THE GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE COVENANT
(ART.1 - 5)
Article 2. Non-discrimination
4. Although according to paragraphs 6 and 7 of the report, Bulgaria's legislation protects all citizens and prohibits discrimination, in conformity with the provisions of article 2.2. of the Covenant, according to the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD/C/304/Add.29) there is still discrimination in practice against minorities, and in particular against the Roma, in the field of education, at work, in respect of social benefits and in applying for and obtaining deeds to land to which they are entitled under the law disbanding agricultural collectives. In order to complete the information, please provide further details on the effective implementation of the legal norms, and on the measures adopted to put a stop to acts of racist violence by extremists against minority groups, against which neither the police nor prosecutors appear to act with the requisite effectiveness.
4.1. According to the data of the latest population Census in Bulgaria (December, 1992), 85,7% of the then total population of 8,5 million in Bulgaria have identified themselves as ethnic Bulgarians; 9,4 % - as Bulgarian Turks; 3,7 % - as Roma; and 1,3 % - as belonging to other (smaller) ethnic communities (Albanians, Greeks, Jews, etc.). The problems related to the social status, economic situation and employment opportunities with regard to the different ethnic groups, should be viewed in the context of the existing considerable differences in their cultural and educational background. Education is a key element in the system of values of Bulgarians and tends to be considered as a defining factor as far as the social status of the person and the group is concerned. On the other hand, traditionally most Bulgarian Turks and especially Roma, do not put a particular emphasis on obtaining higher education. Therefore, they generally have a lower educational level than for example, Bulgarians, Armenians and Jews. This lower educational level (especially of the Roma) results in a more unfavourable economic and social position for them compared to the rest of the population.
Furthermore, the slow transition to a market economy as well as the consequences of the serious economic crisis, have severely affected certain regions with mixed population. The shortage of investments and delays in the elaboration and implementation of programmes for alternative development of these regions, contribute to their industrial decline. Mass unemployment and the low levels of available social benefits, on which rely most of Bulgarian Roma, place them in unfavourable position.
Housing and living conditions of Roma tend to be below the average for the country. Statistically, an average Roma family consists of 6,9 persons, while the respective figure for the country in general is 2,6 persons. The available living space per capita for the Roma, is 7,1 m2, while the respective figure for the country in general is 16,9 m2. The unfavourable living conditions and often inadequate nutrition and sanitary conditions are among the main factors for the relatively worse state of health of the Roma population.
Regarding specifically the concluding observation of CERD concerning the land issue and the Roma, it should be stressed that the law in question - the Restitution of the Property of Agricultural Lands Act - does not regulate the disbanding of agricultural collectives, but the restitution of property rights to and the use of the cooperated land by its former owners or their inheritors. It does not provide restitution rights for those category of citizens who had never possessed land. In this connection it should be noted, that due to their traditional way of life the Roma did not possess land. Consequently, 93 % of the whole Roma community were left out from this process and did not benefit from the land restitution. However, the law does provide for the possibility of obtaining land for landless persons, if they wish so, but only after the restitution process has been completed and the quantity of the available state and municipal land determined. In view of this, the above cited conclusion of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (para 8) that Roma are subject to discrimination in receiving land "to which they are entitled under the law disbanding agricultural collectives" cannot be accepted.
4.2.In conformity with Art.7 of the National Education Act, primary education in Bulgaria is compulsory for children up to 16 years of age. This law is applicable to all children, regardless of their ethnic origin. The state, the local authorities, the schools and non-governmental organizations consistently promote the right to education for all, including for children belonging to ethnic groups. Awareness-raising, financial assistance and other similar concrete measures are widely implemented to this end. Among these the Project "School for everyone" (Bg 96.05--02), prepared in cooperation with the Phare programme is of considerable importance. (see Paragraph 41 below).
4.3 . As indicated in the report, by virtue of Art. 8, paragraph 3 of the Labour Code, employment discrimination based on "nationality, origin, ..., social or material status shall be prohibited".
It should be recognized that in practice the Roma do face certain difficulties on the labour market. This, however, is due not to their ethnic origin, but rather to their above mentioned low educational and qualification level. In order to deal with this challenges, special programmes have been developed for Roma, aiming at increasing their employment opportunities (see below the analysis of Article 6 b).
4.4. The terms and procedures for granting social benefits are determined in the 1998 Social Assistance Act (promulgated in State Gazette š56, 1998) and the Rules and Regulations for its application.
Art. 3 of this law stipulates that when "granting social assistance, no discrimination, privileges or restrictions shall be allowed on the basis of race, nationality, political or ethnic origin, sex, age, religious belief or social status". The National Social Assistance Service has so far not received any complaint or report of alleged discrimination based on ethnic or other origin with regard payment of social assistance. The granting of social assistance in Bulgaria is based solely on the principle of existing real social need, which is determined according to the criteria, explicitly set in the Social Assistance Act and the Rules and Regulations for its application (property, number of members of family or household, monthly per capita income of the family members, housing conditions, savings etc.). When granting monthly social benefits, the social assistance authorities act under strictly fixed rules and criteria. They have no discretionary power in this field, which makes discrimination of any kind practically impossible. Moreover, since the Roma population constitutes the largest group of beneficiaries of social assistance among the population, the existing general problems (relatively low sums of the benefits, delays with the transfers of social funds form the budget, organisational problems in the municipalities, etc.) affect them most. Consequently, the opinion of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Paragraph 8) that "Roma are facing difficulties in receiving their social assistance" cannot be accepted.
4.5. The Ministry of the Interior does not maintain special statistical data on cases of violations against citizens of Roma or other ethnic origin. In every case of reported violence, including alleged cases of racist violence, the Police intervenes immediately. Moreover, some additional educational and other measures (see paragraph 43) are taken aimed at sensitising police officers to the problems of racist violence. For instance, within the framework of the Programme for cooperation with the London City Police, funded by the Know How Fund, two pilot projects are being implemented, including one focused on the work with minorities in regions with concentrated Roma population. The objective is to achieve an active dialogue and contacts with the Roma population.
4.6. The Prosecutor General does not maintain specific statistical data on crimes committed against citizens belonging to different ethnic groups. Due to the fact that the Prosecutor's Office is part of the independent judiciary power, the Government cannot interfere in its work and can only draw its attention to signals, received from citizens, mass media, or public organisations, etc.
4.7. A number of institutions in Bulgaria are directly or indirectly involved in the protection of the human rights, including also the rights of the Roma ethnic community. Among them are the Constitutional Court, the commissions of the National Assembly: on human rights and religious denominations, on education, science and culture and on social policy. In 1997 the National Council on Ethnic and Demographic Issues with the Council of Ministers was also established in order to provide consultations, cooperation and coordination between the governmental bodies and the non-governmental organisations with the purpose of formulating and conducting the national policy in the field of ethnic and demographic issues and migration. A special working group to this Council on Roma issues was established and is now functioning on a permanent basis. One concrete result of the work of this group was the elaboration IN COOPERATION WITH Roma NGOs of the Framework Programme for Equal Integration of Roma in Bulgarian Society which was recently adopted by the Council of Ministers. The program is aimed at: overcoming the problems of the social integration of Roma population; creating favourable conditions for gradual solution of their housing problems; providing adequate health care for the risk-groups; providing land for those with no land or possessing small parcels of land; providing education and upbringing of children of Roma origin; promoting Roma cultural activities, etc.
Another project - the Programme for Surviving in Development, funded by the Dutch Government, started at the beginning of 1997 in cooperation with the Roma Union for Self-assistance. This Programme includes 8058 persons and aims at combining the public assistance and participation in socially useful activities.
5. Paragraph 8 of the report describes a range of programmes that are of great interest to the Committee, and which, although included in the information relating to article 2, affect the implementation of other articles of the Covenant (article 3 on equal rights of men and women, article 9 - right to social security and article 11 - right to adequate standard of living). Accordingly, the Committee would appreciate as full and as recent information as possible on the results of these programmes.
5.1. The programmes referred to in Paragraph 8 of the report are related to the application of a series of rights confirmed in the Covenant. Some of these programmes are already implemented, while the implementation of others is still under way.
The Programme "Women in development" (BUL-930-001) was started in 1994. It is aimed at perfecting the system of statistics dealing with situation of women. In 1996 started the process of collecting and processing of information on the basis of indicators so far not existing in the methodology of the National Statistical Institute.
5.2. The Programme "Assistance for the transition towards a market economy" (BUL-93-002), started in 1994 will be discussed down bellow together with the additional questions concerning article 6 of the Covenant.
5.3. The programme "Social security reform" (BUL-94-001), started in1994, will be discussed down bellow together with the additional questions concerning article 9 of the Covenant.
5.4. Following the implementation of the programme "National information system for ecological monitoring and control of agricultural lands" (BUL-94-002) an information system for agricultural soil resources has been established. It is maintained by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Agrarian reform on the grounds of art.4, paragraph 2 of the Law on preservation of agricultural lands. The system includes digital map information about 87 % of the total area of agricultural lands and about 727 000 decares of industrially polluted agricultural lands. The information is used for the purposes of land distribution, for planning activities on restoration the ecological functions of the soil, for the development of investment projects, etc.
The Ministry of Environment and Water Resources maintains a network of monitoring check-points for inspection of lands industrially polluted with heavy metals and arsenic in territories close to metallurgical plants. All citizens have access to the information data base. A departmental ecological cadastre is now under preparation.
5.5. The UNDP project Bul-94-003 "Ecological monitoring and control of the pollution of the Maritza river basin" was implemented in March 1996 - October 1998. It was designed to contribute to the sustainable use and development of the natural resources in Maritza river basin in conformity with the social-economic objectives and the ecological requirements. The implementation of this project resulted in the creation of: data base about the situation of water resources and the level of their pollution; electronic registrar of the basic sources of pollution; diagnostic research of the nature, size and sources of pollution of the water resources; guidelines for ecological management of the water resources in the basin of Maritza river and a plan for preservation and management of these resources. The plan of actions which was prepared on the grounds of the project includes a set of legislative, institutional and technical measures for the improvement of the quality of waters and the sustainable development of the water resources in Maritza river basin.
5.6. The course of implementation of the National programme "Food quality control system" (BUL-94-XXX) includes investigations of the problems of nutrition and the nutrition status of the population, specification of different risk-groups and estimation of distribution and extent of health problems relating to nutrition. In May 1997 and in March 1998 were carried out representative national researches on food consumption and nutrition status of Bulgaria's population over 1 year of age, as well as representative investigations on nutrition status and diseases relating to the nutrition of the risk-groups of population - pupils between 7 and 18 years of age, children from Houses for Children and Youth between 7 and 14 years of age, women at generative age between 18 and 45 years. The achieved results provide the grounds for specifying the type of humanitarian assistance in food stuffs and its distribution among certain risk-groups with insufficient nutrition - children and youth, young women and elderly people.
6. The Committee would like to obtain information on the treatment of refugees in respect of employment, social protection, right to housing and right to education.
6.1 The legal status of the refugees in the Republic of Bulgaria is arranged in the Convention on the Status of Refugees (which is part of the home legislation by virtue of article 5, paragraph 4 of the Constitution), Decree on granting and regulating the status of refugees, Decree on the order and conditions of issuing employment permits to foreign citizens in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as in separate branch normative acts. A draft for Refugee Act is being currently prepared.
In conformity with the Convention on the Status of Refugees the state is obliged to grant the refugees with most favourable possible status with regard to the right to work. This is the reason why the persons with refugee status enjoy on the labour market the rights of Bulgarian citizens. On the grounds of article 21, paragraph 2 of the Decree on granting and regulating the status of refugees, the persons who are in the process of arranging their refugee status may be proposed to the National Employment Service for issuance of permits for temporary work, in case the said procedure takes more than 3 months.
The professional qualification must provide the refugees with the possibility to become independent and therefore must correspond to the needs existing on the territory of Bulgaria, where they will reside. A programme for professional qualification and labour realisation of refugees has been developed for this purpose. Courses for professional training of refugees are organised with cooperation and financial assistance of the UNHCR.
6.2. The Law on Social Assistance explicitly recognises the right of the refugees to social benefits under the conditions applicable to Bulgarian citizens, provided their refugee status is recognised and Bulgaria has obligations to this end under international agreements.
6.3. About medical care for refugees, see paragraph 36.3.
6.4. The right to education, in accordance with article 4, paragraph 2 of the Law on National Education and article 4 of the Law on Higher Education, is equally granted to refugees and Bulgarian citizens.
6.5. The housing of refugees is arranged in the special state housing fund pending their accommodation in personal or rented houses.
Article 3. Equal rights of men and women
7. The Committee would like to know whether full equality of treatment between men and women has been achieved regarding the rights contained in articles 6-15 of the Covenant, both in law (Civil Code, Penal Code, Family law, Commercial law, Labour law, etc.) and in practice (traditions or practices detrimental to the dignity and health of women or which hamper their access to employment).
7.1. Bulgarian legislation guarantees the full equality of men and women in all spheres of social relations regulated by law. It is based on the general provision of article 6, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, abolishing discrimination based on sex. This ban is explicitly declared or is implemented without explicit declaration in all legal branches.
There is no Civil Code in Bulgaria. Civil relations are regulated by different normative acts as the Law on property, Contracts and obligation Law, Family Code, etc. The general law covering the legal status of individuals in civil relations is 1949 Law on Persons and Families. This law arranges the civil capacity and capapility of Bulgarian citizens as a whole, regardless of their sex. There is no legal act in any way restricting the rights of women in civil relations.
Regarding in particular the Family law - the equality between men and women is proclaimed to be the main principle of the Family law in article 3 of 1985 Family Code: "Family relations shall be arranged in accordance with the following principles:..... equality between men and women, voluntary matrimony..." The regulation of personal property relations between the spouses, as well as between parents and children is completely subject to this principle. There are no legal differences in the status of women compared to men in family relations. The same is valid for the heritage relations regulated by 1949 Law on heritage. This law explicitly declares that "the children of deceased parents inherit equal parts" (article 5, paragraph 1); that "in case the deceased had no children or other descendants, the parents inherit equal parts" (article 6); that "in case the deceased had only brothers and sisters, they inherit equal parts" (article 8, paragraph 1). Arranging the heritage rights of the surviving spouse, article 2 of the Law on heritage makes no difference in requirements regarding the spouses.
Men and women enjoy full legal equality in the field of education. It is based on the provisions of article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on National Education referred to above in the report, and article 4 of 1996 Law on Higher Education which stipulates that "there shall be no privileges and restrictions relating to ....sex,... in higher education". This fact can be proved by the proportion of men and women at different levels of education:
(Percentage of women from the total number of students)
(The data is provided by the ministry of education and science.)
The main source of the Commercial law of the Republic of Bulgaria is 1991 Commercial Law. Neither this Law nor any other act relating to commercial law include legal provisions restricting the status of women in commercial relaitons.
The equal position of men and women in employment relations is based on the provisions of article 8, paragraph 3 of 1986 Labour Code, referred to in the report, and on article 2 of 1997 Law on protection in case of unemployment and promotion of employment, which stipulates:
"In exercising the rights and obligations under this law no restrictions or privileges shall be allowed, based on ... sex, ...".
Article 307 of the Labour Code prohibits jobs which are physically hard and hazardous to women's, particularly mother's health. This prohibition is based on ILO Convention No 3 and is related with the biological function of women and anatomic - physiological peculiarities of their body system. The list of such activities is comprehensive and is included into Ordinance No 7 of 1987 concerning hazardous and physically hard jobs prohibited for women. In addition, in Chapter XV, section II and in some other provisions of the Labour Code a range of special rights are envisaged for women - employees - relevant to their potential or actual status of mothers, aiming to provide conditions also for factual equality with men. These rights are discussed in different paragraphs of the report (regarding different labour rights). The reflection of the legal arrangements overt the women's employment can be proved by data about the right to work.
The 1968 Penal Code of the Republic of Bulgaria regulates the legal regime of crimes and punishments disregarding the sex of the citizens, excluding naturally the hypotheses when corpus deliciti contains this indication - for instance abducting a person of a female sex for the purpose of forcing her to enter into marriage (article 177, paragraph 2), receiving a consideration to force a daughter or a relative to conclude a marriage (article 178), etc.
In general, it is a tradition for Bulgarian legislation after World War II to treat absolutely equally men and women. In some legal branches the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex, is explicitly declared, while in others it is conducted although without existence of a general provision in principle about the equality of rights and obligations.
7.2. Despite already mentioned and other traditionally good legislative decisions, the problem of factual equality between the sexes in Bulgaria, has not been resolved to the required extent - mainly because of the traditional cares women take for the family, for example the upbringing the children, etc. The state policy for reducing the inequality, including between men and women, is presented in the National programme for social development, adopted in pursuance of the Declaration and the Programme of action for social development by the Copenhagen Summit. The programme envisages measures for reducing poverty, achieving higher employment and lower unemployment and for social integration and re-integration of the groups in unequal position. This programme attaches a special attention to women.
8. Please describe the evolution in the status of women as regards their holding positions of responsibility in the public and private sectors and provide statistical data covering the last five years.
8.1. Traditionally, Bulgarian women have good access to leading positions, although the actual state of affairs is far from their real capacity. The presence of women is especially tangible at leadership posts in the field of education, health and, to some extent - in the field of science.
8.2. The methodology, used so far by the National Statistical Institute does not include information about women on leadership posts. In accordance with the UN Programme for Development for 1996 (it was then that for the first time this statistical indication was introduced in Bulgaria) women in Bulgaria represented 51.1 % of the population. The level of literacy among women is 97,7% according to the last Census of the population. The percentage of the economically active women is 47,2 % from the total number of the economically active population. Women's representation in the Parliament is 13,3 %; about 28,9 % of the administrative and leadership posts are occupied by women, as well as 57 % of the professional and technical posts and 28,1 % of the administrators and managers.
8.3. The position of women occupying leadership posts in public administration is:
a) Members of Parliament
b) persons, occupied in regional administrations
c) municipal counsellors
d) persons, occupied in municipal administrations
(This information is the last available in the National Statistical Institute, and for this reason no information can be provided for the last two years).
III. ISSUES RELATING TO SPECIFIC RIGHTS RECOGNIZED IN THE COVENANT
(ART. 6 - 15)
Article 6: Right to work
9. Paragraph 12 of the report describes some of the features of unemployment in 1993. The Committee would appreciate fuller and more up-to-date information on trends in unemployment, by sector of the economy, sex and group, since 1993, to supplement the data, provided in paragraphs 13 and 14.
9.1. The situation on the labour market is alarming already from 1993. The relative share of the unemployed registered in the Labour Offices compared to the total number of employed is as follows: 1994 - 12,8%; 1995 - 11,1 %; 1996 - 12,5 % ; 1997 - 13,7 %. Following 1989, the demand for labour force considerably decreased and the general employment reduced. In 1994 - 1996 it slightly increased, and in 1997 started another decline of employment. In the period 1989 - 1997 the employment was totally reduced by 26,7 %. The number of people engaged in the public sector reduced by 63,3%, and in the private sector - increased over 7 times. According to the data provided by the National Labour Employment Office, the rate of employment was 45,3% in June 1998. The level of unemployment compared to the active population increased from 1,7 % in 1989 to 16,4 % in 1993 and then reduced up to 10,7 % on 30 September 1998.
9.2. This period is characterized by the next general structural characteristics:
a) high level of youth unemployment. The share of the unemployed young people from 16 to 30 years of age in 1991-1994 was between 45 % and 41 %. After this period the share of the unemployed young people up to 24 years of age reduced as it can be seen from the statistical data of the National Statistical Institute (04-01-85 20.11.1998):
b) according to the information in p."a", provided by the National Statistical Institute, the unemployed women preserve their prevailing share in the total number of the unemployed, although there is a tendency for reducing.
c) The unemployed with no professional qualification and with lower level of education are increasing on the account of those who have worker's professions and the specialists:
(Thousands)
d) The number of employed in industrial sector is reducing. According to the information of the National Labour Employment Agency the situation is the following:
(in %)
e) In regional terms there is a stable tendency proving that the unemployment is the lowest in the capital and the highest in the regions of Montana, Rousse and Plovdiv. According the data of the National Labour Employment Office this tendency can be illustrated as follows:
Structure of unemployed persons and job vacancies by regions
(The calculated structure is based on the average monthly number of unemployed and the job vacancies available by years)
The total number of employed persons in the towns at the end of 1995 was 2 248,6, and at the end of 1996 - 2 306,1; in the villages correspondingly - 782,9 and 779,3;
f) The changes in the general structure of employment of the population is characterized by two process taking place simultaneously - reduction of the employment in the public sector and its non-satisfactory rate of growth in the private sector. In 1996, the persons engaged in the private sector increased in number by 3,4 %, and in the public sector - reduced by 2,5 % compared to the previous year; 42 % of the employed worked in the private sector. It is more attractive for the young people - almost half of the employed at the age between 15 and 24 years work in this sector. The employed in the most active age between 35 and 54 years prefer the state sector. In 1996, 72,9% of this age-group worked in this sector. The development of the employment in the private and public sector can be presented as follows:
(Percentage)
g. The relative percentage of long-term unemployed is relatively high.
Structure of unemployed, registered at Labour Offices according to term of unemployment
(thousands - percent)
9.3. The Unemployment Protection and Employment Promotion Law /UPEPL/
(promulgated in the State Gazette, issue 120, 1997), was adopted during this period. It is expected that the normative basis of regulating the labour market relations, enhanced by the Law, will contribute to the improvement of the practices aiming at curbing unemployment. With the Law, the National Employment Office /NEO/, , was transformed into a legal entity. NEO also manages the Training and Unemployment Fund, which is independent from the state budget and ensures the financing of labour market activities.
10. Please update the information contained in subparagraph 12 /f/ on "unemployed persons having a right to compensation and unemployment allowances", who in 1993 accounted for 36,5 per cent of all the unemployed, and indicate whether any other form of assistance is available to enable those who are not entitles or have not reached the deadlines indicated in paragraph 110 of the report to survive.
10.1. The tendency for the number of unemployed, having a right to unemployment allowances /according to data provided by the NEO (P-292 of 23.11.1998) is as follows:
Unemployed who have received unemployment allowances:
The number of unemployed, entitled to benefits has gone down from 49,7 % in 1991 to 23,3% for the nine months of 1998. The number of unemployed, entitled to pecuniary unemployment assistance has gone down from 9,2% for 1991 to 0,7 % for the nine months of 1998. Over the observed period, the percentage of unemployed without right to unemployment benefits has increased from 43,3% to 76%.
10.2. The persons that are not eligible to either unemployment compensation or long-term unemployment assistance, are entitled to monthly social assistance as a form of public assistance, if their revenues do not surpass the minimum, set forward by the state.
11. To what extent the Government of Bulgaria has taken into account the observations made by the Committee of Experts of ILO on convention No 111 "Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)" in connection with gypsy and Turkish minorities?
11. As it is pointed out in the Report, by virtue of Art. 8, para 3 of the Labour Code, and Art. 2 of the UPEP Law, when realizing one's labour rights and obligations, no allowance is made for restrictions or privileges, based on ethnic belonging. In their general policy so far, neither the Government, nor NEO, have differentiated between Bulgarians and representatives of other ethnic groups with regard to the labour market and labour relations. Nevertheless, certain groups of citizens, for example of Roma or Turkish origin, have been subject to particular attention, due to the grave situation they have found themselves in during the transition towards market economy. A manifestation of this special attention are the programmes, outlined below: "From social care to employment" and the Programme for education, training and employment in the regions of ethnically mixed population" (section 12.2 and 13.2).
12. Please provide up-to-date information on the results of the programmes listed in paragraphs 15 /d/ (temporary employment in the public sector), /e/ (reorganization in the uranium mining sector) and /g/ (employment of persons belonging to ethnic minorities).
12.1. The Programme for temporary employment in mutually profitable activities has been implemented since the end of 1992. It provides temporary employment for up to 5 months in municipal activities such as public works, municipal and household services, etc. According to data of the NEO, employment under this programme has included so far a total of 254 249 unemployed, as follows: 1992 - 98; 1993 - 13, 348; 1994 - 28 316; 1995 - 38 345; 1996 - 54 806; 1997 - 68 610; up to 30.09.1998 - 50 726.
The Programme for providing temporary employment during the winter months has been specialized for persons, belonging to the most vulnerable groups, i.e. eligible to social assistance, long-term unemployed, people who have been transferred to another job, and persons without labour experience. It has been put to practice since 1997 and has so far included 18 431 unemployed. For the winter of 1998/1999 there has been envisaged an opening of 15 000 vacancies for a period of 5 months.
12.2. The Programme for education, training and employment is directed at enhancing the qualifications of the work force, consisting of unemployed without education and skill and originating from ethnically mixed regions, by means of providing them with basic literacy, inclusion in training courses and providing the same with suitable jobs. The programme has been implemented since 1994. Initially, it was carried out in the town of Plovdiv with 128 unemployed. In 1995 it was realized in the town of Pazardjik with 133 participants; in 1997 - in Lom and Sliven municipalities with 175 participants. For 1999, it is envisaged for it to be implemented in 7 municipalities with an expected number of 600 people.
13. Please complete and update the results of the programmes referred to in paragraph 20 of the report (Employment Programme for the Plovdid region, for the towns of Pazardjik, Vidin, Isperikh and Lom, the "From Social Care to Employment" programme, the National Programme for Youth Development, the Programme for Professional Training and Rehabilitation of persons with impaired eyesight, and the system of Professional Orientation and Consultation of Youth and the Elderly in Conditions of Market Economy Transition.
With regard to the Employment Programme for the Plovdid Region and Pazardjik, v. section 12.2.
The "From Social Care to Employment" Programme has been implemented since 1994. Its aim is to facilitate the employment of persons who receive social unemployment assistance. This is performed through evaluating and surmounting the obstacles to employment, cultivating a readiness to work, subsidizing the employment, et. The number of participants is as follows: 1994 - 279; 1995 - 1 321; 1996 - 2 345; 1997 - 4 559; up to 30.09.1998 - 3 055. The Programme is implemented in the Montana, Rouse and Bourgas districts, as well as in the Kazanlak, Petrich, Smolian, Sofia /Iskar and Triaditza/, and Haskovo municipalities. It has not only a social, but also a financial effect, it economizes funds for social payments. Moreover, by virtue of the Programme, conditions are established for the overcoming of the existing psychological barrier in connection with employing risk groups in the labour market.
13.3. The National Programme for Youth Employment was carried out in 1996 and 1997 with the participation of 2 655 unemployed between the age of 16 and 30. It was comprised of the following components:
a. "Training and re-training of young specialists and workers from enterprises, slated for restructuring or closure". This programme is of interest exclusively to enterprises where an implementation of new technologies is forthcoming. In 1996, 30 persons from Varna district were included;
b. "Craft acquisition contract": it provides conditions for young people of primary or even lower education to acquire skills in a particular craft. 32 persons of the Bourgas, Montana and Plovdiv districts have taken part;
c. "Contract for acquisition of specialty through internship". The aim is to provide opportunity for young people with secondary education to acquire skills in a particular profession. In 1996, 32 young people of the previously mentioned category participated;
d. "Professional orientation contract". This measure is directed at adapting to the terms of labour in a particular enterprise by young persons with secondary education and no work experience. In 1996, 184 unemployed young persons from five districts took part;
e. "Additional, practically-focused training". Its objective is expanding the skills of young persons with special secondary education. In 1996, 183 persons from 6 districts were involved;
f. "Starting an independent business training". The aim is acquiring skills related to the organization and management of small enterprises by young people with secondary or higher education. In 1997, 267 young persons were included;
13.4. The Programme for developing a Centre for rehabilitation and professional training of people with impaired vision was set up in 1994 and 1995 in Plovdiv. The main objective was to reconstruct the existing centre of the Association of people with impaired vision, by providing it with the necessary study and technological, in order to lay the foundations for rehabilitation, training and adaptation of people whose vision has been impaired later in life. All this has been accomplished.
13.5. The system for professional orientation of young people and adults has been set up at the NEO in 1994. 8 professional-information centers and 22 "Employment" clubs, as well as a Center for professional development and orientation have been established in the framework of Labour Offices. 365 job characteristics, 100 video films, 90 multimedia products, 2 computer programmes, and a number of brochures, catalogues, reference books, etc. have been issued and are currently in use.
13.6. The "Quick start" programme for professional training, oriented towards employers' demands, aims at ensuring, in the circumstances of a transition towards the market economy, high-level education of unemployed people in order to find occupation in newly established, expanded or restructured enterprises.
14. Please state whether any new programmes have been conducted since the report was written.
14.1. After the issuing of the first version of the report a couple of programmes were developed, e.g.:
a. "Education, training and employment". The aim of this programme is the enhancement of the qualitative characteristics and the competitiveness of illiterate and unskilled unemployed people. It is being put to practice in the Lom and Sliven municipalities;
b. The Programme for professional training of military officers, dismissed from military service has been implemented in 13 labour offices. By 30.09.1998, 1 376 people were trained in specialties, such as: Company management and accounting, Dealing with a personal computer, word processing and electronic tables, etc. The programme will be active until the year 2000. A parallel program is being implemented for Construction army personnel, which is made redundant;
c. The programme for assisting the re-socialization of former prisoners by means of professional training and re- training. Since 1995, 24 professional training courses have been organized in cooperation with the General Prisons Directorate. Since 1997, the programme has been constantly active;
d. Programme for opening additional vacancies and providing temporary employment in forestry enterprises. The main objective is to provide temporary employment for the population of agricultural, mountainous and semi-mountainous areas. It has been implemented in 52 municipalities. In 1996, 588 people used to work under this programme;
e. Programme for providing employment by means of employment associations of unemployed people. These have been realized since 1997 in areas with a particularly high rate of inflation. They provide temporary employment for up to 24 months for persons who have been dismissed by restructures enterprises. The programmes have provided with employment 1568 unemployed in 6 municipalities. At the end of 1998, five new associations for approximately 780 persons from nine
municipalities started functioning;
f. The project for servicing disabled persons at the labour offices. Its aim is to build a high quality potential within the NEO for providing disabled people who have asked for help, with the relevant services. A center for capacity development was set up within the Iskar municipality Labour office in Sofia. Work under this project will continue in 1999;
g. Program for professional training of the deaf-and-dumb. It was realized in 1995 in the town of Stara Zagora. So far 13 people have been trained to protect employment due to production restructuring.
14.2. In addition to these active programmes, new programmes are now in the pipeline, such as:
a. Programme for professional training, professional orientation and employment of young people. It is intended for unemployed with higher education up to 28 years of age, as well as for persons with secondary or lower education and without work experience up to 24 years of age;
b. The programme for professional training and employment of young people with long-lasting work capacity impairment and orphans without work experience up to 28 years of age is now in the process of preparation.
14.3. In addition to the programmes, mentioned above, the NEO has launched additional initiatives for providing employment:
a. With the technical assistance of the World Bank, there have been prepared methodological materials for programme preparation, directed at professional training of disadvantaged groups at the labour market, in particular the young people, the disabled and long-term unemployed;
b. Providing financial incentives for employers when hiring certain categories of unemployed, envisaged by the UPEP Law, are being put to practice. Thus, over the period 1994 - 1998, 2432 young people have been provided with employment, with - during the period 1997 - 1998 - another 618 long-term unemployed and 400 disabled people;
c. A complex of measures for encouraging the starting of small businesses is being implemented. In the period 1992 - 1997, 9716 people started independent economic activity with the financial assistance of the Professional training and unemployment fund.
Article 7 - Right to just and favourable conditions of work.
15. Since Bulgaria has ratified the International labour Organization "Minimum age" Convention No 138, and is party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, please describe the measures taken by the Government to eliminate child labour, and describe the protection provided in the informal sector of the economy in conformity with the recommendations made in the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/15/Add.66).
15.1. Among measures for child labour elimination, undertaken by the Government, we should point out legislative measures in the first place - i.e., the prohibition for persons under the age of 16 to be employed, as well as the special protection for minors, provided in Chapter XV of the Labour Code and described in Sections 145-155 of the report. The adhesion to the legislative norms is being observed by the General Labour Inspection. In case of registration of any violations, the latter can declare a labour contract null and void as well as inflict administrative penalties on the employers and the guilty persons involved.
15.2. As far as the labour protection of children in the informal sector is concerned, it ought to be marked that in 1995 an amendment to the Labour Code was made with the purpose of protecting persons employed in the informal sector. The new para.2 of Art.1 of the Labour Code introduced the requirement that relations in the case of hired labour shall be settled only as employment relations. It also established the possibility that, in the case of absence of a written labour contract, the existence of employment relations be proved by means of all legal proofs (Art. 62, para. 2 of the Labour Code). The Labour Inspection was given the right to declare the existence of employment relations and provide obligatory recommendation for the formulation of the employment contract whose aim is to witness the actual labour. In these circumstances, it can be implemented in connection with the measures, indicated in section 15.1. This answers section 18 of the final remarks of the Commission on the Rights of Child (CR/15/Add.66), i.e. that there are no legal guarantees as to the protection of children who work in the informal sector. At the same time, the draft law on the protection of the rights of the child, which is now in the process of preparation, is expected to touch on these issues.
The topical inspections, carried by the Head Labour Inspection in 1997 and 1998, in connection with the current state of child labour did encompass the informal sector as well. A number of violations in the field of trade and services were come across and the responsible persons who were found guilty were accordingly punished by administrative measures.
15.3. More specific measures will be prepared after the completion of the analysis of conditions of life and labour of children, carried out in cooperation with the World Bank, and which is expected to disclose the actual problems that will provide the basis for working out suitable measures for finding a solution.
16. Please provide information on the measures taken by the Government to protect workers against the emerging "secondary labour market" (report, paragraph 16 (c)).
16.1. The secondary labour market appeared as a result of the high level of unemployment and the small number of vacancies. Its scale is determined by the high relative percentage of unemployed without education and training, long-term unemployed and the presence of a number of risk groups at the labour market. The measures in this connection are contained in the programmes, described in sections 12 and 13, as well as in the Labour Code amendment according to section 15.2.
17. Please provide trends in the real wages of workers, in both the public and private sectors, and on their purchasing power (article 7 (a) of the Covenant), to complete and update the information contained in paragraphs 50, 51 and 163 of the report.
17.1. The trends in the real wages of workers are as follows:
a. the annual minimum wage and the average number of workers and employees who received such a wage, according to information provided by the National Institute of Statistics (04-01-85 of 20.11.1998) is:
In the public sector:
In the private sector
34 634
109 100
122 120
133 639
b. the average annual wage in the public and private sector by sectors on the basis of the source, given in 'a' sub-section above, is as follows:
Public/Private
c. according to data of the UN Programme for Development, the actual wage for 1995 has gone down with 59% in comparison with that of 1989.
17.2. Wages are the basic source of income for Bulgarian households; in 1996 it accounted for 52,1% of incomes. Unfortunately, both wages and pensions (which amount to 21,6% of incomes and come second after wages) were seriously undermined by inflation in recent years. As a result, the average monthly wage in 1996 amounted to only 42% of its value in 1990, whereas the average monthly pension - to 65%. The portion of households whose income is below the so-called existence minimum has reached 54% of the total number of households, which represents an increase of 30% in comparison to 1990. The share of households whose income is below the social minimum has increased with 41% for 1990 to 73% in 1996. The income of the richest 20% of the population, compared to that of the poorest 20% is as follows: 1980 - 1992 - 3,5; 1992 - 4,8; 1993 - 5,1; 1994 - 6, 0; 1995 - 6,5; 1996 - 5,8. The actual income of Bulgarian households has shrunk to 65,6% in comparison to 1990.
17.3. Consequently to the trends, mentioned above, there have been serious changes in consumption. The share of the income, spent for food, constantly goes up - from 36% at the beginning of 1993 to 51,2% at the end of 1996 and 55,9% at the end of 1997. At the same time, for the period 1993 - 1996, the percentage of expenditure on clothes and shoes has decreased from 9% to 7%.
18. Please provide additional information on the provision contained in article 312 of the Labour Code concerning the possibility for mothers with children up to six years of age to work at home (report, paragraph 64 (b) (v) and whether in special circumstances male employees in the same circumstances and with the same family
responsibilities may also benefit from this provision.
18.1. Article 312 of the Labour Code provides female workers or employees with children up to 6 years of age with the right to work at home. This right is provided both for native and adoptive mothers.
Working at home is performed on the basis of an agreement between the female employee and the employer. When the work is performed for the employer in terms of employment relations, the agreement functions as a complementary agreement to the grounds for starting the employment relations. When the work is performed for another employer, there has
to be a complementary employment contract, as the basic employment relation remains valid.
There are certain legal provisions concerning the obligations of employers, when the work at home is performed for the former:
a. exempt the female employee from performing her work at the enterprise, in case she wishes to work at home;
b. allow the female employee to work at home, if this is possible, or provide her with another kind of work at home, for which she has the necessary professional skills;
c. ensure that, after the female employee has ceased working at home, she resume her habitual work. In case she cannot be offered the same job, the employer must provide the latter with another suitable job.
When the work at home is performed for the sake of another employer, the employer involved in the basic employment relation must, at the same time:
a. exempt the female employee from performing the work in view of which the employment relation was established;
b. preserve the employment relation with the female employee until she works at home for the other employer. For the period of work at home, the female employee is on terms of unpaid leave as far as her basic employment relation is concerned.
18.2. Article 313 of the Labour Code allows that the right to work at home may be enjoyed by the father, when it cannot be enjoyed by the mother. Who assumes the right in question is a matter to be settled between the two parents.
Article 9. Right to Social Security
19. Please indicate what percentage of the general State budget was spent on social security in the last five years (para. 115 of the report).
19. The part of the total State budget, spent for social security is as follows:
20. Please describe the impact of the economic crisis affecting Bulgaria on the benefits of the public pension system (elimination or reduction of benefits, reduction or delays in payments, etc.).
20.1. No benefits have been eliminated or reduced by legislative measures in the public pension system, and no delay of payments is allowed. Moreover, a new type of pension benefit was introduced, i.e., an unemployment social pension (Art. 45a, para. 3 of the Pensions Law). It is due to the existence of unemployed people over a certain age who have not succeeded in finding a job for the 3 months after the expiry of their entitlement to unemployment compensation and have the required work experience in order to obtain an old-age pension, but have not reached the age required for obtaining the latter. The unemployment social pension is paid off until required age for obtaining an old-time pension is reached.
20.2. Due to economic factors, however, the actual value of pensions has been considerably decreased, as indicated in section 17.2. The expenditure-covering nature of the pension system entails a deterioration of this situation as a result to low nativity, increased longevity, the growing number of old people among the population, decrease in the number of those obliged to pay security money due to
the unemployment, financial difficulties of the enterprises in the process of closure of restructuring, etc.
21. Paragraph 118 of the report states that no part of Bulgaria's population is excluded from the social security system, "with the exception of persons enrolled in regular educational courses or those not working at all, either under labour contracts or independently". However, they are entitled to "social security benefits in certain
cases provided by law". Please indicate what there cases are and whether there is any group or sector of the population that is not entitled to health care or to old-age pensions.
21.1. The grounds for obtaining social security by Bulgarian citizens in principle is the performing of labour, in return for which they acquire income for their own and their family sustenance. As indicated in the report, such persons are employees, freelance professionals, traders, citizen's contract performers. These are entitled to various kinds of contributive payments (compensation and assistances in the event of temporary disability for work, maternity and unemployment, as well as pensions) in the case of effectuation of the ensured social risks.
Apart from the indicated cases, certain categories of persons which are not entitled to social security, are entitled to noncontributory payments. These can be divided in the following groups:
a. Women who study and do not work are entitled to special social payments in the event of maternity. Funds to this end are provided by the State budget;
b. persons who have suffered a trauma during completion of their citizen's or military service duty, or while assisting the armed forces, are entitled to a citizen's invalid pension or a military invalid pension, both at the expense of the State budget;
c. Certain categories of disabled persons are entitled to survivor's pension (Art. 31 of the Pensions Law). This pension is due to minor children, grand-children, brothers, sisters of the deceased person who had received the social security, and who had sustained them prior to his demise. These same persons are also entitled to survivor's pension after that age, if they are invalid. Such pension is also due to the parents, grandmother and grandfather, if they are disabled or had been sustained by the deceased. The same right have also the spouses;
d. In the event of long-term disability to work, persons who are not entitled to labour pension can obtain a social pension at the expense of the State budget. The following fall within this category:
1/ invalidity pension (Art. 45a, para. 1, p. "a" of the Pensions Law). It is granted to persons with disabilities that are either innate or have been acquired prior to their 16th anniversary, and who are not eligible to any other type of pension;
2/ old-age pension (Art. 45, para.1, p."b" of the Pensions Law). It is granted to persons over 70 years of age, whose annual income is smaller than half the added amount of minimum wages for the country for the 12 months prior to the request for pension;
3/ pension granted to persons who look after a member of the family (Art.45c of the Pensions Law). It is granted to persons who have given birth to and have raised 3 and more children until the 18th anniversary of the latter or who have looked after a member of the family, suffering from a grave disease, for a period longer than 10 years. The requirements concerning the yearly income, specified for the above category, are applicable in this case as well;
4/ personal pension (Art. 45 â of the Pensions Law). It is granted to persons who do not answer the requirements for obtaining another type of pension but answer those concerning the annual income for the social old-age pension;
In this way, under the current Bulgarian legislation, nobody is excluded from the social security system in the event of long-lasting disability to work.
21.2. As far as the right to health care is concerned, all Bulgarian citizens are entitled thereto. Pursuant to Art. 52, para.1 of the Constitution, "the citizens are entitled to health care which is to guarantee them accessible medical aid as well as medical services, under the terms and procedure, provided by law".
a. Health insurance system was settled by the Health Insurance Law of 1998 (promulgated in the State gazette, issue 70, 1998). Under this Law, all Bulgarian citizens are subject to health insurance. However, the terms, the granting procedure and the amount of the security allotments, differ;
b. The accessibility to medical aid is defined, on the one hand, by the health institutions system, tackled in this connection in Art. 12 of the pact, and - on the other hand - by the health insurance system which will be implemented at stages starting from July 1, 1999. According to this Law as well as the People's Health Law, the medical care is provided free in certain specifically indicated cases: for example, urgent medical aid, childbirth aid in public health institutions, etc.
22. For what reasons have successive Bulgarian Governments failed to ratify the ILO Conventions relating to social security (report, para. 103)? Please indicate whether the present Government intends to ratify them in the near future, in conformity with Bulgaria's traditional policy of cooperating and participating with ILO.
22.1. As indicated in para. 103 of the report, Bulgaria has not ratified Social security /Minimum Standards/ Convention No 102 of 1952, Employment Injury BenefitsConvention No 121 of 1964, Invalidity Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits Convention No 128 of 1967, Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention No 130 of 1969, and Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention No 168 of 1988. This is part of the important issue concerning the significant delay of Bulgaria with regard to the ratification of contemporary ILO conventions since the 1970s; this is a practice that cannot always be justified and for which no serious explanation can be given, but is about to be changed. Apart from this overall trend, there exist particular reasons for the non-ratification of some of the convention mentioned. For instance, no statistics exists in Bulgaria with regard to the typical worker under Convention 102, etc. In 1998, the National Assembly ratified Abolition of Forced Labour Convention No 105 of 1957 and Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards)Convention No 144 on of 1976. Protection of Workers' Claims (Employer's Insolvency)Convention No 173 of 1992 is currently in the process of ratification. The revised European Social Charter has been signed. Gradually, steps will be taken directed at the ratification of other ILO Conventions.
22.2. In spite of the fact that Bulgaria is not a party to the Conventions mentioned above, a considerable number of the decisions of the Bulgarian national legislation correspond, and in many cases surpass the minimum standards, set in those conventions. Thus, although indirectly, the Conventions standards are implemented in the Bulgarian legal system.
22.3. Currently, a draft Social Security Code is being prepared in Bulgaria. This is the main result of the "Social Security System Reform" Programme (BUL - 94 - 001), which is inquired about in para. 5. The Government intends to propose this draft to be passed by Parliament in the spring of 1999. This act will specify the standards established both in ratified and non-ratified conventions as well as in a number of up-to-date ILO recommendations in the social security field.
23. Please indicate the age of retirement as set by law, whether compulsory retirement exists, whether the retirement age is the same for men and women, and whether retirees are allowed to engage in any employment or professional activity.
23.1. The Bulgarian pension legislation sets a minimum age for obtaining a right to old-age pension. The general provisions to this effect are contained in Art. 2 of the Pensions Law. Under this provision, the right to obtain an old-age pension occurs in the event of the existence of both a set minimum age and length insurance according to the sex and category of labour. The labour category is a reflection of the degree of complexity of labour and the conditions for it. The labour categories are fixed by the Council of Ministers in a Regulations book on labour categorization with regard to retirement. The required age is as follows:
Category I - 52 years for men; 47 years for women.
Category II - 57 years for men; 52 years for women.
Category III - 60 years for men; 55 years for women.
However, there are exceptions to the general rules, related to the
following:
a. Health situation of the person concerned. According to Art.4, para.2 of the Pensions Law, blind persons disabled persons, who were born disabled or became disabled prior to their employment, as well as military invalids of disability group I and II, retire under the terms that apply for labour category II. The military invalids of disability group III retire under the terms of labour category II;
b. Social status. Under Art. 4, para. 1 of the Pensions Law, mothers of many children retire with 15 years of work experience and at a required age of 40 for labour category I, and 45 for labour categories II and III. Mothers of many children are considered women ho have given birth to and has raised 5 or more children of up to 8 years of age;
c. Labour specificity. The Pensions Law sets a specific retirement procedure for the following:
(I) Teachers. These can retire after 25 years of experience as teachers and at the age of 57 years for men and 52 years for women (Art. 5, para. 1 of the Pensions Law);
(ii) Military officers. Under Art. 6-7 of the Pensions Law, these are entitled to a pension after 20 years of service, without regard to age, whereas air navigation, underwater diving and submarine vessel personnel are entitled to the same after 10 years of service, regardless of their age.
At present, a pension legislation reform is prepared in Bulgaria. It envisages a gradual increase of the retirement age while at the same time preserving the difference in status between women and men, traditional for the country.
23.2. Compulsory retirement is not envisaged by the Bulgarian legislation. The right to a pension is exercised solely by the insured person (Art. 1, para1, sent.1 of the Regulations on the Implementation of the Pensions Law). The employer may terminate the employment relation 3 years after the employee has acquired the right to old-age pension. However, there is no hindrance whatsoever as to the dismissed employee to enter into another employment relation or engage in another professional activity.
23.3. Old-age retirees are allowed to engage in any employment or professional activity at their own expense. Up to 1997, the Pensions Law used to pose certain limits to the amount of the pension received in these cases. However, under Decision No 12 of 1997 of the Constitutional Court, the provisions of Art. 50 of the Pensions Law which used to pose those limits, was declared anti-constitutional. The
Ruling entered into force on September 25, 1997. Presently, any retiree, engaged in either an employment or other professional activity is entitled to the full amount of his/her pension as well as to the full wage for the activity performed.
The Labour Code sets specific rules with regard to employment contract of working retirees. These rules are contained in Art. 72. It is envisaged that a contract with a retiree can be concluded only if there is no suitable, non-retired candidate for the job in question. This fact is certified by the NEO Labour Offices. In case the retiree has reached the age, required for retirement under labour category III, the employment contract is concluded for a period of one year. There is no obstacle to its renewal at the mutual agreement of the parties involved.
24. Please provide information on social benefits (table, paragraph 113 of the report) and on the survivor's pensions referred to in para.104.
24.1. Data concerning social benefits for the period 1994 - 1997:
(In thousands of leva)
1. Disease benefits
05
118
4170
4200
24.2. As far as pensions are concerned, the situation is as follows:
ARTICLE 10: PROTECTION OF THE FAMILY AND OF MOTHERS AND CHILDREN
25. Please provide information on the number of divorces in the last five years and their proportion to the marriages during the same period.
25. The number of divorces and marriages is as follows (the statistics for the last two years is not ready yet):
26. Despite the progress signified by the new Constitution and a number of enabling laws, the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/Add. 66) emphasize that the rise in unemployment and the impoverishment of the population have had a very negative impact on the situation of children (an increase in the number of abandoned children, ill-treatment and violence against children, sexual abuse, etc.). The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the measures taken to tackle this serious problem and to indicate whether it has taken into account the suggestions and recommendations contained in the concluding observations referred to above.
26.1. A number of the observations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15 Add. 66), are well-grounded. The measures, taken by the Government in order to find a solution can be divided into two basic groups - legislative and practical measures.
26.2. Legislative measures. The Republic of Bulgaria strives to guarantee the rights of the child and fulfill the obligations pursuant to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in 1991, by legislative means. In connection with paras. 20, 21, 24, 30 and 31 of the Final observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the following legislative decisions are of greatest importance:
a. reflection in the legislation on children of the constitutional principle of equality of citizens and prohibition of discrimination. The Family Code reflects the principle of equality in connection with birth and origin and children born of a wedlock and out of wedlock, own and adopted children;
b. looking after the "best interests of the child" and the protection of those is a basic objective and principle of family legislation (Art. 2-3 of the Family Code). This principle has been reflected in labour legislation by means of special protection of minor workers and employees (Chapter XV, section I of the Labour Code). The penal and penal procedure legislation also set a number of specific rules for minors as either crime objects or subjects, such as a right to a counsel since the arrest (Art. 70, para 1, section 1 and Art. 73 of the Penal Procedure Code), obligatory presence of a pedagogue or psychologist during interrogation of minors (Art. 380 of the Penal Procedure Code), resorting to "deprivation of freedom" only as an ultimate measure and restriction to special boarding schools for minors, etc.;
c. the right to life, survival and development is extensively reflected in the legislation. It is based on the right to life as an irreversible right of citizens and is reflected in the special penal legal norms for the protection of the child, which envisage qualified teams in the case of murder and body harm, inflicted on children, of kidnapping and illegal deprivation of children of their freedom, as well as a number of crimes against children, such as the discrediting of a minor, fornication, rape of a minor, incest, engaging in homosexual activities with a minor, etc. The People's Health Act and the Regulations for its Implementation, the Regulations on the organization and management of social care homes, the Decree on Mother and Child Homes, Decree No 16 of 1996 on the organization of medical care in state hospitals, and others, also provide special rules in connection with the protection of children;
d. the respect for the views of children is reflected in the possibility for them to participate in the decision-making process with relation to issues of concern, express agreement in the achievement of a specific legal result (such as adopting, settlement of origin, etc.) That, and similar rules, are reflected in the Family Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Law on Names of Bulgarian Citizens, etc.;
e. with regard to the family and its alternatives, it should be emphasised that the Family Code provides the persons, responsible of the child (parents, grandparents, other relatives, guardians and trustees), with a number of rights and obligations, related to trusteeship and guardianship assistance, the exercising of parental rights, the persons, entitled to sustenance, etc. The requirement concerning the shared responsibility of parents is set by Art. 47 of the Constitution and Art. 3-5, Art. 68, Art. 72-73, Art. 101 and Art. 106 of the Family Code. A restriction and deprivation of parental rights is envisaged in case the parent is incapable of exercizing these, without however banning the same from contact with the child. Special rights are envisaged by the Act on social assistance for persons and families with children in a state of material deprivation. For children permanently or temporarily deprived of a family environment, or banned from that in view of their best interests, alternative cares are envisaged, such as providing them with shelter in homes for children or with substitute parents and family homes.
26.3. Practical measures. This is the most difficult problem whose solution has unfortunately been delayed. In compliance with the constitutional requirement of special protection for children under Art. 47, paras. 1 and 4 of the Constitution, the State looks after children in disadvantaged social position due to loss of family or family care, poor health and other similar reasons, by means of:
a. setting up and maintaining special institutions, more specifically:
(i) "Mother and Child Homes". These shelter children under three years of age who have no family or have been left without the care of their family, as well as children in need of special attention. After their third year of age, the children are taken back to their parents or are sheltered in special homes for children of pre-school age or social care homes;
(ii) Orphanages. These are specialized homes for temporary stay of children between three and sixteen years of age who have been left without parental surveillance. The maximum time for stay at orphanages is three months, but, if need be, it can be extended to six months. After this period, the child is returned to its natural family. When this is impossible, it is sent to a specialized health home or a social-pedagogical boarding school;
(iii) Social-pedagogical boarding schools. They are intended for minors who have been left without the care of their families, until coming of fullage;
(iv) Infirmaries for disabled children or children with chronical diseases. These are specialized homes for children of a particular disability, caused by a disease, the active treatment of which has been completed;
(v) Homes for children with psychic problems. These are for children suffering from psychic diseases whose health and behaviour do not allow them to live with their families or in society;
b. children without parents are entitled to social benefits greater in amount as compared to those, extended to other citizens. The greater number of children in a family leads to an increase in social benefits. For children who study and whose family is in a disadvantaged economic position, state scholarships are extended. This is part of the measures, recommended by section 26 of the Final observations of the Committee o n the Rights of the Child;
c. a more active information policy concerning the rights of the child is now carried out in cooperation with NGOs, in compliance with the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (section25);
d. with regard to sex education, family planning and education in the rights of the child, see sections 31.4, 37.1 and 41.4;
e. the Government is aware that there are still a number of unsolved problems, such as family consulting, creating a unified body for state policy coordination with regard to the raising and education of children, etc. The Government will make further efforts to find the solutions.
27. Please provide information on the outcome of the bills to be referred to in paragraph (b) of the report.
27. The bills on protecting the rights of the child have not yet been passed by the National Assembly.
28. Please indicate the incidence of violence against women in Bulgaria, both within and outside the family, its causes and the measures taken by the Government to eliminate it (prevention, punishment, legislative reforms and measures, educational campaigns, etc.).
28.1. No serious changes in the manifestations of violations against women have taken place since the presentation and discussion of the Second and Third Periodical Report of Bulgaria in front of the Committee on the elimination of discrimination of women, with regard to the implementation of the convention under the same title. Similarly, there is no change in the causes for violence, such as the grave economic situation, unsatisfactory upbringing and education, etc.
28.2. The following measures, taken in order to prevent and eliminate violation against women can be pointed out:
a. Legislative measures. In parallel to the measures on establishing the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sex, the Bulgarian legislation also protects women through the special rights of the woman-mother and social security, indicated in the report, through envisaging special crime constituencies in the event of crime against women (v. section 7.1) etc.;
b. Practical measures. The basic one is information policy, education rubrics in the mass media, encouraging the activity of foundations and other civil formations, protecting the rights of women, etc.
29. In addition, please provide information on the measures taken to implement recommendations contained in Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/1998/I/L.I/Add.6)
29.1. The measures taken to implement recommendations of the Committee (section 244, 245, 257), have been already mentioned above with reference to specific issues, such as unemployment among women, legislative protection of women. Other measures will be indicated in the following presentation - in connection with the dropping of children of various education levels, family planning, etc.
29.2. We would like to emphasize that the observations and recommendations in sections 242 and 255 are most probably due to faulty information. Violence against women, be it domestic, connected with the work place, etc., is punished not only at the complaint of the victim. This refers to crimes of private character only. However, when a particular action constitutes a crime of general character, it is persecuted without exception, regardless of the appeal, lodged by the victim.
Article 11. Right to an adequate standard of living
30. The Committee would appreciate information on the results of the implementation of the legislative measures and programmes described in paragraph 177 (a) to prevent and eliminate iodine deficiency diseases and disorders, 177 (c) concerning a Bill on foodstuffs and 177 (d) on the Unified National Foodstuffs Control System.
30.1. In 1994, a decree of the Council of Ministers was adopted concerning the defining of measures for prevention and elimination of iodine deficiency diseases and disorders. The following are among the most significant results of the implementation of the decree:
a. distribution of iodine salt for the needs of the population within the trade system;
b. carrying out of additional iodine prophylactic treatment of children, pregnant and breast-feeding in endemic regions;
c. carrying out of systematic laboratory control of the quality of iodine salt offered for sale. According to statistics, over two thirds of the salt offered answers the requirements of the Bulgarian State Standard.
In order to ensure the efficiency of the measures taken, an evaluation of the actual iodine consumption was made in 1996 by means of studying 1 028 children of endemic and non-endemic regions between the age of 6 and 14. No difference was found between the children of either group of regions.
In March 1998, a representative study of endemic goitre was carried out in 61 municipalities of 14 endemic regions. In 28,5% of the 8 445 pupils aged 7 - 10, a varying degree of goitre was established; 25,1% were registered as cases of hyperplasia - degree 2 according to the WHO, 3,3% - 2 'b' degree, and in 0,1% - II degree. This shows a favourable tendency with regard to the disease, expressed in a decrease of 3,3% of I'b' degree goitre and an extremely low (0,1%) relative share of nodous forms.
30.2. With relation to the Unified National Foodstuffs Control System,
v. section 5.6.
31. Please provide information on the results of the educational programmes on healthy nutrition described in paragraph 182.
31.1. The National Centre of Hygiene, medical ecology and nutrition at the Ministry of Health care carries out training courses for the specialists from the Hygiene and Epidemology Inspections on methods of nutrition education of the population and topical issues connected with nutrition.
31.2. Since 1994 Bulgaria has been participating in the international intervention programme for prophylactics of non-contagious chronical diseases. The programme has been launched in 7 regions, and in 3 out of these nutrition training is being delivered to the following population categories:
a. medical doctors and nurses from the primary health system. Published in "A Manual on Prophylactics of non-contagious chronical diseases" in the primary health care system;
b. local foodstuff manufacturers;
c. school and factory canteen staff.
A book on methodological regulation and advice for implementing the principles of healthy nutrition in school canteens and cafes has been drawn up, as well as a new receipt book, intended for the students' cuisine;
d. students;
e. organized women's staff;
f. the population of certain regions.
31.3. Information activities are carried out by means of:
a. regular publication of articles in newspapers and magazines on current problems concerning nutrition;
b. broadcasting over the national radio and on the national television programmes in which prominent experts on nutrition take part;
c. publishing information materials giving guidelines on healthy nutrition and optimum body weight, the advantage of breast feeding, iodine salt and so on;
31.4. A national wide network of 80 schools promoting health has been created giving priority, for the time being, to drug addiction, sexual problems and forcible juvenile prostitution, not to education in nutrition.
31.5. An Interventional Programme for Building up Healthy Nutrition habits in Orphans and Children of Law Social Status has been worked out in the Homes for children and adolescents. At present the programme is being experimentally implemented in a few homes.
32. Please, provide details on the implementation of the Law on Ownership and Use of Agricultural Lands (paragraph 187).
32.1. The development of agriculture in Bulgaria during the nineties is characterised with considerable fluctuations due to economic and political influences, as well as to climatic factors. The outlined structure of property which will be a serious obstacle to the modernisation of agriculture forms the core of the future difficulties.
a. The process of restoration of ownership right over agricultural lands is developing as follows:
b. The distribution of the managed agricultural land is as follows:
c. the distribution of farm animals is as follows:
506 971
509 028
512 324
567 356
320 883
291 368
317 244
352 816
13 978
11 781
12 184
11 053
746 773
1 061 998
1 267 003
124 118
3 293 319
3 136 362
3 143 451
848 742
675 878
794 672
832 655
848 292
107 642
130 557
148 414
169 375
296 997
275 553
281 118
286 851
22 852
15 684
16 488
17 289
407 153
514 690
607 300
666 893
12 496 932
13 594 801
13 753 394
13 501 113
296 466
231 608
252 047
264 162
32.2. As a result of the reform that is in progress, the expectations are that the owners of farm lands will reach the number of 4 000 000 and will own 20 000 000 parcels of land. This kind of structure predetermines ineffectiveness in the application of contemporary agricultural technologies. There is a lack of direct interest among the owners in managing and cultivating their land. Some of the main reasons for that are imperfections in the legalisation of property, lack of experience and financial means, alienation from agricultural lands and agricultural production, etc.
32.3. Since the progress of the agrarian reform is slow and difficult we can outline the following main tasks in this field:
a. speeding up the process of restoring land ownership;
b. changing the attitude of the owners towards land, giving them the chance they themselves to decide how to get it and how to use it;
c. creating a real land market giving an opportunity for sale-trade of land parcels at real market prices without any restrictions;
d. using different organisational forms of cultivating the land which will enable more owners to take part in this process.
33. Please, describe the impact of privatisation and liberalisation of the real estate market on the rights of tenants ( security of lease, rent levels, safeguards against expulsions, etc.), to update the information contained in paragraphs 203, 212, and 213 of the report.
33.1. Privatisation and liberalisation of the real estate market do not affect the rights of tenants. There haven't been any considerable differences since the submission of the report up to now, apart from a certain rise in the rent levels of real estate.
33.2. The following charts describe the housing situation in Bulgaria.
a. housing units put into use:
34. There are no restrictions either for married, or unmarried women in Bulgaria in regard to entering into rental contracts, obtaining loans to purchase housing, etc. All women have the same civil rights as men.
35. Please, provide information on the measures taken to enable elderly people to remain in their own homes. In addition, please provide information on the system of old age homes, day centres, etc., number of places available, and on other forms of accommodation for the elderly people.
35.1. The social care system in Bulgaria provides different forms of helping people, including the elderly people as well, who are unable to satisfy their vital needs themselves or with the help of their relatives. Beside the social assistance, a number of other social services are provided. They have been regulated by the Social Assistance Law of 1998 (promulgated in the State Gazette, issue 56 of 1998) and legislative acts of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and the Minister of Health.
35.2. Some social services are done in the usual home surrounding of the person in need - at his/her own home. These services, known as home social patronage, find expression in supplying the person with food, cleaning the house, etc.
35.3. Social services are also rendered to elderly people outside their home surrounding, in specialized institutions. The person can stay there permanently (e.g. an old people's home) or during a definite part of the day (e.g. a public canteen). Social services are done outside the usual home surrounding in the cases when these are impossible to be done at home, when similar services are rendered to a great number of people and in some other cases.
Specialised institutions for social services can be state, municipal or owned by charity organizations. The following institutions are created especially for the elderly people:
a. old age homes. They are specialised institutions for social care for elderly persons who live alone. These are people who have neither a spouse nor a child to look after them. They have the right to be accommodated after the age of 55 for women and 60 for men;
b. homes for invalids from the wars and the struggle against fascism . They accommodate invalids of credited I or II invalid group, and above a definite age - also people of III invalid group affected by the wars and the struggle against fascism;
c. homes for disabled people and people suffering from chronic diseases. They offer social services to people of a definite invalid group whose disability is caused by physical illness and their active treatment is completed and they cannot be readjusted to a suitable job;
d. homes for people with mental disabilities. They accommodate mentally diseased people regardless their invalid group when their state of health and behaviour do not allow them to remain at home and in society.
35.4. The following chart shows the development of the social assistance institutions based on the data of the National Statistical Institute:
36. Please indicate whether, as has already been asked in question 17, the long economic crises has had an impact on the level of health care coverage for the population, or whether it has made it necessary to cut back benefits, particularly those for the most vulnerable groups, and whether the national health insurance system has been established (paragraph 254 of the report).
36.1. The long and difficult economic crises that Bulgaria has experienced obviously has had an impact on the system of health care coverage for the population as a result of shortage of modern medicines, equipment and consumers, a sharp rise in the prices of medicines, introduction of the paid medical care, etc. Although there have not been established any legal restrictions, medical care becomes more and more inaccessible for the most vulnerable groups - the disabled, the retired, the unemployed, people in the lowest income bracket. The unfavourable tendency in the state of health of the population can be traced along the following indices:
a. diseases among the population per sex, urban and rural
1995
1997
36.3. In 1998 the Health Insurance Law was adopted in the Republic of Bulgaria (promulgated in the State gazette, issue 70 of 1998). It led to the establishment of a National health insurance system which will start to function in stages: from 1 July, 1999 raising funds shall start through health insurance fees, and from 1 January, 2000 the whole system of medical services shall start functioning.Till then the funds will be raised by the republican and the municipal budget. After that the budget will provide means only for emergency aid, hospitals for mental diseases, haemotransfusion, compulsory immunisations, epidemiological and anti-epidemiological research, health programmes, state sanitary control, investments, education, science and qualification, public health care, medical report for temporary disablement and expensive treatment beyond the reach of the obligatory health insurance. The law provides obligatory and voluntary health insurance. The obligatory health insurance has been entrusted to the National Health Insurance Fund, and the voluntary - to special joint-stock companies. All Bulgarian citizens are liable to obligatory health insurance, as well as all foreign citizens and persons without a citizenship who live permanently in the Republic of Bulgaria and persons who have been given an asylum. The health insurance fees are distributed among the insured persons and the employers, and in definite cases (e.g. retired people, military men, refugees, etc.) they are at the expense of the state budget. The National Health Insurance Fund guarantees medical and stomatological care, medical rehabilitation, medicines and consumers for home treatment, etc. mentioned in article 45 of the Health Insurance and Medical Services Law.
36.4. For the time being the primary health care in Bulgaria is not institutionally separated and is a part of the pre-hospital care. It is carried out by district physicians and therapeutists in the polyclinics incorporated into the district hospitals, municipal hospitals, independent polyclinics, rural medical institutions. The total expenditure for pre-hospital care amounts to 40% of the health care expenditure, which includes the primary health care expenditure, as well. There is going to be a reform in the primary health care and its separation from the specialised pre-hospital care.
37. Please indicate whether the national health policy has incorporated reproductive health, and family-planning services in conformity with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
37.1. In 1995 the realisation of the "Family planning" project started within the frames of the "Phare" Programme. It is aimed at laying the foundations of national policy for reducing the number of abortions and preservation of the reproductive and sexual health, which will be in conformity with the Platform for Action of the Kairo conference in 1994. The following was achieved as a result of the carrying out of the project:
a. more than 500 medical and other specialists were trained in the basic problems of consultation, the ways of communicating, etc. National standards for modernising the education in family planing, reproductive and sexual health, as well as for postgraduate qualification of doctors, maternity nurses and nurses were worked out in the medical universities and colleges;
b. since 1996 free contraceptives have been given to women of low social status, as well as to under age girls. These contraceptives were granted as a humanitarian aid by the Population Fund;
c. 30 information centres were opened incorporated within women's organisations and the Bulgarian Association of Family Planning;
d. written and audio-visual materials were worked out aiming at different social groups of the population;
e. information system for registration, monitoring and assessment of the family planning activities was prepared which was included into the National Health Information System.
37.2. Within the frames of the health reform that is carried out, family planning is included as a main part of the obligatory activities of the primary health care. The government was glad to report that due to the policy that has been carried out, the number of abortions was reduced during the last year - from 48,1 per one thousand women at fertile age to 43,2.
38. Please describe the measures adopted, in addition to the assistance measures described in paragraph 253 (f) and 266 (c) to care for the elderly (preventive measures, regular examinations for both men and women, exercise, rehabilitation, geriatric examinations, care for the chronically sick and assistance for the terminally ill).
38.1. In order to improve the quality of medical care for the elderly and for the chronically sick who need long treatment, completing the treatment, physical therapy, rehabilitation and some other kind of treatment within the framework of the health reform that is taking place, the opening of specialised health institutions is envisaged. It is possible to form new structural units or to make autonomous part of the staff and the equipment of already existing medical institutions. The establishment of homes for medico-sanitary care, where long medical supervision and specific care will be rendered by medical specialists to persons of different age groups with chronic diseases and medico-social problems, as well as the establishment of hospices - medical institutions for long medical supervision, supporting treatment and specific care carried out at the homes of people with chronic diseases leading to invalidity and people with medico-social problems is planned.
38.2. In June, 1998 a National Plan for Action on Environment - Health has been adopted. A Joint Committee for management of the plan and control on the implementation of the programmes of the Ministries, the other institutions and municipalities has been established.
A National Strategy for Protection of Biological Variety has been worked out in compliance with the requirement for national planning of the activities concerning the protection of nature and in accordance with the Convention for Biological Variety from 1992. This represents the first strategic plan on a national level for the protection of the biological variety in a country from Central and Eastern Europe. In a process of preparation are :
a. a draft for medicinal plants and biological variety;
b. a National Plan for Action on the Protection of Biological Variety, which has to be adopted by the Government;
c. a draft for the establishment of a National Network of Firms Promoting Health, Safety and Environment implementing the international trends of the European centre of environment and health concerning "Good practice in the management of health, environment and safety in industrial and other kinds of enterprises".
39. Please indicate the incidence of the AIDS problem and of drug addiction and provide information on the measures taken by the Government to deal with them.
39.1. At present Bulgaria still belongs to the group of the countries with low dissemination of AIDS, despite the growing problem on a world scale, as well as the growing number of other sexually transmitted diseases in the East European countries. The official number of persons living with HIV/AIDS towards 13 November 1998 is 243, 56 of which are declared as having AIDS, and 60 have died. The most usual way of transmitting the infection is the sexual - 82%. The proportion between men and women is 2,2:1. What measures are taken in this direction?
a. Decree N 2 of the Minister of Health care of 1992 regulates the conditions and order of testing AIDS virus infection. To obligatory testing is subjected each unit of donated blood; the donors of tissue and organs; sperm donors; mother's milk donors; the children born by HIV infected mothers; foreign citizens and persons without a citizenship who arrive to study or work for more than 1 months, as well as immigrants, regardless the time limit of their stay. Every citizen can have a test at his/her will, the secret of the test being guaranteed. It can be anonymous, as well. The test is free. In 1998 214 000 USD were spent for the purchase of diagnostic means for primary and confirming diagnostics;
b. according to Art. 36 a of the National Health Law, the persons infected by the AIDS virus are tested and treated at public medical institutions. The treatment is at the expense of the Ministry of Health budget;
c. considering the fact that AIDS is not only health, but also social, demographic, moral, ethic and legal problem, the establishment of a National Committee on Prophylactics of AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases has started with representatives of 12 Ministries and other institutions. At the end of 1997 the implementation of a Working Plan for HIV/AIDS Prophylactics started. As a main principle is laid the prevention and the wide information of society;
d. in 1998 the participation of Bulgaria in the programmes of the European Union in the field of health care with a programme "Protection and Drive against AIDS" was approved. The purpose is to bring the Bulgarian Legislation in accordance with the European standards;
e. in a process of preparation is a joint project between the Ministry of Health and the Programme for Development at UNO "HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan". The aim is to outline the national priorities and strategies in the fight with the main determinants of the infection.
39.2. The incidence of drug addiction in Bulgaria has been characterised with an undulating dissemination since the sixties on; epidemic character of dissemination over the last 3-4 years; considerable spreading of the use of unprescribed psycho-active medicines, etc. The main drug used by drug dependent persons is heroine - more than 97% of the cases, and the main drug used by persons experimenting and by beginners is marihuana. Among the adolescents extasy appears and spreads very quickly.
The basic measures that are taken to overcome these problems are:
a. legislative. A Draft Law for Control over Drugs and Precursors has been passed at first reading by the National Assembly;
b. practical. Here we should mention:
(i) the establishment of a National Council for Combating Drug Abuse and Illegal Trafficking of Drugs. The Council works on the balancing of policy for the reduction of supply and demand of drugs. The Council adopted a Programme on Drug Addiction Prophylactics, on the basis of which the Ministry of Education and Science worked out a programme for the educational system;
(ii) a National Strategy for Combating Drug Addiction is being realised. At the moment a new strategy is being prepared for the period after 2000, in compliance with the requirements of the Declaration of UNO special session from June 1998;
(iii) a Programme for Prophylactics of Drug Addiction in the Army isbeing implemented;
(iv) a network of specialised services for prophylaxis and treatment of drug addiction is being developed. Up to now such services have been established in the towns of Bourgas, Varna, Plovdiv, Sliven and Sofia. Along with that lots of efforts are made to improve the work of the respective sectors to the psychiatric medical services. The implementation of a specialised rehabilitation programme has started since the beginning of 1998;
(v) municipal programmes for prophylactics of drug addiction are being worked out;
c. training of staff. Drug addiction problems are involved in the curriculums of the specialities psychology, pedagogy,ethopedy and pharmacy. Training of specialists working in the field of prophylactics and treatment of drug addiction is being carried out;
d. informative and research activity. The Ministry of Health collects, analyses and distributes information on drug addiction problems concerning the field of medicine. In 1998 work has started on building up a unified information system which will be a part of the European system. Epydemiological and ethnographic study about the spreading of drug abuse and drug addiction among definite social and age groups has been carried out.
40. Please update the data on child mortality contained in paragraph 240 of the report.
40.1. According to the data of the Ministry of Health (04-02-214 from 4 December 1998) the situation with regard to child mortality (per 1000 born alive) is as follows:
40.2. The main reasons for child mortality (per 100 000 births) are as follows:
a. some conditions during the prenatal period (for example hypoxia, retarded growth, etc.) - 530,3;
b. respiratory diseases - 410,1;
c. congenital abnormalities - 407,0;
d. infectious diseases and parasitosis - 88,9.
Articles 13 and 14: Right to education
41. Please update the statistics in paragraphs 268 to 289 of the report, and in particular those on school drop-out levels.
41.1 According to the data of the Ministry of Education and Science (04-03-675 from 25 November 1998) the number of pupils who continue in secondary schools after completing their primary education is as follows: 1994/95 - 108 158; 1995/96 - 98 730; 1996/97 - 93 870; 1997/98 - 89 098, and the number of those who have completed secondary education is: 1994/95 - 91 286; 1995/96 93 183; 1996/97 - 92 800; 1997/98 - 91 650.
As it can be seen the number of drop-outs from the different levels of education represents a problem to the Bulgarian society. In this connection the Ministry of Education and Science started working on a project entitled "School for Everyone" financed by the Phare programme.
The main objective of the project is to help solving the problem with the drop-outs through working out active models directed practically to working with those children in different parts of the country. The main measures taken for the effective exercise of the right to education are connected with the decentralisation of the management through distributing the rights and obligations; extending the autonomy of schools; diversification of schools according to the form of property; providing possibilities to choose a school and type of education in accordance with the interests, preferences and possibilities of the students and their parents; providing the right to study their mother tongue in the municipal schools; preparation of state general educational requirements for the carrying out of school training, etc.
41.2. The structure of those who have completed different levels of education is the following:
41.3. The number of people studying at various levels of education is the following:
41.4. The number of schools in rural areas is:
Source: Ministry of Education and Science (04-03-675 from 28 November 1998)
41.5. The number of schools for physically and mentally disabled children and children with social problems shows the following tendency:
41.6. The number of private schools shows the following tendency:
Source: Ministry of Education and Science (04-03-675 from 25 November 1998)
41.7. According to the data of the Ministry of Education and Science (04-03-675 from 25 November 1998) the total number of higher schools is as follows: in 1996/97 - 42, and in 1997/98 - 86. They fall into the following types:
41.8. The expenses for education out of the gross inner product show unfavourable tendency:
(%)
41.9. The literacy factor of the population has been permanent 0,979 since 1993 up to now (National Human Development Report, p. 52).
42. The Committee would be particularly interested in information on the current situation of members of the teaching profession and would like to know whether the Government's project to improve their situation, particularly as regards wages (paragraph 306 of the report) has been adopted and implemented.
42.1. The main objective of the income policy in the system of education is retaining the social status and creating conditions for increasing the incomes. For this purpose:
a. in 1996 a clasifier of positions according to the level and rate of the initial salaries for science and education was approved. The average annual salary for the country in the public sector in 1996 was 172 699 levs and in 1997 - 1 650 997 levs. In the field of education it is respectively 106 211 levs and 978 443 levs. During the nine months of 1998 the average gross salary for education was 133 461 levs, the average gross salary for the country being 181 935 levs and for the budgetary sphere - 137 520 levs, i.e. the salary in education comprises 73% of that for the country and 97% of that for the budgetary sphere;
b. with the Decree for the assignment of individual salaries to the staff working in the field of secondary education unified mechanisms for the formation of the salaries have been approved. The salary is assigned in accordance with higher personal qualification, years of service in a definite speciality and category of school;
c. the changes in the Law of National Education provided additional salaries three times a year. At the moment a regulation is being worked out for the implementation of the system for additional material stimulating starting from 1999.
42.2. The amendments in the Pension Law in 1996 (promulgated in the State Gazette, issue 22 of 1996) led to reforms in the retirement of teachers. They were given the possibility to retire 3 years prior the retirement age as third labour category, in this case the pension is paid by a specially formed Teachers' Pension Fund till they reach the retirement age. In case when men have more than 31 years of service and women - more than 26, there is an extra payment of 3% to the pension for each year of service as a teacher above the mentioned.
43. Please provide information on the importance attached to teaching human rights in Bulgaria's educational system, and in particular in teacher-training and the training of public officials, State security forces and judges.
43.1. Teaching human rights is one of the main prerequisites to respect them. About ten years ago studying human rights and their protection was carried out only at the Faculty of law at Sofia University within the subject of legal defence of different types of rights. The situation has changed considerably lately.
The studying of human rights is concentrated to the faculties of law and to the education of students in public administration and international studies.
43.2. Teacher-training regarding human rights is realised at the universities and institutes which train teaching stuff. At the pedagogical faculties a new subject has been included connected with the rights of children and adolescents.
43.3. The training of public officials in human rights is carried out mainly at the faculties of law and public administration.
43.4. The training of judges in human rights is carried out in the specialised subjects at the faculties of law, as well as in the general subject called "Protection of human rights". In fact the whole education of judges, public prosecutors, notaries, lawyers is subjected to the legal means of the protection of human rights.
Apart from that different forms of postgraduate qualification of magistrates are carried out regularly, including human rights training as well. We can mention here:
a. a National seminar for training district judges and prosecutors entitled "Particular Rules for Trying Cases of Crime Committed by minors", held in May 1996;
b. a National seminar entitled "Internal Security in the Democratic Constitutional State", held in June 1997;
c. a seminar for judges entitled "The Law of the European Community and Its Legal Application" held in October 1997 with the assistance of the Phare programme;
d. a seminar entitled "Criminal Jurisdiction and the European Convention of Human Rights", held in March 1998. A special attention deserves Phare -Tempus No S -JEP - 07432 - 94 programme entitled "The Logic of Democracy: Protection of the Mainrights in European Law" with the participation of 4 faculties of law, the National Assembly, The Union of Lawyers in Bulgaria and the Higher Institute of the Ministry of the Interior, within whose framework 7 thematic seminars were held with the participation of magistrates, as well.
43.5. An organisation has been established at the Higher Institute for preparing officers and for scientific research, as well as at the sergeant schools at the Ministry of the Interior for giving information and knowledge about human rights. It is aimed at training the officials at the police and the security forces. Among the basic elements of this programme is the establishment of a Council for Euro-Integration and training in human rights as a consultative body of the management of the institute; participation of a representative of the institute to the co-ordinator of the programme of the European Council "Police and Human Rights 1997-2000"; agreements for joint activity with other higher schools and non-governmental organisations in the education in human rights. The education in human rights is not a subject of an independent educational discipline, but it is included in the thematic syllabuses of the different educational disciplines and it is connected with the main purposes of education for increasing its application, professional orientation and specialisation. The Ministry of the Interior has organised programmes such as "Police and Protection of Human Rights" and "Police and Refugees"; seminars "Police in the Defence of Human Rights" and so on. A symposium of research studies, a legal code with commentary notes, a collection of casuses on human rights have been published. A few educational films, posters with samples of documents and other visual materials have been worked out.
44. Please provide information on the measures taken to facilitate access by adults to education: the possibilities offered to them to complete their education, to pursue new studies, etc. either within the official system or through other educational systems and programmes.
44.1. The access of adults to education is guaranteed by the general principle of equality of all citizens, stated in article 6 and the special provision of Art. 53, paragraph 1 of the Constitution that "the state promotes education by creating and financing schools, rendering assistance to gifted pupils and students, creating conditions for professional training and requalification". The legal basis for pursuing the right of those persons to education is contained in the National Education Law, the Labour Code and the Law of Protection in Cases of Unemployment and Encouragement of Labour.
The educational system of adults includes district educational centres, private and state training institutions, postgraduate training at higher schools, training after secondary education at state vocational schools, extra-mural and evening classes. In 1996 about 100 000 people were trained in this way. Up to May 1997 418 training institutions were established, 24,2% of which are private.
44.2. A special system of educational forms and vocational training of adults provided the Law of Protection of Unemployment and Promotion of Employment. They are organized by the National Employment Office or by special qualification institutions. These are courses, schools, etc. Under this law a National Council for Vocational training and Branch Councils have been established. These councils organise and manage the vocational training of unemployed people. Such training can also be done by some other institutions on the basis of a license issued by the National Council.
44.3. In order to improve the condition of this activity the Government undertakes a number of measures. Some of them are;
a. a National Programme for Education of Adults - 1998. Its objective is to develop a national educational system for education of adults through setting education in compliance with the socio-economic reforms in the country, increasing the access to the different forms of education, coordination of the institutional activities, etc.
b. a research project "The Role and Organization of the Educational System for Adults in a State of Transition". The aim is to make a comparative study of the condition, role and activities of formal and informal institutions in the field of education and training of adults.
44.4. For more details on this problem see para. 14.
Article 15. Right to take part in cultural life and to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its application.
45. Please indicate what assistance is available to enable the whole of the population, and in particular students, the disabled, the elderly and other vulnerable groups to gain access to cultural activities (entry to museums,shows, transport vouchers, etc.
45.1. The interest in cultural activities is traditional for the Bulgarian people. For that reason an important principle in the implementation of the national cultural policy is the principle of transparency. It is realised in an active dialogue between the institutions of the state and the public through mass media, as well as through a new information policy. The objective is to achieve a real support of the national culture as a result of an informed public opinion and active participation of representatives of artistic unions and the artists themselves in the process of the realisation of cultural activities.
45.2 The realisation of the cultural policy in Bulgaria is based on considerable changes in the structure and forms of cultural participation. Sociological studies show that during the last 10 years the active cultural participation (entry to exhibitions, theatrical performances and films, buying and reading books, etc.) remains within the frame of 20% of the adult population. At the same time the market expansion of intellectual production, issuing of audio and video cassettes and CDs, advertised widely in mass media relatively diminishes the contact with the live performance in favour of the passive cultural participation.
45.3. During the last years special attention is paid to ensure access of vulnerable groups of people to the cultural values. We should mention the following more important measures:
a. the rules of using public libraries provide concessions for students, the elderly people, the disabled and other vulnerable groups. Separate regional libraries (e.g., in the towns of Pazardzik, Samokov) follow special programmes aimed at serving minority groups. The main difficulties come from the lack of financial means which affects the supply of information sources and the modernisation of service.
b. Tuesdays are fixed to be the days of free entries of museums and art exhibitions. The entry is free also for the disabled people and soldiers, as well. The entrance fee for students is reduced by 50% in comparison with that for adults.
c. in spite of the relatively reduced number of people visiting theatres , they retain a permanent range of audience. The real value of the viewer's visit surpluses about 5 times the price of tickets. As far as children's entry is concerned, the proportion is 6 times. Theatres offer a special price policy to vulnerable groups of people, the retired, the disabled, students. Apart from that, it is usual practice special performances to be organised for those social groups with the support of contributors. Special programmes directed to the increased access to cultural activities develops the foundation "Idea about Theatre". The content of the project is aimed at creating technical possibilities at theatres for the disabled to gain access. The project involves a popularising campaign, as well.
46. Please provide information on associations and organisations in Bulgaria that contribute to raise the level of cultural awareness in general and among the most vulnerable groups of the Bulgarian society, in particular.
46.1. Specific forms of non profit civil associations are the Bulgarian cultural clubs which realise a variety of initiatives enabling people to gain access to the cultural values. They expand their activity outside the frames of the well-known cultural sphere and carry out programmes directed to the social support of the most vulnerable groups of people and the ethnic groups.
46.2. The two specialised newspapers - "The Third Age" and "Pensioner" have an important contribution to the raising of the level of cultural awareness especially of the elderly people. They discuss social issues, as well as cultural ones.
46.3. See para. 45. b, c.
47. Please provide information on associations among elderly persons, in particular indicate whether those associations, based on universities or firms, contribute with their knowledge and experience to raise the level of cultural awareness in Bulgaria.
48. The Government does not have any information available on the existence of any associations among elderly persons which are aimed at raising the level of cultural consciousness.