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This report is published as a basis to support efforts in North Macedonia to promote a multi-stakeholder approach to prevent and counter Violent Extremism and Radicalization that lead to Terrorism (VERLT) in line with best practices in the OSCE. It presents the findings from ten roundtable discussions organized by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, in partnership with the National Coordinator's Office for CVE/CT, on the country's National Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism adopted in February 2018. The report also highlights good practices and provides recommendations for a multi-stakeholder approach to P/CVERLT.

The Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) was established by the Parliament of North Macedonia in September 2015, pursuant to a political agreement to overcome the political crisis that arose following the 2015 wiretap scandal.

As part of its 2019 project activities, the OSCE Mission to Skopje supported trial monitoring of cases of domestic violence and gender based violence before basic courts in all four appellate regions in the country, carried by the CSO Coalition ‘All for Fair Trials’, a network of 14 civil society organizations. By identifying both, weaknesses and strengths in domestic and gender based violence trials, the Analysis serves to ascertain whether the upholders of the law apply procedural safeguards for life and liberty, and also to generate recommendations that support legislative reform and address deficiencies while promoting domestic and international fair trial standards.

In the course of 2018, with an aim of supporting judicial and criminal justice reform, the OSCE Mission to Skopje supported trial monitoring of general crime cases before competent courts in all four appellate regions in the country, carried out by the civil society organization ‘All for Fair Trials’ Coalition, a network of 14 civil society organizations (CSOs). The trial monitoring aimed at increasing the public scrutiny over the justice sector by strengthening the capacities for sustainable and systematic trial monitoring by CSOs resulting in this analysis, which provides an insight into the implementation of the Law on Criminal Procedure. In addition, the analysis also offers recommendations for future interventions and activities aimed at enhancing the capacities of the judicial system in the country which, in turn, should lead to increased public trust in the legal system. English version starts from page 121.

The Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) was established by Parliament of North Macedonia in September 2015, pursuant to an EU-brokered political agreement to overcome the political crisis that arose following the 2015 wiretap scandal. The report follows the first interim report published in August 2018, covering the establishment of the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the developments of its cases up to the confirmation of the indictment stage. The second report, resulting from OSCE Mission to Skopje's trial monitoring observations, covers twenty cases in which the SPO filed indictments by its statutory deadline of 30 June 2017.

This report is based on discussions during a roundtable on international best practices and models to support print media, held on 4-5 September 2018 in Popova Shapka. Special acknowledgement is given to the active role of the Association for Print Media (APM), which has coordinated previous discussions among its members and has contributed to the formulation of policy recommendations for short- and long-term government measures aimed at supporting the sustainable development of print media.

In the interview for MIA news agency, the Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Clemens Koja, speaks about current political developments and Mission's work.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) was established by Parliament in September 2015, pursuant to an EU-brokered political agreement to overcome the political crisis that arose following the 2015 wiretap scandal. This report is the result of the OSCE Mission to Skopje’s trial monitoring observations of cases under the competence of the SPO. This interim report focuses primarily on the 20 cases in which the SPO filed indictments by the statutory deadline. It contains a factual overview of the charges in those cases and analyses relevant developments up to and including confirmation of the indictments, with a specific focus on precautionary measures and the controversy over the admissibility of the wiretaps. In addition, this report includes information related to four cases initially prosecuted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO), and taken over by the SPO, as well as an overview of publicly available information related to ongoing SPO investigations.

Conclusions and Recommendations from the 5th Annual South East Media Conference

The analysis, prepared by the Coalition ‘All for Fair Trials', and supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, provides an insight into the implementation of the novel provisions in the Law on Criminal Procedure. It also offers recommendations for future activities and reforms aimed at enhancing the capacities of the judicial system in the country which, in turn, would lead to increased public trust in the legal system. The Coalition is a network of fourteen citizen associations monitoring criminal trials before competent courts in all four appellate regions in the country. English version starts from page 55.