Documents library

This report presents the current legislation, procedures, coordination and communication issues and key barriers in relation to the education in the languages of the smaller communities, but also brings to light key recommendations for improvement. The Directorate for Enhancement and Promotion of Education in the Languages of the Communities at the Ministry of Political System and Inter-community Relations investigates the complexities surrounding education in the languages of smaller communities – Bosnian, Romani, Serbian, Turkish and Vlach. Data collection, detailed analysis, and comprehensive interviews, provides deep insights into the challenges faced by the smaller communities, particularly in their access to quality education. Five smaller reports are available (one in each language – Bosnian, Romani, Serbian, Turkish and Vlach and a composite document in Macedonian, Albanian and English.

The Corruption Risk Assessment of the Judiciary provides a comprehensive examination of the everyday corruption risks that often go unnoticed by policymakers in courts and public prosecution offices in North Macedonia. The Assessment was carried out in compliance with the National Strategy for the Prevention of Corruption and Conflict of Interest 2021-2025, in support of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, and in partnership with the Association of Judges of the Republic of North Macedonia, and the Association of Public Prosecutors in the Republic of North Macedonia. This pioneering effort aims to estimate and rank corruption risks in the national judicial system, taking into account both legislative and practical implementation aspects. The Assessment also aims towards better-informed policymaking and an effective institutional response to the identified corruption risks in the judiciary.

This publication presents findings of the two new surveys conducted in 2022, exploring the situation with the sexual extortion as gender specific form of corruption in the higher education and public administration sectors in North Macedonia. This empirical data will contribute to the policy discussion and raise awareness among policy makers about the need to institutionalize and criminalize gendered forms of corruption in the national legislation.

The report focuses on the corruption connected to the most significant environmental problems in North Macedonia, such as illegal logging, air pollution, concessions for mineral resources, concessions on using water resources, etc. Its findings and conclusions are envisioned to be used by the national bodies to raise awareness among the relevant stakeholders and call upon action for prevention and sanctioning of the corruptive deeds in this area, contributing to reduction of the direct negative impact of environmental corruption on the safety, health, and quality of life of the citizens.

Interview with the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Clemens Koja for Independent Balkan News Agency (IBNA).

The investigative report explores different issues, which point out the situation with violence against women and girls with disabilities in the country. It also gives a comprehensive overview of the national and international framework for protection of the rights of women and girls with disabilities, as well as a reflection of their personal perception and experience with violence and discrimination. The report aims to show the problems which women and girls with disabilities face, and to offer specific recommendations on how to overcome them.

The Needs Assessment Report offers an outline of the state of affairs to the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in North Macedonia. It offers a short historical background of the Convention and the OSCE related commitments. The main focus is put on the legal and institutional framework in the country and most importantly, the areas of intervention that the OSCE Mission to Skopje can potentially pursue in line with the specifics of its Mandate.

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.