Documents library

The Commentary on the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination (Commentary) is a successful pioneering attempt to bring closer the contents of the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination (LPPD) by analytically deconstructing the scope of its articles, for which the authors have provided support from the relevant equality and non-discrimination literature, practice and case law of domestic and international courts and bodies. The Commentary was developed in the period 2021-2024 as joint effort of five experts from judiciary, academia and legal practitioners. The preparatory work was initiated in 2019, but as the new Law on Prevention and Protection of Discrimination (LPPD) was adopted in October 2020, the work on the new text commenced in 2021. The clear expression of the language and the exceptional level of elaborating the subject-matter make the Commentary potentially useful for different professional backgrounds and different levels of understanding of the subject-matter. One of the qualities of this Commentary is that it not only dwells on the theoretical and practical side of the LPPD, but it also holds a normative component. Namely, the authors have successfully considered the Law’s shortcomings, too, and made proposals for its improvement, thereby using their own critical and analytical quill and other existing literature and data from relevant institutions. As a specific legal publication, the Commentary targets judges, lawyers and other legal professionals working on cases of discrimination as well as independent institutions, such as the Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination and the Ombudsperson Institution, as well as civil society and international organizations active in this area.

The Hate Crime Victimization Survey Report provides the results from the second survey of hate crime victimization carried out in North Macedonia between June and July 2023 (following the first one in 2018). The Survey presents a comprehensive overview of the prevalence of hate crime on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and political beliefs, as perceived by the victims, as well as looks into underreporting of hate crimes. The survey comes four years after the adoption of the amendments to the Criminal Code, introducing “hate” as a qualified form of several crimes. The report aims to offer evidence to assist the development of effective measures that respond to and combat the phenomena, guide targeted policy and strategy by national and local authorities, and support civil society organizations in their advocacy work.

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.