Publications

This paper aims at providing strategic directions to policy makers on how to incorporate the specifics of the Local Self-Government Units (LSGU) within the Public Administration Reform (PAR) Strategy 2018-2022 in a comprehensive and meaningful way. It also offers a detailed overview of each chapter of the Strategy. In parallel, the paper portrays main findings from the survey with LSGUs and the conclusions of the regional roundtables and the workshop.

The publication includes a selection of current legal issues in the area of criminal procedure law, including confirmed, abolished or altered decisions of the Basic Criminal Court Skopje, enacted between 2013 and 2019, i.e. from the moment when the 2010 Law on Criminal Procedure started to be implemented. This publication aims at tackling certain legal issues that are current in the everyday work of Criminal Court judges by using a wider approach that includes the legal stand of the second instance court, and the ECtHR jurisprudence. Not available in English.

In 2019, the OSCE Mission to Skopje together with the Coalition ‘All for Fair Trials’ implemented trial monitoring activities focused on criminal cases in the field of organised crime and corruption. The Analysis of the data obtained from the monitored trials provides a deeper insight into the implementation of the Law on Criminal Procedure in the organized crime and corruption cases and offers recommendations for future interventions and reforms directed towards strengthened judicial system in the Republic of North Macedonia which, in turn, should lead towards increased public trust in the judiciary.

Тhis Analysis is supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, and has been developed in co-operation with the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors with an aim to support the Academy in the process of proper planning and in establishing development priorities. This Analysis of the current state of affairs, accompanied by an empirical research, offers numerous findings and recommendations that build upon other strategic documents, researches and recommendations in relation to the judiciary in North Macedonia and of relevance to the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors.

This publication was prepared in co-operation with the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Illegal Migration and the Academy for Training of Judges and Public Prosecutors “Pavel Shatev” with an aim to help all competent authorities and professionals dealing with trafficking in human beings and trafficking in children to properly apply of the principle on non-punishment of victims. The Guidelines are intended as a practical tool for those responsible for detection, prosecution and adjudication of these serious crimes and those responsible for prevention, identification and provision of support to victims as well as civil society to ascertain the preconditions for non-punishment of victims. This publication is not available in English.

The Guidebook on Reasonable Accommodation, developed by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, is a systematized and analytical review of the legal institute of reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. The publication is based on consideration of existing definitions and legal interpretation set forth in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as in the existent domestic law, international and national case law of courts and various human rights treaty bodies, but also in academic and grey literature. Types of reasonable accommodation addressing particularly the needs of women and girls with disabilities were especially elaborated. Not available in English.

The survey ‘Barometer of Equal Opportunities’, developed by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, explores the perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and awareness of discrimination and inequality of the public at large. It also makes a comparative analysis of results of the three surveys conducted in 2009, 2013 and 2018, and provides an insight into the direction and intensity of changes of perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and awareness of discrimination and inequality in the country in the period from 2009 to 2018. The report examines replies of men and women regarding discrimination on seven grounds- gender, ethnicity, religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation and political affiliation.

The bulletin is a summary of information obtained from the first instance courts in relation to discrimination cases, and from the annual reports of the Anti-discrimination Commission, and the Ombudsman Institution from 2018. It provides data on cases of discrimination and activities of the state institutions and civil society organizations in the field of prevention and protection against discrimination, and it also provides the institutions with recommendations for improvement of the current situation. Not available in English.

This report provides the results from a survey of hate crime victimization carried out in North Macedonia in June and July 2018. The survey, first of this kind carried in the country, presents a more comprehensive account of hate crime victimization in North Macedonia and its impact that had been available to date, as well as identifies the extent of underreporting of hate incidents by surveying a range of different communities of majority and minority social identity on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and political beliefs. The report aims at offering evidence as to the need to develop effective measures that respond to and combat the problem, guide targeted policy and strategy by national and local authorities, and support civil society organizations in their advocacy work.

This Manual is designed to promote implementation of the democratic governance principles in the work of the Municipal Councils of North Macedonia. It aims at promoting the concept of inclusiveness, efficiency and effectiveness, transparency, and openness within the performance of the Municipal Councils’ authorities. Not available in English.