Draft Report does not Reflect Real Problems in the Area of Human Rights in Macedonia

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On the occasion of the release of the draft Fourth Periodical Report on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Foundation Open Society Macedonia and the Macedonian Helsinki Committee organized a working meeting on June 20, 2012, to discuss the contents of the Draft, prepared by the Ministry of Justice.

From the debate held at Hotel ARKA in Skopje (Photo Vančo Džambaski/FOSM)

In the meeting, they noted the need for a more transparent and wider debate on the human rights issues addressed by the Report, which are subject of observation for the non-governmental organizations in Macedonia.

In addition to FOSM and the Helsinki Committee, representatives of the Institute of Human Rights, Macedonian Institute for the Media, Macedonian Young Lawyers Association, the All for Fair Trial Coalition, H.E.R.A., the Commission for Protection from Discrimination and the National Roma Centre took part in the debate.

The participants agreed to work together to prepare a comprehensive opinion on the Draft-Report, having in mind that the offered text doesn’t reflect truly the problems in different aspects of the legal system and human rights. Furthermore, they noted that the Draft was focused on the adopted legislation and not on that legislation’s contributions to improved efficiency of the human rights protection instruments.

The public debate was organized because of the short deadline of five days that the Ministry of Justice allowed for interventions in the Report. Ministry’s representatives, although invited, didn’t appear in the debate, held at Skopje’s Hotel ARKA. (Source: Foundation Open Society Macedonia)