Documents: Fundamental rights - Human rights

Analysis of the election programmes of the political parties for the parliamentary elections in December 2016, from the viewpoint of the persons with disabilities.

This Analysis takes into consideration the hitherto experiences in court cases instituted by persons returned from border crossing points and is based on data available to the KHAM NGO, KHAM being one of the key importance organizations offering assistance in such cases.

This document summarizes the findings and recommendations on public policies, developed within the research carried out under the Combating barriers for Exit: Macedonian Roma at the Border project, implemented by the European Policies Institute (EPI) and the citizens' association KHAM. The main objective of the project is to contribute towards changing the public discourse based on policies and practices which present the Roma as a threat to the visa-free regime for Macedonia.

This analysis examines the negative effects of the public discourse strategy following the pressures by the EU on Macedonia regarding the abuse of the visa-free regime. The analysis covers media outlets with the highest ratings and with the largest circulation in Macedonia, elaborating upon the manner they report about the issue Roma being returned from border crossing points of the Republic of Macedonia, which is unlawful. The media played a key role in the negative framing of the Roma ethnic community that was caught in the web of repercussions occurring following the visa liberalization. The negative framing of an entire ethnic group resulted in a double violation of rights of persons belonging to the Roma community.