Documents: Fundamental rights - Measures against racism and xenophobia

Directive 2000/43/EC – the Race Equality Directive addresses direct and indirect discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, including harassment and sexual harassment. Its scope covers: (a) conditions for access to employment, to self-employment and to occupation, including selection criteria and recruitment conditions, whatever the branch of activity and at all levels of the professional hierarchy, including promotion; (b) access to all types and to all levels of vocational guidance, vocational training, advanced vocational training and retraining, including practical work experience; (c) employment and working conditions, including dismissals and pay; (d) membership of and involvement in an organisation of workers or employers, or any organisation whose members carry on a particular profession, including the benefits provided for by such organisations; (e) social protection, including social security and healthcare; (f) social advantages; (g) education; (h) access to an

The EU rejects all forms and manifestations of racism and intolerance as they are incompatible with the values and principles upon which the EU is founded. Legal framework includes: - Minimum standards on racist offences and penalties (hate crime, hate speech); - Rules banning incitement to hatred and the promotion of discrimination in audiovisual media; - Minimum standards on rights, support and protection of victims of crime (including specific attention to hate crime victims); - Legislation in the area of nondiscrimination: Employment Equality Directive, covering discrimination on grounds of religion, age, disability and sexual orientation (2000), Race Equality Directive (2004).

The Charter of Fundamental Rights was formally proclaimed in Nice in December 2000 by the European Parliament, Council and Commission and on 1 December 2009, with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Charter was given binding legal effect equal to the Treaties. The Charter entrenches all the rights found in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU; the rights and freedoms enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights; other rights and principles resulting from the common, constitutional traditions of EU countries and other international instruments. It creates legal certainty in the EU, by making fundamental rights clearer and more visible.

The number of detained persons in 2021 (388) is continuously increasing compared to the previous years (2020 – 317, 2019 – 225). There is a slight decrease in the number of detained children in 2021 (55) compared to the same period in 2020 (76). The average period that children spent in detention in RTC Vinojug is 29 days and the maximum is 50 days. In most cases, legal guardian was appointed to the unaccompanied detained children. However sometimes there was a delay in the timely appointment of a guardian. In 2021 the persons were detained at three locations in RC Gazi Baba, RTC Vinojug and RTC Tabanovce. Migrants at RTC Vinojug who were detained as witnesses in the proceedings against the smugglers continued to be held in quarantine before being brought in front of a public prosecutor.

This report is a comprehensive overview of the various practices, policies and procedures in relation to the asylum system in Republic of North Macedonia in 2020. The Report emphasizes the key challenges faced by the asylum seekers and the refugees during the asylum procedure and during realization of other rights. In order to produce this document, we used: a) data gathered during representation of asylum seekers, refugee and migrants, persons under subsidiary protection and recognized refugees in North Macedonia; b) data gathered through monitoring of the condition and treatment of the authorized bodies towards the refugees and migrants in the Transit Centers where MYLA has accessible offices and c) data gathered during the attendance in the Reception Center for Asylum Seekers in Skopje. Furthermore, in order to prepare this Report, we gathered public information, as well as numerous available reports and literature.

This Shadow Report streamlines in a coherent unity all findings, conclusions and recommendations deriving from monitoring the areas covered by Chapter 23 -Judiciary and Fundamental Rights. This is the fifth Shadow Report published by the European Policy Institute-Skopje (EPI) while taking into consideration the comments and opinions of the 23 Network members. The previous four Shadow Reports cover the period from October 2014 to July 2015, then the period from July 2015 to April 2016, the period from May 2016 to January 2018 and the period from June 2018 to March 2019.

This policy brief summarises the main findings and recommendations from the Shadow Report on Chapter 23 for the period from May 2016 to January 2018 prepared by the European Policy Institute-Skopje and the Helsinki Committee for the Human Rights. The reporting includes three distinct periods: - period prior to the early parliamentary elections on 11 December 2016, - transition period after the elections and before the formation of the new Government on 31 May 2017 and - period from the election of the new Government by the end of January 2018. The report presents the key developments in the analysed period and provides policy recommendations in each of the areas of Chapter 23. For a detailed analysis of all areas please see the Shadow Report.