Documents: Fundamental rights - Human rights - Human dignity

This infographic contains data on how does the State Labour Inspectorate handle requests for extraordinary inspection, as well as apposite recommendations for the improvement of the Inspectorate’s efficiency. The Infographic covers the period from January to March 2021 and was produced within the project ‘Improved productivity through better labour legislation in North Macedonia’, funded by the Good Governance Fund of the United Kingdom Government, with the support of the British Embassy Skopje. Opinions and views stated in the contents do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the Government of the United Kingdom.

The COVID-19 virus pandemic has caused global effects on a scale incomparable to any other event in human history. The fast-growing health crisis, which hit almost every country in the world, is causing unforeseeable economic and social consequences, from which humanity is yet to recover. Given the seriousness and uncertainty of the events, many governments, including ours, considered it necessary to declare a state of emergency in order to properly address the dangers and harms of the new coronavirus. And since in times of а state emergency the Government can take action beyond what would normally be allowed, it also meant an alarm for the vigilance of human rights defenders.

For the first time in the country’s history, on March 18, the first decision ever was taken to declare a state of emergency throughout the country. In this state, the Government could enact decrees with legal force. The second decision was made on April 17. Although decrees were aimed at preserving the health of citizens, they (in) directly negatively affected the economy, and thus harmed the quality of life of citizens, and undermined the satisfaction of existential needs of the most vulnerable categories. Some of the most vulnerable categories are the citizens of the Roma ethnic community, still facing discrimination, poverty and exclusion. The consequences of COVID-19 particularly have affected the most disadvantaged people that depend on daily earnings in the informal economy, who live in substandard conditions and who have not been provided with the means to live a dignified life. In this short overview, we analyze the consequences of COVID-19 until May 2020, regarding the Roma

• Towards the Civic Panopticon: Achieving Better Balance between Privacy Safeguarding and the Communication Monitoring Need • Who is the Employer: the Municipality or the Political Party? • Funding Sources, Obtained Funding Levels, and Impact Thereof upon the Judiciary • Will There Be “Whistleblowers” at Universities? Implications of the Law on Whistleblower Protection and Corruption Prevention in the Republic of Macedonia’s Higher Education System • Monitoring the Implementation of International Standards for Fair Trial at the Skopje I and Skopje II Primary Courts • Free Legal Aid – Challenges and Solutions • Accessibility and Inclusiveness of Courts in Macedonia • Analysis of the Law on Deciding and Determining the Amount of the Penalty • Analysis of the enactment of the Law on Deciding and Determining the Amount of the Penalty

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.

Project “Network 23+” implemented by the European Policy Institute-Skopje and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights aims at providing structured contribution of the civil society in monitoring and assessing the policies included in Chapter 23 of the EU Acquis – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights. This report unifies all the findings, conclusions and recommendations that resulted from the monitoring of the areas structured in Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights into a single coherent entirety. In fact, this is the third Shadow Report published by “Network 23”. The previous two cover the periods of October 2014-July 2015 and July 2015-April 2016. This report encompasses the period between the beginning of May 2016 and the end of January 2018. The report’s period has been extended in order to correspond to the new cycle of European Commission reports, which are to be released in April.

This report on the research into the reintegration of the Roma returnees in Macedonia was prepared within the project “Promoting Sustainable Reintegration of the Roma Returnees in Macedonia”, conducted by the European Policy Institute (EPI), in collaboration with the Non-governmental Organization KHAM. The main goal of the project is to propose and advocate for policies enabling the reintegration of Roma returnees in Macedonia.