MACEDONIA

Government
Macedonia is currently represented by a coalition government which includes the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), the Democratic Union of Integration (DUI), and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The government is further supported by the Democratic Party of Turks, the Democratic League of Bosniaks, a minority group consisting of Muslim Slavs, the United Roma Party and the Democratic Party of Serbs.

The opposition parties represented in the Parliament are the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party of Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), the VMRO-People’s party, the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), the Liberal Party (LP), the Farmers party, the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP), the National Democratic Party (NDP), the Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM) and the New Democratic Forces.

The country is an active member of the South-East European Co-operation Process, the Stability Pact, the Central European Initiative and the South-East Europe Cooperation Initiative. It is also a member of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and, since April 2003, of the World Trade Organization.

The European Council decided on December 17, 2005 to grant the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia the status of candidate country in the European Union.

Economy
Macedonia is a small economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) of about $5.1 billion, representing about 0.01% of total world output. It an open economy, highly integrated into international trade. Agriculture and industry have been the two most important sectors of the economy, but the services sector has gained prominence in the past few years. Like in most transition economies, there are significant problems, even as Macedonia takes steps toward reform. A largely outdated industrial infrastructure has not seen much investment during the period of transition. Work force education and skills are competitive, but without adequate job opportunities, many with the best skills seek employment abroad. A low standard of living, high unemployment rate, and relatively low economic growth rate are the most common economic problems. Like most countries in Eastern Europe, Macedonia has a large black market, consisting of around 20 percent of its economy.

Media and Human Rights
In the past several years, there have been concerns about police and security forces misusing firearms. According to an Amnesty International report, on March 2, 2002, police shot dead seven men, six from Pakistan and one from India, in an ambush near Skopje, claiming they were radical Islamic “terrorists” who were planning to attack western embassies in Skopje. However, all evidence indicated that the men were economic migrants on their way to Greece.

Police also continued to mistreat people during arrest and detention, especially in cases concerning ethnic Albanians or Roma. On October 9, 2002, according to the AI report, police allegedly ill-treated Arben Ismaili, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair, after he left his home in Nerezi near Skopje with a neighbor, also an ethnic Albanian. Reportedly, they were stopped by police officers who insulted them with racial slurs, and then punched Arben Ismaili repeatedly in the face despite his pleas that he was disabled and innocent.

Editors of opposition media and human rights organizations are repeatedly targeted by the government. In January 2002, Macedonian television and newspapers repeatedly denounced nongovernmental human rights group the Helsinki Committee because of its criticisms of the government’s human rights violations against ethnic Albanians. This media campaign was orchestrated by members of the government, including the Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.

Gender Issues
Gender-based discrimination is punishable by law under Article 137 of the Penal Code. Rape is punishable under Article 186 of the Penal Code for a period of one to ten years. There is no provision that explicitly defines sexual harassment, although it can be addressed under other equality protections.

The Penal Code prohibits violence against women but lacks a legal provision that explicitly addresses domestic violence. However, in addition to general assault laws, Chapter 19 of the Penal Code, "Criminal acts against gender freedom and gender morality" can be used to prosecute domestic violence.

Prior to 2002, there were no legal provisions that addressed specifically trafficking in women. According to a 2003 Human Rights Watch World Report, the government of Macedonia has taken “steps against trafficking in human beings by passing a law criminalizing trafficking and signing an agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the pre-screening of female undocumented migrants to identify victims of trafficking." A National Commission for Combating Trading in Human beings and Illegal Migration was established in 2001 “for the purposes of following and controlling the state concerning the trade in human beings and illegal migration, as well as for the purposes of co-coordinating the activities of the competent institutions in the Republic of Macedonia, which actively deal with resolving the problems in this field." The Human Rights Watch World Report for 2003 for Macedonia also noted that the Ministry of the Interior opened a shelter for trafficked women and girls. However, there are few trafficking shelters operated by nongovernmental organizations.

In 2004, the Macedonian Parliament consisted of only 18 percent women.

FAIR Fund and Macedonia
More information coming soon on FAIR Fund's partners in Macedonia.