The records below may include cases of hate speech, which fall outside of the OSCE's definition of hate crime. Detailed data on bias motivations are not available.
In June and December 2021, the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors (Academy) conducted two one-day online training sessions on hate crime attended by 14 judges and 12 prosecutors from across the country. The training sessions were delivered based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Academy, the Office of the State Public Prosecutor and ODIHR in 2019.
In December 2021, as part of ODIHR's Training Against Hate Crimes for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) programme, a re-fresher training-of-trainers session (ToT) on hate crimes was held for police of in Ohrid. In total, 22 participants (7 women and 15 men) from across the country participated in the training. The trainers shall further deliver the TAHCLE training on hate crimes during the cascaded phase of the programme.
This category includes offences committed with bias based on religion or belief. The records under "unspecified" represent: (i) 17 offences of the dissemination of racist and xenophobic material on the basis of computer systems (Article 394d, par. 1 of the Criminal Code), which may fall outside of the OSCE's hate crime definition; and (ii) five offences of endangering security (Article 144 § 2 and 4 of the Criminal Code).
ODIHR recognizes North Macedonia's efforts to build the capacity of police and prosecutors to address hate crimes effectively. However, based on the available information, it observes that law enforcement agencies have not recorded the bias motivations behind hate crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that North Macedonia would benefit from continuing to raise awareness among and build the capacity of criminal justice officials to address hate crime.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States committed to promptly investigating hate crimes and ensuring that the motives of those convicted of hate crimes are acknowledged. To that end, law enforcement agencies must first record the bias motivation behind hate crimes. Participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support North Macedonia in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as further resources and tailored capacity-building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary.