North Macedonia
North Macedonia regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. North Macedonia implemented ODIHR's Training Against Hate Crimes for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) Programme in 2014, training more than 2,000 police officers under the programme by 2018. Following changes to the hate crime provisions in 2018, a refresher training-of-trainers session for police was conducted by ODIHR in December 2021. North Macedonia implemented ODIHR's Prosecutors and Hate Crime Training (PAHCT) programme in 2019, and in 2022 completed a training course on hate crimes for the judiciary together with the OSCE Mission to Skopje.
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 40 | 253 | Not available |
| 2023 | 41 | Not available | Not available |
| 2022 | 54 | Not available | Not available |
| 2021 | 22 | 125 | Not available |
| 2020 | 29 | Not available | Not available |
| 2019 | 23 | - | - |
| 2018 | 33 | - | - |
| 2017 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2016 | 2 | - | - |
| 2015 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 2014 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2013 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2012 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2011 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2010 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2009 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
About 2024 Data
-
The above police number refers to the total number of crimes registered in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of North Macedonia. The figures include an undefined number of hate speech and discrimination cases, as well as offences on the grounds of political opinion, all of which fall outside the OSCE's hate crime definition.
The number of prosecuted cases represents crimes with an element of hate in addition to others elements stipulated in the law. The current case management system cannot produce statistics on hate crime cases only.
Hate crime recorded by police
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR recognizes North Macedonia's efforts to report hate crime information and statistics to ODIHR. However, based on the available information, it observes that North Macedonia’s hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes, while bias motivations are also not recorded. ODIHR also observes that North Macedonia has not reported data on hate crimes recorded by the judiciary to ODIHR. In addition, ODIHR observes that North Macedonia would benefit from further building the capacity of prosecutors and judges to deal with hate crime cases.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States have agreed to a definition of hate crime shared by all OSCE participating States, and have committed to collecting reliable data and statistics in sufficient detail on hate crimes, and to reporting such data periodically to ODIHR. 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.
OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
For 2024, ODIHR received reports of hate incidents in North Macedonia from the following civil society organizations:
- DELO Skopje
- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Skopje
- The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC)
To learn more about these organizations, visit the Contributors page.
In addition, some incidents were recorded as part of ODIHR’s ongoing monitoring across the OSCE region.
All incidents submitted by the above organizations have been analysed by ODIHR. Those that were broadly considered to be hate crimes within the OSCE definition (criminal offence committed with a bias motive) are listed in the tables below according to the bias motivation category. Some incidents involved multiple biases and may be listed in multiple categories.
ODIHR’s insightsFor 2024, ODIHR received reports of eight incidents that took place in North Macedonia in the following bias motivation categories: racist and xenophobic, anti-Christian, anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTI, and anti-Roma. Two incidents were motivated by both racist and xenophobic and anti-Christian bias motives. ODIHR received a low number of reported incidents in North Macedonia. Those reported included: threats against LGBTI organizations; vandalism and damage to places of worship; arson targeting a Roma political office; and a racist and xenophobic physical assault against members of the Turkish community. It should be noted that ODIHR did not receive any reporting on North Macedonia relating to anti-Semitic, other religion or belief, gender-based, or disability hate incidents. This indicates potential gaps in the information reported here. |
Please note that incidents reported here are based on voluntary civil society submissions and as such might not reflect the actual number of incidents or the most targeted communities in North Macedonia.
To address under-reporting, ODIHR encourages any civil society organizations or groups that monitor hate incidents in North Macedonia to report these to ODIHR at hatecrimereport@odihr.pl.
To export an Excel sheet with summaries of all incidents from North Macedonia click here and search by year and country.
CIVIL SOCIETY INCIDENT SUMMARIES
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | DELO Skopje
|
Show info |
| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Skopje
|
Show info |
| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | DELO Skopje
|
Show info |
| 2024-08 | Violent attacks against people | Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Skopje
|
Show info |
Anti-Roma hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10 | Attacks against property | Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Skopje
|
Show info |
Anti-Muslim hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Skopje
|
Show info |
Anti-Christian hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Skopje
|
Show info |
| 2024-04 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
|
Show info |
Anti-LGBTI hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
|
Show info |
INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
The European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) published relevant recommendations in its "Report on the 2023 and 2024 Commission reports on North Macedonia (2025/2021(INI))".