The US Department of State released the 2019 report on human rights practices for
Macedonia. High-level corruption and violence against LGBT individuals are noted
as major issues, and it praises the government’s commitment to a independent
judiciary.
A serious human rights issue in Macedonia is the limited independence of the
judiciary, the politicized Judicial Council and inadequate funding, which continue to
hamper the effectiveness of the fight against corruption. High-level corruption and
violence against the LGBT community are a serious problem for human rights as
well, according to a US State Department report on human rights in Macedonia for
2019.
NGOs stated the government’s dominant role in the economy created opportunities
for corruption. The government was the country’s largest employer; some analysts
estimated it employed as many as 180,000 persons, despite official statistics
showing public sector employment of approximately 128,000 persons.
In its May report, the EC noted the country has “some level of preparation,” and
“good progress has been made through further consolidating a track record of
investigating, prosecuting and trying high-level corruption cases, and changes to the
legislative framework.” The report specifically noted the February 8 appointment of
the new State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC) was more
transparent than before and highlighted steps taken by the commission to proactively
fight corruption. The commission also acknowledged, however, prevalent corruption
in many areas remained a concern, notes the US Department of State.
