Macedonia, which became independent in 1991 following the breakup of Yugoslavia, is a parliamentary democracy with multiethnic party representation and a popularly elected president.  In multiparty parliamentary elections held in 1998, opposition parties defeated parties of the governing coalition in elections that international observers concluded were conducted fairly and reflected the will of the electorate.  President Boris Trajkovski was elected in 1999 in elections that were characterized by international observers as having some irregularities, including numerous incidents of ballot stuffing.  In May in response to an ethnic-Albanian insurgency that began in February, all major parties represented in Parliament joined a national unity government.  The Government generally respects the Constitutional provisions for an independent judiciary, although at times the judiciary was inefficient. 

In February armed ethnic-Albanian extremists launched a violent insurgency near the Kosovo border.  A group of Kosovar and Macedonian ethnic Albanians, calling themselves the "National Liberation Army" (NLA), purporting to fight for greater civil rights for ethnic Albanians in Macedonia, seized territory and launched attacks against government forces.  Many observers ascribed other motives to the NLA, including support for criminality and the assertion of political control over affected areas.  The insurgency spread through northern and western Macedonia.  In June the insurgents occupied Aracinovo, a village five kilometers from the capital, Skopje.  After a government offensive failed to remove them, and at the Government's request, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) negotiated the insurgents' withdrawal and escorted them out of the Aracinovo area.  On July 5, with international facilitation, the Government and the insurgents negotiated a cease-fire, and on August 13, the ruling ethnic-Macedonian and ethnic-Albanian party leaders signed the Framework Agreement and its annexes, which laid the groundwork for the preservation of a peaceful, unitary, multiethnic state with improved civil rights for minority groups.  The Agreement called for the implementation of constitutional and legislative changes.  On September 26, under the terms of the demilitarization agreement, NLA combatants completed a voluntary hand-over of weapons to NATO troops and announced their disbandment.  The Framework Agreement was ratified by Parliament in a series of three sets of votes; in the final vote on November 16, Parliament amended the country's Constitution, as required by the peace agreement, to better protect citizens' civil rights

At independence in November 1991, Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing a mere 5% of the total federal output of goods and services. The collapse of Yugoslavia ended transfer payments from the center and eliminated advantages from inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence of infrastructure, UN sanctions on Yugoslavia, one of its largest markets, and a Greek economic embargo over a dispute about the country's constitutional name and flag hindered economic growth until 1996. GDP subsequently rose each year through 2000. However, the leadership's commitment to economic reform, free trade, and regional integration was undermined by the ethnic Albanian insurgency of 2001. The economy shrank 4.6% because of decreased trade, intermittent border closures, increased deficit spending on security needs, and investor uncertainty. Growth recovered moderately in 2002 but unemployment at one-third of the workforce remained a critical problem.

The crime rate in FYRO Macedonia is low compared to more industrialized countries. An analysis was done using INTERPOL data for FYRO Macedonia. For purpose of comparison, data were drawn for the seven offenses used to compute the United States FBI's index of crime. Index offenses include murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. The combined total of these offenses constitutes the Index used for trend calculation purposes. FYRO Macedonia will be compared with Japan (country with a low crime rate) and USA (country with a high crime rate). According to the INTERPOL data, for murder, the rate in 2002 was 6.53 per 100,000 population for FYRO Macedonia, 1.05 for Japan, and 5.61 for USA. For rape, the rate in 2002 was 1.77 for FYRO Macedonia, compared with 1.75 for Japan and 31.77 for USA. For robbery, the rate in 2002 was 22.72 for FYRO Macedonia, 5.02 for Japan, and 148.50 for USA. For aggravated assault, the rate in 2002 was 22.96 for FYRO Macedonia, 26.68 for Japan, and 318.55 for USA. For burglary, the rate in 2002 was 489.52 for FYRO Macedonia, 238.59 for Japan, and 740.80 for USA. The rate of larceny for 2002 was 345.81 for FYRO Macedonia, 1550.41 for Japan, and 2484.64 for USA. The rate for motor vehicle theft in 2002 was 28.26 for FYRO Macedonia, compared with 49.71 for Japan and 430.64 for USA. The rate for all index offenses combined was 917.57 for FYRO Macedonia, compared with 1873.21 for Japan and 4160.51 for USA. (Note that year 2001 data were used for Japan and USA, since at the time of the analysis, only 2001 data were available. Also, burglary and larceny data for FYRO Macedonia were drawn from UN data for 1994.)

Between 1995 and 2002, according to INTERPOL data, the rate of murder increased from 3.74 to 6.53 per 100,000 population, an increase of 74.6%. The rate for rape decreased from 2.51 to 1.77, a decrease of 29.5%. The rate of robbery increased from 7.78 to 22.72, an increase of 192%. The rate for aggravated assault decreased from 43.74 to 22.96, an increase of 47.5%. The rate of motor vehicle theft decreased from 41.18 to 28.26, a decrease of 31.4%. The rate of total index offenses decreased from 934.28 to 917.57, a decrease of 1.8%. Data on burglary and larceny for these projections were drawn from UN 1994, and were the same for both years).

The Ministry of Interior, which oversees the uniformed police, the criminal police, the border police, the police reservists, and the state intelligence service, is under the control of a civilian minister; a parliamentary commission oversees operations.  The Ministry of Defense shares with the border police responsibility for border security.  The security forces committed serious human rights abuses.

The Government has committed extrajudicial killings.  Police beat at least two ethnic-Albanian detainees to death.  During combat operations associated with the ethnic-Albanian insurgency, police killed several civilians. There were deaths in police custody.  On June 9, ethnic-Albanian journalists claimed that police beat Metush Ajeti to death in a Skopje police station.  Ajeti's body was found in the street.  However, the Ministry of the Interior allegedly denied that Ajeti had been arrested by police.  On August 13, police severely beat four ethnic-Albanian men at the Skopje hospital reportedly after finding weapons in the trunk of their car.  Following the beatings at the hospital, police took the men to the police station, beat them, and threatened to kill them.  One of the men, Nazmi Aliu, died from the injuries he sustained.

From August 10 to 12, 2001, Macedonian police shot and killed six persons and burned 22 civilian buildings during a military operation at Ljuboten, according to Human Rights Watch and other international monitors who visited the site.  Although some or all of those killed may have been NLA combatants, at least two--Sylejman Bairami and Muharrem Ramadani (age 68)--appeared to have been civilians who were killed after police removed them from the basement in which they were hiding.  A powder burn on Bairami's head indicated that he had been shot at close range.  Macedonian vigilantes reportedly beat unconscious three ethnic-Albanian men who later fled Ljuboten as police stood by and watched.  Police shot one man, Atulah Qaini, in the head while he fled from the vigilantes.  According to Human Rights Watch, family members of Atulah Qaini recovered his badly bruised body from the Skopje morgue, shortly after he had been taken into police custody at Ljuboten.  There are allegations that Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski was present in Ljuboten and directed the operations on August 12.  An internal police investigation of the incident summarily dismissed accusations of police wrongdoing.

Several persons disappeared during the conflict, possibly for political reasons or due to conflicts among organized crime groups.  Authorities and the local press frequently addressed the status of 12 ethnic Macedonians and, less frequently, 6 ethnic Albanians, all of whom disappeared during the conflict.   Former NLA leaders denied knowledge of the whereabouts of the 12 ethnic Macedonians who disappeared from their villages around Tetovo.  The Government accused the NLA of having killed them, and the Public Prosecutor and the Minister of Interior claimed that their bodies were buried northeast of Tetovo.  However, an exhumation of the suspected gravesite conducted by the Ministry of the Interior from November 22 to 25 was inconclusive at year's end.

Police continued to compel citizens to appear at police stations through an "invitation" for "informative talks," despite a law passed in 1997 that states that police cannot force citizens to appear without a court order.  There were continued credible reports that police used this practice.  During the year, police detained journalists, at times for "informative talks".

The army and police set up many checkpoints on roads and in villages in the northern and eastern parts of the country, which restricted freedom of movement for some persons, especially young ethnic-Albanian males.  Police at times harassed and assaulted ethnic-Albanian civilians at checkpoints or arbitrarily detained them.  Police also at times harassed international monitors and journalists at checkpoints and pointed weapons at them.  Since February the Government also has restricted access to militarily sensitive areas due to the security situation.

Arbitrary arrest and detention were serious problems in year 2001.  Although the law requires warrants for arrests, this provision frequently was ignored, and it was common for a warrant not to be issued until some time after an arrest.  The Constitution states that a person must be arraigned in court within 24 hours of arrest.  The accused is entitled to contact a lawyer at the time of arrest and to have a lawyer present during police and court proceedings.  However, according to human rights observers and criminal defense attorneys, police at times violated the 24-hour time period within which a suspect must be arraigned, and denied detainees immediate access to an attorney. 

The maximum length of pretrial detention is 180 days.  Pretrial detention was a problem, and detainees frequently were held based on weak evidence.  There were cases of pretrial detainees held for 2 to 3 months before being tried.  The Government denied international community members, including the ICRC, access to pretrial detainees without a government representative present. 

During the conflict, police frequently and arbitrarily detained ethnic-Albanian males, particularly at roadblocks and checkpoints.  According to international human rights observers, police at times placed plastic garbage and other bags over the heads of ethnic-Albanian detainees to conceal their identities as they moved the detainees from one police station to another in efforts to circumvent the 24-hour detention rule.  Many detainees were beaten severely and then released without charges.  For example, in April NGO's reported that police arbitrarily arrested and severely beat approximately 30 men from Poroj.  During the year, brief arbitrary police detentions of foreign nationals increased, under pretexts, including the need for protective custody to check identification.  These detentions continued throughout the year; for example, on November 28, police detained four performers from Albania.
 

There were credible reports that the police arbitrarily arrested and detained Roma.

The police continued a pattern of selective enforcement of various laws and regulations against individuals and businesses linked with the political opposition.

On August 13, concurrent with the Framework Agreement, President Trajkovski signed a declaration of immunity for the NLA.  In October under the NATO-NLA demilitarization agreement, President Trajkovski elaborated on immunity from prosecution and detention for former NLA combatants who disarmed by September 26.  The immunity does not cover persons suspected of war crimes subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at the Hague, such as torture, murder, ethnic cleansing, and demolition of religious buildings.  In December the Government pardoned 64 persons out of 88 detained for crimes committed as members of the NLA insurgency.  The Government did not issue a statement explaining why it did not release the remaining 24 persons who were eligible for pardon.

At year's end 2001, approximately 100 criminal cases against former NLA members based on indictments brought prior to the September 26 disarmament and disbandment of the NLA remained outstanding; however, the Government stated that it would not detain the indictees, and none of the indictees were in detention at year's end.  Although the Government stated that in practice the indictments were frozen, the indictments technically remained in the processing stage.  Former NLA members, ethnic-Albanian party leaders, NGO observers, and members of the international community argued that these provisions were insufficient and pressed the Government to draft and pass an amnesty law; however, no law had been drafted by year's end.  Most of the 700 ethnic Albanians who evaded military service (either their initial draft obligation or reserves activation during the conflict) were not detained.  However, 20 Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to serve in the military were fined or jailed. 

The NLA frequently and arbitrarily detained ethnic Macedonians, and in at least one instance, ethnic Serbs, in areas under its control.  Most were released unharmed shortly after their detention.  According to Human Rights Watch, on May 24, NLA elements detained four ethnic-Serb men--all reportedly fathers of Macedonian policemen--from the village of Matejce and allegedly tortured them for 4 days before they released them.  On June 29, NLA insurgents detained three ethnic Macedonians, including one foreigner.  On August 26, the NLA released the three men to the ICRC.

On November 10 and 11, Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski had deployed special forces, the "Lions," to areas formerly held by the NLA.  In response, armed ethnic-Albanian groups detained approximately 70 ethnic Macedonians in surrounding villages who were later released.

The Constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government does not practice it.

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the Government respected this provision in practice, although the court system was still developing and at times was inefficient and slow. 

The court system is three-tiered and is comprised of municipal courts, district courts, and a Supreme Court.  A Constitutional Court deals with matters of constitutional interpretation.  The judiciary is generally weak and was influenced by political pressure and corruption, in part due to low salaries; however, there were not widespread reports of abuse or systemic corruption.  The Constitutional Court has a mandate to protect the human rights of citizens but has not taken action in any case in this area.

Trials are presided over by judges appointed by the Republican Judicial Council (an independent agency) and confirmed by Parliament.  The judges are assisted by two community-member consulting jurors, although the judge makes the final decision.  The Constitution provides for a public attorney to protect the constitutional and legal rights of citizens when violated by bodies of state administration and other agencies with public mandates: the Office of the People's Ombudsman was created and became functional in 1997.

The Framework Agreement states that the judiciary should better reflect the ethnic composition of the population and states that one-third of the judges on the Constitutional Court, the Ombudsman, and three members of the Judicial Council will be chosen by the Parliament, including a majority of the ethnic-minority Members of Parliament.

The law provides for the right to a fair trial, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court, the right to a lawyer in pretrial and trial proceedings, and the right to an appeal, and the judiciary generally enforced these rights.  Court hearings and the rendering of verdicts are open to the public except in some cases, such as those involving minors and those in which the personal safety of the defendant is of concern.  Trials cannot be televised, pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Code, although the court in certain cases can authorize the presence of television and film cameras.

Under the NATO-NLA demilitarization agreement, President Boris Trajkovski in October further elaborated on immunity from prosecution and detention for former NLA combatants who disarmed by September 26.

There were no reports of political prisoners.

Prison conditions generally meet international standards, and prisons meet basic needs of food, hygiene, and access to medical care.  The Ministry of Justice reported two deaths in custody as due to natural causes.  Men and women are held separately.  While juveniles also are supposed to be held separately, limited facilities at times result in older juveniles being confined with adults.  Pretrial detainees are held separately from convicted criminals. 

The Government permits prison visits to prisoners by independent human rights monitors and the Human Rights Ombudsman.  In February the Government signed an agreement allowing the ICRC to visit and register convicted prisoners under procedures that the ICRC reported were acceptable.

Domestic and other violence against women was a persistent and common problem.  Legal recourse is available to rape victims, including victims of marital rape.  However, cultural norms discourage the reporting of such violence, and criminal charges on the grounds of domestic violence were very rare.  Public concern about violence against women was not evident in the media, although some women's groups were working to raise awareness of the issue.  Shelters for victims of spousal abuse were operated by NGO's.  A hot line remained open, but had limited hours.  The Government offers some limited support for victims of domestic violence, but relies heavily on international donor support to maintain a hot line and shelter.

Trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and pornography was a problem.

Sexual harassment of women in the workplace was a problem, but no statistics were available to indicate its scope. The Constitution extends the same legal rights to women as to men; however, society, in both the Muslim and Christian communities, is patriarchal and the advancement of women into nontraditional roles was limited.  Women remained underrepresented in the higher levels of the government and private sectors, although some professional women are prominent.  Women from some parts of the ethnic-Albanian community do not have equal opportunities for employment and education, primarily due to traditional and religious constraints on their full participation in society and schools.  In some traditional, rural ethnic-Albanian communities, some women are disenfranchised due to the practice of family/proxy voting through which men vote on behalf of women family members.

Maternity benefits include 9-months' paid leave, and benefits are received in practice.  Women also retain the right to return to their jobs for 2 years after giving birth.

Women's advocacy groups include the Humanitarian Association for the Emancipation, Solidarity, and Equality of Women; the Union of Associations of Macedonian Women; and the League of Albanian Women

The Government is committed to the rights and welfare of children; however, it is limited by resource constraints.  The Office of the Ombudsman contains a special unit for children, partially funded by UNICEF.  Education is compulsory through the eighth grade, or to the age of 15 or 16.  Primary and secondary education is free, although students must provide their own books and other materials.  At both the primary and secondary levels, girls in some ethnic-Albanian communities remained underrepresented in schools, and only approximately half of ethnic minority students go on to high school.  This is due in part to lack of available classes in minority languages at the secondary level, and in part to many rural, ethnic-Albanian families' conviction that girls should be withdrawn from school at 14 years of age.  According to Romani community leaders, up to 10 percent of Romani children never enroll in school, and of those who do, 50 percent drop out by the fifth grade, and only 35 to 40 percent finish the eighth grade.  The Ministry of Education encourages ethnic-minority students, especially girls, to enroll in secondary schools.  Medical care for children is adequate but is hampered by the generally difficult economic circumstances of the country and by the weak national medical system.

New legislation addressing shortfalls in the juvenile justice system and reforming existing law to meet international standards was put forward for Government review in December.  The new juvenile criminal code is expected to strengthen social services and to emphasize re-education, rehabilitation, and reintegration of minor delinquents into society.

Like other civilians, children were caught in the country's internal conflict.  Thousands of children were displaced from their homes and schools, and a small undetermined number were killed.  Despite government cease-fires to permit their departure and ICRC-provided transport to safe points, some ethnic-Albanian parents elected to remain in their homes with their children in conflict areas during combat operations, and at least one child was killed by artillery fire as a result.

There is no societal pattern of abuse against children.

Trafficking in girls for prostitution and pornography is a growing problem.

The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking, although traffickers can be prosecuted under other laws; trafficking in women and girls, particularly for prostitution and pornography, was a serious and growing problem.  The Ministry of Interior estimated that there are approximately 2,000 victims of trafficking in Macedonia at any given time, and that between 8,000 and 18,000 women and girls are trafficked to or through the country per year.

The country is a transit country and a destination country for trafficked persons.  Traffickers recruit women from other countries, especially Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine, to work as prostitutes in several Macedonian towns.  Women are also trafficked through the country on their way to Albania and Kosovo, and then to Italy and other European countries.

Some trafficking victims are recruited through advertisements of work abroad, such as waitressing, and are then forced into prostitution.  While the majority of women and girls trafficked from other countries transit the country on their way to other countries, some women considered by traffickers as less desirable in Western Europe are left in the country without money and forced to work as prostitutes.  Trafficking to and through the country is reportedly linked to organized crime groups.  Trafficked victims work in brothels and nightclubs in the country.  Victims are subject to violence, including rape and assault, and intimidation. 

Instances of corruption and involvement of police in trafficking in persons occurred on the local level.  At least two law enforcement officials have been dismissed for accepting bribes from traffickers.  

There was no specific law prohibiting trafficking, although traffickers could be prosecuted under laws prohibiting slavery, kidnaping, illegal entry, and alien smuggling.  Trafficking in persons for the purpose of illegal immigration was not prohibited specifically by law but is covered by immigration regulations.  Victims were encouraged to provide information about their traffickers for criminal prosecution; however, there was no witness protection legislation to protect victims.  At least three traffickers were convicted on rape, kidnaping, or illegal border crossing charges during the year.

The Government routinely cooperated with neighboring governments in trafficking cases.  Despite budgetary limitations, the Government has devoted significant resources to antitrafficking programs, including an interministerial working group devoted to legal reform, the creation of a special police unit dedicated to anti-trafficking efforts, and the establishment of a shelter for victims.  The Interior Ministry's Department on Organized Crime has the lead on antitrafficking efforts and devotes two persons to the issue full-time.

Traditionally victims of trafficking were detained, fined, and deported, and police insensitivity was a problem; however, sensitivity training for police was slowly changing attitudes at year's end.  The Government does not provide funding to NGO's to support victims' services.  Most services are provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through foreign donors.  The Government cooperated with IOM to provide shelter and limited medical and psychological assistance to trafficked women on an ad hoc basis.  Public awareness of the problem is low and there have been only limited public awareness campaigns to highlight prevention of the problem.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia straddles several main transportation routes linking Turkey and Western Europe, and as a consequence has become a significant transshipment point for drug traffickers operating along those routes. Illicit narcotics smuggling through Macedonia is also affected by the continuing domestic security crisis in neighboring Albania, which has become a favorite jumping-off point for smugglers attempting to reach Italy. Macedonian authorities believe that only a small portion of the illegal narcotics that enter the country end up on the local market--the vast bulk of the traffic passes through, bound for Western Europe. The traffickers deal mostly with cannabis, heroin and sometimes cocaine; precursor chemicals and money laundering are not known to be significant problems. Domestic production of cannabis is thought to be on the rise.

There is legal poppy cultivation for the pharmaceutical industry, with all production going to the factory for processing. Controls are tight, and there have been no reported cases of diversion. Some illicit poppy growing occurs, but on a very small scale.

Internet research assisted by Phy Long Ngov