In response to the Covid-19 crisis, North Macedonia announced on 17 March the closure of all its borders. President Stevo Pendarovski called a state of emergency for 30 days, which was later extended for an additional month. Strict measures were put in place, including curfew and the compulsory use of masks in public places where […]
Last updated: June 2017
DETAINEE DATA
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Detention-Related Legislation
Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
Name
Year in force
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
Types of Authorised Detention Monitoring Institutions
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2009
2017
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2005
2017
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2005
2017
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1994
2017
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 14/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999
2003
2003
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee against Torture
31. Recalling its previous recommendations, the Committee requests the State party:
(a) To improve, at entry points, screening and identification procedures for persons potentially in need of international protection, including those who arrive in an irregular manner, provide them with adequate access to information about their rights, procedures, appeal mechanisms and legal aid, immediately and in a language that they understand, and access to health care, and refrain from engaging in pushbacks and chain refoulements that do not comply fully with its obligations under article 3 of the Convention;
(b) To ensure that the detention of all persons in need of international protection, including those arriving in an irregular manner, is used only as a last resort, where it is justified as reasonable, necessary and proportionate and for as short a period as possible and that such persons are not subjected to arbitrary detention solely for the purpose of securing witness statements for use against smugglers of migrants in court proceedings, take further measures to apply in practice alternatives to detention that are non-custodial and human rights-compliant and provide appropriate non-custodial care arrangements for children and their families, as well as for unaccompanied children;
(c) To strengthen the provision of regular and continued capacity-building activities with a specific focus on the principle of non-refoulement, the identification of persons in vulnerable circumstances, including victims of torture, and the management of tense situations and ensure that police officers, border guards, immigration officials and reception and medical personnel receive appropriate training;
(d) To continue its efforts to improve the material conditions in the reception centre for foreign nationals and guarantee access to basic rights and adequate social, educational, mental and physical health services;
(e) To regulate the use of temporary transit centres in accordance with international standards and ensure that they are not used for the long-term detention of migrants;
(f) To intensify its efforts to end statelessness, in line with the commitment reported by the delegation and the State party’s international obligations.
2024
2024
2024
Human Rights Committee
(a) Ensure that detention of asylum seekers, irregular migrants and refugees
is used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time,
and that alternatives to detention are available in law and implemented in practice;
(b) End as a matter of urgency the detention of unaccompanied minors,
except as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time. The
State party should, without delay, find alternative accommodation for unaccompanied
minors so that they are not detained in the same facilities as adults and ensure that
guardians are appointed without delay to provide legal, social, medical and
psychosocial assistance;
CCPR/C/MKD/CO/3
6
(c) Strengthen its efforts to improve the living conditions in detention
centres for migrants and asylum seekers, including in the Reception Centre for
Foreigners (Gazi Baba) by providing adequate health-care services and sanitary
conditions. It should also take concrete measures to reduce overcrowding, including
by using alternatives to detention;
2015
2015
Committee on the Rights of the Child
§ 68. "The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that unaccompanied and separated children are appointed a guardian and are accommodated separately from adults, and that children among refugees and asylum-seekers are assured of access to education, health care, social protection and housing, taking into account the Committee’s general comment No. 6 (2005) on the treatment of unaccompanied and
separated children outside their country of origin (CRC/GC/2005/6)."
2010
2010
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
§ 13. Bearing in mind its general recommendation No. 30 (2005) on discrimination against non-citizens, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Refrain from the lengthy detention of migrants as potential witnesses in criminal trials while combating smuggling. The Committee also recommends that the State party significantly reduce the maximum period of detention under the new draft law on foreigners and effectively ensure that asylum seekers, in particular unaccompanied minors, are not detained except as a last resort and for the shortest time possible;
(b) Guarantee that all cases of expulsion are well assessed and do not lead to the expulsion of persons who may be subjected to persecution. The State party should also provide asylum seekers with avenues of appeal and recourse prior to the expulsion and ensure they are treated with respect;
(c) Continue with its efforts to improve the living conditions at the reception centres for foreigners. While welcoming the measures taken to address overcrowding and bad conditions in the Gazi Baba reception centre for foreigners, the Committee requests that the Ombudsman, in its capacity as the national preventive mechanism, and concerned non-governmental organizations be granted access to all reception centres with the aim to monitoring conditions and preventing the mistreatment of detainees. The Committee further recommends that the State party implement its new 2015-2025 Strategy on the Integration of Refugees and Foreign Nationals to enhance local integration programmes.
2015
2015
Committee against Torture
§11 The State party should:
(a) Ensure that detention is only applied as a last resort, when determined to be strictly necessary in each individual case and for as short a period as possible, and that alternatives to detention are available in law and implemented in practice;
(b) Adopt all measures necessary to ensure that stateless persons whose asylum claims have been refused, as well as asylum seekers, irregular migrants and refugees, are not held in detention indefinitely, by including statutory time limits for detention and access to an effective judicial remedy to review the necessity of the detention;
(c) Immediately take measures to put an end to the inhuman and degrading conditions of detention in the Gazi Baba detention centre, for example by closing it and establishing alternative punishments;
(d) Ensure full compliance with its obligations under article 3 of the Convention in respect of non-refoulement by ensuring that no person will be returned in violation of article 3 and, in addition, that everyone will be given the opportunity to submit evidence to refute allegations that they constitute a danger to the security of the country, including before an appeal body;
(e) Find alternative accommodation for unaccompanied minors so that they are not kept in the same facilities as the adults. The appointed special guardians should regularly contact the minors and take measures to provide legal aid for them, including by contacting appropriate humanitarian organizations.
2015
2015
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
Yes
104.167 Put an end to the policy of detention and expulsion of migrants and consider alternatives to detention of asylum seekers, particularly unaccompanied minors (Mexico); 104.168 Put an end to detention, refoulement and abusive expulsions of migrants and asylum seekers and ensure their proper and due registration (Switzerland); 104.169 Ensure the protection of the rights of migrants and asylum seekers in accordance with international standards, including the use of alternatives to detention of unaccompanied minors where available (Belarus).
2019
3rd
2019
> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
ECHR, Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights
1997
1997
2017
ECHRP1, Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)
1997
1997
2017
ECHRP7, Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)
1997
1997
2017
ECPT, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment
1997
1997
2017
Relevant Recommendations or Observations of Regional Human Rights Mechanisms
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
The CPT recommends that the authorities take rigorous action to counter acts of ill treatment at the Skopje Reception Centre for Foreigners. All police officers assigned to
custodial tasks at the centre should be provided with appropriate training in inter-personal skills and be regularly reminded that any ill-treatment of detainees, including of a verbal nature, will be punished accordingly. Finally, any allegations of ill-treatment of detained persons by staff which come to the knowledge of the authorities should be the object of a thorough investigation. [...] The CPT recommends that the authorities avoid, as far as possible, detaining irregular migrant families. If, in exceptional circumstances, detention cannot be avoided, families should be accommodated in a dedicated unit of the Reception Centre for Foreigners providing an adequate environment and the period of detention should be limited in time. [..] The CPT recommends that the national authorities conduct a structural reorganisation
of the health-care services at the Reception Centre for Foreigners which should
include the following steps by:
ensuring the presence of a general practitioner in proportion to the number of
detained persons and the recruitment of two full-time nurses;
ensuring that every newly-arrived detainee is clinically assessed by a medical doctor or
by a fully qualified nurse reporting to a doctor as soon as possible and in any case no
later than 24 hours after his/her admission to the Reception Centre. Such medical
screening should also imperatively include tests for transmissible diseases;
ensuring that the health-care service be organised in a manner that allows requests to
consult a doctor to be met without undue delay;
- 70 -
opening personal medical files of detainees on an individual basis and keeping them
locked;
ensuring that the stock of medicines is regularly reviewed and replaced;
adopting and implementing protocols in the field of suicide prevention and hunger
strikes of detained persons.
2016
2016
Global Detention Project and Partner Submissions to Regional Human Rights Bodies
Date of Submission
Observation Date
2019
https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/joint-submission-to-the-european-committee-for-the-prevention-of-torture-north-macedonia
Global Detention Project and Macedonian Young Lawyers Association
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
Pending
2019
2019
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
COVID-19
Country Updates
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, North Macedonia announced on 17 March the closure of all its borders. President Stevo Pendarovski called a state of emergency for 30 days, which was later extended for an additional month. Strict measures were put in place, including curfew and the compulsory use of masks in public places where a safe distance cannot be adhered to. However, these regulations are difficult to adhere to for transit groups as they do not have fixed accommodation or access to face masks.
A 2020 report drafted by the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) stated that push backs at the borders continue to take place. In April, masked officers ordered a mass transfer from a camp in Serbia, informing residents that they would be taken to Presevo as a health precaution. Instead, they were driven to the border with North Macedonia and pushed back at gunpoint. The group was later apprehended by North Macedonian authorities and pushed back to Greece. BVMN has recorded four cases of push-backs from North Macedonia to Greece in April. The country’s president has emphasised their “zero tolerance” approach towards migrants crossing the borders: “Regardless of the corona crisis, we are closely monitoring the situation, but mainly there is no difference in our attitude.”
In two cases in April, officers working in the border regions employed violence, resulting in one migrant being unable to walk without crutches and another suffering from a fractured arm. In the latter incident, after having been beaten, four migrants were driven to the border with Greece and the officers “opened the door of the border” and chased the group shouting “go, go, never come back.” As a result, the group decided to make their way back to Thessaloniki.
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a non-governmental actor in North Macedonia stated that immigration detainees in the country have not been released despite the Covid-19 crisis and detention orders are still being issued. The source, who asked to remain anonymous but whose identity was verified by the GDP, said added that some detainees were taken to quarantine facilities but that no alternatives to detention programs are employed in the country.
Regarding the country’s prisons, it is unclear if measures to protect detainees have been adopted. However, on 9 April, a 47-year-old detainee in the prison of Sutka in Skopje died from Covid-19. A second prisoner died of Covid-19 on 15 April in the pretrial prison in Suto Orizari.
The GDP has been unable to find reports indicating that authorities have adopted any measures to assist migrants in detention.
Government Agencies
Ministry of Interior https://mvr.gov.mk/en-GB
Ombudsman Institution of the Republic of North Macedonia https://ombudsman.mk/homepage.aspx
International Organisations
City Red Cross of Skopje https://ckgs.org.mk/
IOM North Macedonia https://north-macedonia.iom.int/
UNHCR North Macedonia https://www.unhcr.org/north-macedonia.html
NGO & Research Institutions
Journalists for Human Rights http://jhrmk.org/?lang=en
Macedonian Young Lawyers Association https://myla.org.mk/?lang=en
Macedonian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights https://mhc.org.mk/en/
