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?
Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
Children & Other Vulnerable Groups
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
Custodial Authorities
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
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Individual Complaints Procedures
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
statelessness
33........ the Committee is deeply concerned by reports that asylum-seekers,
including women and children, are detained at the Reception Centre for Foreigners in Gazi
Baba, by the lack of access to legal assistance, by the absence of judicial review of detention
decisions and by the limited use of alternatives to detention (arts. 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 24 and 26).
34. The State Party should ensur; (a) That the detention of migrants and asylum-seekers is used only as a measure of last resort and is reasonable, necessary and proportionate in the light of the
individual’s circumstances, in accordance with the Committee’s general comment
No. 35 (2014), that alternatives to detention are used in practice, that children are not
deprived of their liberty for immigration-related purposes and that asylum-seekers and
migrants have access to qualified legal aid when the interests of justice so require;
(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.
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;
separated children outside their country of origin (CRC/GC/2005/6)."
(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.
(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.
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Relevant Recommendations or Observations of Regional Human Rights Mechanisms
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;
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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.
Global Detention Project and Partner Submissions to Regional Human Rights Bodies
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
COVID-19
Country Updates
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/
