OSCE/ODIHR Comments on Draft Amendments to certain Provisions of the Criminal Code of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia regarding Bias-motivated Crimes
The Comments consider the draft amendments to be a major improvement compared to the current legal framework for the punishment of bias-motivated crime in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. At the same time, the OSCE/ODIHR provides further guidance on how to bring certain provisions that protect some group characteristics targeted by bias-motivated crimes in line with international standards and good practices throughout the Criminal Code. In the Comments, OSCE/ODIHR has also included recommendations for further improvement, among others, to ensure that actual or perceived association with a group exhibiting such characteristics is also explicitly covered by the draft amendments.
The views, opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this document are not given nor necessarily endorsed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) unless the OSCE is explicitly defined as the Author of this document.