Newsroom
OSCE Skopje Mission supports municipal committees for inter-community relations
SKOPJE 28 March 2006
SKOPJE, 28 March 2006 - At a workshop held in Skopje today, some 150 participants defined the role municipal committees for inter-community relations can play in the country's mixed ethnic municipalities. They also agreed upon several concrete technical options that municipalities can choose for both selecting these bodies and regulating how they function internally and with the municipal councils.
Such committees have been created in 21 municipalities of the country under the law on Local Self-Government in order to provide a forum for dealing with inter- community issues at the municipal level.
The discussion, organized by the Association of Municipalities and supported by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje, brought together mayors, municipal lawyers, committee representatives, local officials, members of parliament and academics.
"The OSCE Skopje Mission has supported the committees since their establishment," said Philipp Stiel, Head of the Mission's Public Administration Reform Unit.
"It was time to evaluate their functioning and to use an exchange of best practices and lessons learned to arrive at concrete ways that municipalities can fully institute them in their municipal statutes."
Imer Selmani, the mayor of the municipality of Saraj and participant in the workshop, added: "The committees are expected to tackle issues that concern communities but have not been raised so far. Certain topics are difficult to address because people fear damaging the interethnic relations. We hope the committees will help overcome this."
Such committees have been created in 21 municipalities of the country under the law on Local Self-Government in order to provide a forum for dealing with inter- community issues at the municipal level.
The discussion, organized by the Association of Municipalities and supported by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje, brought together mayors, municipal lawyers, committee representatives, local officials, members of parliament and academics.
"The OSCE Skopje Mission has supported the committees since their establishment," said Philipp Stiel, Head of the Mission's Public Administration Reform Unit.
"It was time to evaluate their functioning and to use an exchange of best practices and lessons learned to arrive at concrete ways that municipalities can fully institute them in their municipal statutes."
Imer Selmani, the mayor of the municipality of Saraj and participant in the workshop, added: "The committees are expected to tackle issues that concern communities but have not been raised so far. Certain topics are difficult to address because people fear damaging the interethnic relations. We hope the committees will help overcome this."