CIVICUS, BCSDN, and MCIC have submitted joint UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submission for Macedonia as one of the seven countries in advance of the 32nd UPR session in January 2019. The submissions examine the state of civil society in each country, including the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression and the environment for human rights defenders. We further provided an assessment of the States’ domestic implementation of civic space recommendations received during the 2nd UPR cycle over 4 years ago and provide a number of targeted follow-up recommendations. Despite a recent improvement in respect for civic freedoms, the submission discusses several restrictions in the last 4 years on investigative journalists and media outlets. We also remain alarmed over smear campaigns against human rights defenders and critics of the government orchestrated by nationalist groups that have occurred in the last years. The full UPR report is available here.
Source: CIVICUS, BCSDN