Advancing fundamental rights in view of EU accession in North Macedonia

Project: Advancing fundamental rights in view of EU accession in North Macedonia
Donator: Civil Rights Defenders
Grant Period: 9 months: 01.04.2022 – 31.12.2022

The focus on the judiciary and anti-corruption policies in the Western Balkans has led to weakened attention to fundamental rights as a crucial element of chapter 23: judiciary and fundamental rights. Whereas there are separate encouraging developments in some policy areas, the overall coordination of this area remains a challenge. In North Macedonia, the stalled accession negotiations process further contributes to the deterioration of the coordination of fundamental rights in view of EU accession. The proposed project will contribute to a renewed focus on fundamental rights as part of chapter 23, as well as increased understanding among both key state institutions and CSOs of key policy areas. Its objective is to support meaningful CSO involvement and policy dialogue on fundamental rights in view of EU accession.

The project targets a variety of target groups, including state institutions, i.e. key ministries, independent bodies, CSOs working in the area of fundamental rights, as well as international representatives. These include the Ministry of Justice, Secretariat for European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judicial sector institutions, Judicial Academy, Association of Judges, Association of Prosecutors, human rights institutions and independent bodies, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Network 23, blueprint initiative, CSOs working on rule of law, media, EU delegation, international representatives, EU and member states decision makers.

The proposed project combines three results which include 1) joint work of CSOs and public institutions in evidence based monitoring of fundamental rights in view of EU accession, 2) increased capacities of CSOs and public institutions on regional and EU best practices and 3) increased public policy advocacy by CSOs on fundamental rights.

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