LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey
On 27 October 2020 the Parliament of North Macedonia reinstated the previously repealed law on prevention and protection against discrimination. The law was voted by 69 out of 120 MPs, mainly from the ruling alliance led by the Social-Democratic Party. The law was originally passed in 2019, including then sexual orientation as protection grounds. It was, however, repealed by the Constitutional Court, on grounds that it was not passed with a proper quorum in parliament. The step left LGBTI organisations in North Macedonia extremely dissapointed, taking into account that legal protection from discrimination of LGBTI persons in the country was extremely difficult during the years of rule by VMRO-DPMNE which during its years of rule from 2006-2017 refused to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the law.
In May 2020, ERA and ILGA-Europe joined their Macedonian members in a statement, urging the country’s main political parties to retable the law on prevention and protection of against discrimination as soon as possible after the election.
After the elections several civil society organisations and networks, published a declaration asking the new Parliament for an urgent adoption of the law.
Prior to the vote, the Network against Discrimination, criticized the government’s recent decision to dismiss its proposal to add stricter rules for a more transparent and inclusive procedure to elect members of the anti-discrimination commision. They are warning that the transparent selection of members of the anti-discrimination commission is essential for the law to be put into effect properly. They have urged the parliament, after the adoption of the law, to issue a public call for the election of commission members as soon as possible.