North Macedonia should bridge the gap between commitments and reality on human rights of Romas and environmental protection, the Council of Europe said. In his new memorandum, the organization’s Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty raised concerns about environmental risks disproportionately affecting Romas, including air and waste pollution, lack of sanitation and exclusion from public services.

As for broader environmental issues, the official noted that poor implementation of laws negatively impacts health and human rights, with cities like Skopje, Bitola, and Tetovo among the most polluted in Europe. O’Flaherty also warned of pressure on journalists and activists.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty published a Memorandum on the Human Rights of Roma and on Issues Related to the Right to a Clean and Healthy Environment in North Macedonia, following his visit in April. He acknowledged the country’s significant efforts and political will to address human rights challenges faced by the Roma community.

Nevertheless, the official observed a gap between the policy framework and its implementation. O’Flaherty expressed concern that Romas continue to face discrimination, poverty and social exclusion. The government responded that relevant authorities would give careful attention to his recommendations.

The commissioner pointed to environmental risks disproportionately affecting Romas, including air and waste pollution, lack of sanitation and exclusion from public services.

Turning to broader environmental issues, he noted North Macedonia’s strong legal and policy framework and international commitments, including constitutional recognition of the right to a healthy environment, criminalizing ecocide and pledging to phase out coal. “Yet, poor implementation negatively impacts health and human rights, with cities like Skopje, Bitola, and Tetovo among the most polluted in Europe. Challenges remain in waste management, pollution control, and public access to environmental information,” the Council of Europe said.

Marginalized Roma communities disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards

O’Flaherty was informed that marginalized Roma communities experience disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards due to poverty and their living conditions. He visited a settlement in Skopje that has not been legalized in Skopje.

In such settlements, Romas often live in precarious conditions, with dwellings prone to mould and lacking access to services that are essential for living in a healthy environment, including sanitation facilities, sewage systems and clean running water, the memorandum reads.

Air quality meters have been installed in other parts of the city of Skopje, but not in the Roma-dominated Šuto Orizari

“The commissioner is concerned that vulnerable Roma communities are overexposed to air pollution because of poor quality housing and because they burn wood, plastic and waste for heating, due to poverty and a lack of access to safe energy sources. This increases the risk of respiratory illnesses, chronic diseases and reduces life expectancy. In this regard, the commissioner notes that air quality meters, designed to measure spikes in pollution levels and warn the inhabitants, have been installed in other parts of the city of Skopje, but not in the municipality of Šuto Orizari,” mostly inhabited by Roma, the report adds.

The official was informed that areas inhabited by Romas are sometimes excluded from public garbage collection, exposing them to waste pollution and further health risks.

Efforts underway to provide jobs, equipment to informal waste recyclers

O’Flaherty highlighted the recent efforts to equip a local kindergarten in Šuto Orizari with solar panels for heating and to increase the number of parks. In addition, he said he was impressed by a social enterprise that works for the recognition of the contribution of informal waste recyclers to environmental protection and supports them by providing formal employment and electric tricycles for the transport of waste.

The commissioner recommended that the authorities design and implement measures to uphold the community’s right to a healthy environment, as enshrined in the constitution. It includes access to adequate housing, notably as regards the requirements of adequate location and access to public services like clean water, sanitation and the removal of waste and toxic waste.

Persistent challenges in waste management including illegal landfills

The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights acknowledged that North Macedonia has ratified multiple international and regional conventions and agreements related to the protection of nature, the atmosphere, tackling climate change, and dealing with chemicals, waste, soil and industrial accidents. It is one of the few member states of the Council of Europe to have introduced the crime of ecocide.

On the other hand, O’Flaherty raised the issue of the lack of implementation of laws and strategic objectives. He is concerned about negative impacts on people’s health of high levels of air pollution, with three cities in the country – Skopje, Bitola and Tetovo – regularly exceeding safe levels of polluting particles and ranking among the 10 most polluted cities in Europe, and sometimes the world, according to the memorandum.

O’Flaherty acknowledged that serious environmental issues cannot be resolved overnight and praised North Macedonia for numerous efforts

The official wrote about the negative impacts on human rights and the environment posed by persistent challenges in waste management and the proliferation of illegal landfills, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities including Romas.

Serious environmental problems cannot be resolved overnight, he underscored. The commissioner praised the government for efforts that include increasing the number of electric buses, tax reduction on other electric vehicles, work toward an energy system based on gas and the phasing out of coal, as well as ongoing projects to address toxic sites and illegal landfills.

Access to justice largely absent

O’Flaherty learned that access to justice in cases of environmental human rights violations, including the right to a healthy environment, has been largely absent in North Macedonia.

Individuals supported by nongovernmental organizations working on human rights and the environment were unsuccessful in several environmental court cases. The Macedonian Young Lawyers Association (MYLA or MZMP) reported having brought six cases since 2019 concerning air pollution, waste management and water pollution. They were dismissed, with courts arguing they do not have the competence to deal with such matters.

NGOs also report that in some cases the Aarhus Convention and international law are incorrectly interpreted by domestic courts.

The commissioner observed that environmental activists are generally free to carry out their work in North Macedonia. However, he expressed concern about an increase in the use of vexatious lawsuits or so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) to silence investigative journalists and activists.

One example is Investigative Reporting Lab Macedonia (IRL), a journalistic NGO. It was ordered to pay thousands of euros of legal costs in the context of a defamation complaint about its documentary entitled Conspiracy Against the Air. Threats of the use of legal defamation and smear campaigns online are also used to silence activists, the Council of Europe added in the memorandum.

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