On this page, you will find:

To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our North Macedonia LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For North Macedonia country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our North Macedonia COI page. 

Refugee protection

Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by North Macedonia. 

The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which North Macedonia is signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.

North Macedonia is both a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to its 1967 Protocol.
The former Yugoslavia had signed and ratified the Convention on 28 July 1951 and 15 December 1959, respectively declaring that it considered itself bound by alternative (b) of Section B(1) of the Convention. Furthermore, in 2020, North Macedonia acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Regarding the Dublin Convention, Macedonia is not part of the Dublin III Convention (follow-up of Dublin II, since January 15th 2014) agreement. This means that you can ask for asylum or have your fingerprints taken in Macedonia without having problems when asking for asylum in another Dublin country afterwards. However, North Macedonia has signed a readmission agreement with Serbia – which means that Serbia can return the asylum seekers to Macedonia.

In 2004, North Macedonia passed a set of regulations regarding: the Form of the Application for Recognition of the Right to Asylum, the Manner of Fingerprinting and Photographing Asylum Seekers, the Form and Procedure for Issuing and Replacement of Documents for Asylum Seekers and for Persons with Recognised Right to Asylum or to Temporary Protection in the Republic of Macedonia and on the Manner of Keeping Records.

Since then, they have expanded their legislation. Now, the central legal basis for governing migration and asylum is the Law on International and Temporary Protection of 2018.

Legal aid organisations

Facebook
Address: Str. “Bozidar Adjija” no.1 entry 1 flat 6, Municipality Kisela Voda, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Tel: +389 22 77 24 00
Email: shelter_centar@yahoo.com

Shelter Center provides free legal services in cases where the protection of human rights is at issue.

Website
Facebook
Address: Venijamin Macukovski 2A/3-16, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia
Tel: +389 2 265 8219
Email: info@legis.mk
Contact person: Mersiha Smailovic

LEGIS is a humanitarian Non-Profit Civil Society Organization that provides necessary humanitarian aid. Their goal is to ensure their target population is aware of their rights, liberties and their responsibilities, ensuring access to those rights and legal procedures and representation of vulnerable populations.
 
LEGIS’s team or lawyers and volunteers actively provide legal advice and support to their target populations, refugees, asylum seekers, irregular and detained migrants, or other persons within the legislative process.

Organisations providing other support to refugees

Facebook
Tel: +389 78 264 454
Email: info@ambrela.org.mk

AMBRELA is nonprofit organization and Center of Integration for the Roma population in Shuto Orizari. AMBRELA understands itself as a Center for Integration that aims to promote documentation of un- registered Roma that live outside the nation-state organization as well as their social participation. Their key areas of expertise are: Education, social inclusion, self-empowerment of minorities, gender, Roma culture and grass-roots organizing.

AMBRELA also works with and supports Roma refugees, especially those Roma refugees from the Kosovo crisis period because living “un- documented” makes life difficult. AMBRELA supports this particular group by arranging ID cards for them.

Website
Address: Venijamin Macukovski 2A/3-16, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia
Tel: +389 70 233917
Email: detstvo@detstvo.org.mk

The Journalists for Human Rights work to enhance Human Rights in Macedonia and the broader region. Regarding refugees they:

  • spread information about the refugee situation through the media
  • offer education and workshops with asylum seekers about their rights and responsibility
  • work with internally displaced people.

North Macedonia LGBTQI+ Resources

Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in North Macedonia.

North Macedonia COI

Find North Macedonia Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents. 

We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.

Last updated May 2023