the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Head of state: Boris Trajkovski (replaced Kiro Gligorov in December)
Head of government: Ljubcho Georgievski
Capital: Skopje
Population: 2 million
Official language: Macedonian
Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes

The Kosovo crisis (see Federal Republic of Yugoslavia entry) dominated events in the country because of the huge influx of refugees and the presence of NATO forces. The failure of the authorities to meet in full their obligations to protect refugees, and ill-treatment by police, were the main human rights concerns. There were reports of ill-treatment by police. At least one conscientious objector to military service was imprisoned.

Background

A coalition government was led by the main Macedonian nationalist party, VMRO-DMPNE, but included ministers from other parties such as the main ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Party of Albanians. The government came under extreme pressure as hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanian refugees fled into Macedonia between April and June. Macedonian members of the government and other Macedonian politicians pointed to the delicate ethnic balance in the country and the threat of destabilization arising from the influx. Tension increased between the ethnic Albanian minority population, which was keen to receive the refugees, and the Macedonian majority who were mostly apprehensive or hostile. Similar divisions prevailed in relation to the NATO presence in the country. The NATO forces were deployed officially in support of international monitoring, humanitarian and peace-keeping efforts. Many Macedonians feared that they would eventually be used as part of a NATO ground invasion of Kosovo or the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) if no peace agreement was reached, drawing Macedonia into the conflict.

The mandate of a UN peace-keeping force, UNPREDEP, ended in February. A monitoring mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe continued, working within the mandate it was given in 1992.

The Kosovo refugee crisis

The authorities were reluctant to receive the ethnic Albanian refugees fleeing Kosovo and to meet the country's obligations under international refugee law. The border was closed on numerous occasions with the result that thousands of people waited for days in squalid conditions at the border. Families were separated and some refugees were forced back into Kosovo where they risked further human rights violations.

The government insisted that it would give temporary protection to only 20,000 refugees, and that further refugees would be allowed to enter only on condition that they would be evacuated to other countries. In response, the UN refugee agency UNHCR established a "Humanitarian Evacuation Programme" (HEP), under which refugees were flown to other countries according to various quotas and selection criteria. Some 90,000 refugees were flown to other countries under the HEP between April and June.

This program was unprecedented in international refugee law and practice, and AI documented serious flaws in the implementation of the evacuations. AI had concerns about the unclear and varied nature of the protection being offered in host countries to the refugees being evacuated, and about the information made available to refugees. It appeared that some refugees were transferred to other countries, including Albania, against their will. The protection offered in other countries was predominantly temporary in nature, despite the view of UNHCR that the refugees qualified for refugee status under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention).

AI called on the international community to share responsibility for the refugees and pointed to the failure of other states to assist adequately in the crisis. At the same time AI considered that the Macedonian government failed to meet its obligations under the Refugee Convention by closing its border to refugees and demanding their urgent transfer to other countries.

At the peak of the crisis, there were about 240,000 refugees in Macedonia, but most returned to Kosovo between June and August after the NATO deployment in Kosovo. However, smaller numbers of new refugees arrived from June onwards, mainly Roma and Serbs who were fleeing human rights abuses in Kosovo committed by ethnic Albanians. Some of the new arrivals were obstructed by the authorities. For example, a group of 450 Roma waited one week at the border before they were allowed to enter. At the end of 1999 there were about 20,000 Kosovo refugees remaining who had been given temporary protection until early 2000. Some 8,000 of them were Roma or Serbs.

In April AI appealed to the authorities to ensure that refugees were let into the country and that the government met in full its obligations under the Refugee Convention. In May and June respectively it issued reports which detailed its concerns.

Police ill-treatment

There were allegations of ill-treatment by police, although fewer than in previous years. Some of the allegations related to Kosovo Albanians, including refugees in camps, but the victims included people of all nationalities.

  • Xhafer Mustafa, an ethnic Albanian from Kosovo, was beaten by police at a border crossing in July after becoming involved in an argument with police about the long delays at the crossing.

Conscientious objection

There is no purely civilian alternative to military service. Jehovah's Witnesses complained that they were repeatedly prosecuted – receiving fines or short prison sentences as a result – for refusing to serve in the army on grounds of conscience.

  • A Jehovah's Witness from Kriva Palanka was imprisoned for three months from October for refusing military service. He expressed his willingness to perform a civilian service outside the armed forces if it were to be offered. In 1996 he was imprisoned for two months for refusing to serve in the army and was fined on two other occasions. A further case against him was in process at the end of 1999.

Releases

In February an amnesty law passed by parliament in December 1998 became law, after a delay resulting from President Kiro Gligorov's refusal to sign it. Some 900 prisoners were released as a result, including political prisoners such as Rufi Osmani and prisoners of conscience such as Refik Dauti, who were both local council officials in Gostivar sentenced to prison terms after a dispute with the central authorities over the display of flags.

AI country reports and visits

Reports

  • The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: The protection of Kosovo Albanian refugees (AI Index: EUR 65/003/99)
  • The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Humanitarian evacuation and the international response to the refugees from Kosovo (AI Index: EUR 65/005/99)

Visits

AI delegates maintained a continuous presence between April and July to gather information about human rights in Kosovo and to monitor the treatment of Kosovo refugees.

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.