Skopje, 8 October 2022 (MIA) - North Macedonia made historic progress towards its strategic goal of Euro-Atlantic integration, joining NATO and finally beginning accession negotiations with the EU, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Clemens Koja says in an interview with MIA. Nevertheless, he stresses, much remains to be done in all of these key areas, including in implementing reform legislation, strategies, and action plans designed to improve the functioning of institutions and improve the people’s quality of life. Koja, whose four-year term as chief of the OSCE Skopje Mission is coming to an end, says in the interview that the support for judiciary reforms remains one of the Mission's priorities, including support for the modernization of the Criminal Code and the Law on Criminal Procedure. "When I arrived in Skopje, I was struck by the phenomenon you mentioned, the extremely low level of public trust in the judiciary. In my opinion, increased transparency, impartiality, and effective and timely adjudication of cases are key factors for increasing the public trust. Principles of equality before the law must be respected, and, of course, judges and prosecutors must be allowed to do their work free from any external influence, and must demonstrate personal integrity throughout," the Austrian diplomat says. As regards the media situation in North Macedonia, Koja states it has improved during his tenure as proven by the country's rankings in international media reports. "But there is still significant room for progress. First, reformed media legislation needs to be fully implemented. New governing bodies for MRT and the Media Agency have not been appointed, and journalists still face difficult working conditions, often receiving only short-term contracts that provide little job security. Our Mission has worked hard to support efforts to improve the safety of journalists, and we are pleased that the number of physical attacks against journalists has decreased in recent years," he adds. According to Koja, unfortunately, the number of cases of cyberbullying and online violence, particularly against women journalists, is growing. "We have encouraged the relevant governmental institutions to improve their response to such cases. We have also worked to enhance professional standards for reporting and increased media coverage of the concerns of vulnerable groups in the country," the ambassador says. Speaking to MIA, Koja stresses that it is both an honor and a huge task for North Macedonia to become the OSCE chairmanship holder in 2023. "I have a very high regard for Ambassador Dzundev and his team at your Mission in Vienna, and for the team your government has put together to work on the Chairpersonship here in Skopje. I have no doubt that they will do an admirable job as Chair in a very difficult and complex environment," he concludes. Read Ambassador Koja's interview in full below: Ambassador Koja, your term as Head of the OSCE mission nears end. You took office on September 17, 2018. What would you say has marked your four years of work in this post? The first thing that comes to my mind is the fruitful collaboration that we had with all our partners in North Macedonia, those in government institutions, civil society, and the media. Then, I think about the hard work of our staff at the Mission, most of whom are citizens of North Macedonia, to support reform processes in the country. Of all the activities we implemented these last four years, I am most proud of those that have the greatest potential to improve the lives of the country’s citizens. For example, we helped the Ministry of Internal Affairs to design a series of strategies for professionalization of the police that, if fully implemented, would increase citizens’ security and equal treatment by law enforcement. Similarly, we have assisted judicial reform, supporting both drafting of key legislation and practical initiatives such as digitalization of the courts, which will result in speedier justice and greater transparency. I am also proud of our work to ensure equality between women and men, our support for anti-corruption efforts, and our large project to prevent the proliferation of small arms. This last project made the public safer by building secure arsenals for ammunition stockpiles in 15 Border Police Stations and increasing the capacity of the MoIA’s K-9 units to detect weapons and explosives. Of course, one cannot think of the last four years, without thinking of the pandemic, which has had a huge impact on all of our lives. I am very proud of the Mission’s response when the pandemic hit. We donated equipment to the government to help first responders, and a vehicle to the Red Cross in Tetovo, to allow them to access isolated and hard to reach villages. Recognizing that we could not implement many of our planned activities because of the threat of spreading the disease, we took the money intended for these activities and used it to create the COVID-19 Response Fund. The Fund provided grants to 11 local non-governmental organizations to support vulnerable groups affected by the pandemic, for example victims of domestic violence and their children, and persons with disabilities. Finally, my time in North Macedonia has been marked by my experiences of your beautiful country. I am an avid hiker, and over the last four years I have spent many very pleasant weekends hiking all across the country. I will carry with me many wonderful memories of the country and the people I have met here when I leave. You carried out your office in pretty intensive times for the country – referendum on the Prespa Agreement, name change, NATO membership, COVID-19 pandemic, first population census after 20 years, EU veto, Bulgaria’s blockade, Portuguese proposal, French proposal, first intergovernmental conference with EU, but start of negotiations after constitutional changes... Your stay here was certainly anything but boring. Could you briefly comment on how do you see the country now, compared to when you first arrived here as Head of the OSCE mission? In the country, it has been a contentious time ever since I arrived on the eve of the referendum. North Macedonia made historic progress towards its strategic goal of Euro-Atlantic integration, joining NATO and finally beginning accession negotiations with the EU. Inter-ethnic relations have been calm throughout my tenure, which is quite an achievement given the country’s recent history. At the same time, political polarization has remained high. The government made progress on reforms, accountability and the fight against corruption, with former senior officials convicted of corruption and two General Secretaries of the post-2017 governments charged or under investigation. Nevertheless, much remains to be done in all of these key areas, including in implementing reform legislation, strategies, and action plans designed to improve the functioning of institutions and improve the people’s quality of life. North Macedonia was blocked on its EU path due to Bulgarian veto. Do you think the veto was justified? The first intergovernmental conference with the EU was held in July this year, but for Skopje this does not automatically mean start of accession negotiations, as negotiations will start after the constitutional amendments and inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution. How necessary do you think this was? Hate speech is one of the spheres you focus on, and fight against it is now also current in Skopje-Sofia relations as part of the rapprochement of positions to overcome the dispute. Where’s the line of hate speech, and what tools does the OSCE use to deal with this negative phenomenon? North Macedonia’s EU path has been long and difficult. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that a recent poll showed that a large majority of citizens still supports the country joining the Union. Although I could see that there was a deep polarization in society over the issues related to the EU accession, I hope that the opportunities opened with the first inter-governmental conference will give a new sense of energy and purpose to reform efforts. I know that the OSCE Mission to Skopje will do all it can to support them. As for hate speech, it is often a precursor to criminal acts. Helping to address this phenomenon has long been a priority of our Mission. We have worked for many years with the Helsinki Committee to register acts of hate crime, and with the police to engage young people on the need for tolerance. We also promote social cohesion, tolerance and diversity in schools through a variety of activities. One of the key roles of the OSCE Mission is to promote inter-ethnic relations, support further implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. The 21st anniversary of the Agreement was recently celebrated. There was public stir over the budget money spent, about EUR 70,000 for a celebration amid crisis, as well as over the booing when the celebration was announced in Macedonian language. Could you comment on these developments, and what the OSCE mission does in the field of increasing respect for multiculturalism, multiethnicity, different communities to cooperate instead of segregate? As I noted earlier, inter-ethnic relations in the country have generally been calm during my time in Skopje. But this does not mean that there are no challenges. We continue to keep a close eye on developments in inter-ethnic relations throughout the country, and implement a wide variety of activities designed to support the country’s efforts to increase social cohesion. For example, over the last few years, we trained 250 police officers on skills related to policing in a multi-ethnic society, so that they can more effectively engage with citizens from different ethnic groups. We promoted inclusive media reporting, so that citizens can learn more about other groups in society and the specific issues they face. I have already mentioned our work on hate speech and hate crime. Beyond that, the list of activities we have implemented to support inclusive education, tolerance and non-discrimination is much too long to list here. But I am particularly proud of our Building Bridges project, which brought together thousands of school kids from around the country for extra-curricular activities with children from other communities, who they often do not see in the school environment. In September we officially started bilateral screening with the EU. Everything that is not in line with the European legislation will be combed through. One of the spheres of work of the OSCE Mission is the rule of law, judicial reforms, independence of judiciary... However, citizens only have about 8 percent of trust in the judicial system. This reform seems to be one of the more difficult ones. Where do you locate the problem? Where did we stall? Recently, we also witnessed public exchanges and disagreements between the Prosecutor for Organized Crime and Corruption Ruskovska and the former Head of the Financial Police Office Muaremi? As I mentioned before, support for justice reform remains one of the Mission’s priority areas of work, including support for the modernization of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. When I arrived in Skopje, I was struck by the phenomenon you mentioned, the extremely low level of public trust in the judiciary. In my opinion, increased transparency, impartiality, and effective and timely adjudication of cases are key factors for increasing the public trust. Principles of equality before the law must be respected, and, of course, judges and prosecutors must be allowed to do their work free from any external influence, and must demonstrate personal integrity throughout. A year ago, the OSCE, with the support of the EU, began monitoring court cases related to corruption and organized crime. What are your findings so far from this project? Do you think corruption is deeply rooted in Macedonian society, and that fight against it requires superhuman efforts? Within the scope of our EU-supported project on monitoring court cases, we have thus far monitored over 30 high-level organized crime cases, many of which are former SPO cases. We very much value the strong support we have received from the justice institutions for this project. Our trial monitoring focuses on the observance of procedural fair trial guarantees. In this regards, our monitors have identified several areas of concern, including the length of the trials, poor case management, lack of coordination, limited use of asset seizures, and a lack of financial, and human resources. These observations have provided the basis for the extensive work we do with the Academy of Judges and Public Prosecutors to help build the capacity of judges and prosecutors, as well as our support for improved inter-institutional coordination in fighting corruption and organized crime. The last elections held were the local elections in October 2021. ODIHR came out with recommendations, a working group was also formed within the Ministry of Justice to adopt a new Electoral Code. Questions remain regarding a single electoral district, open lists... In your opinion, what electoral model is best for North Macedonia, given the country’s specifics? We had hoped that the country would use the time between last year’s local elections and the next regular parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled to take place in 2024 to launch an inclusive process to completely overhaul its electoral legislation in order to incorporate ODIHR recommendations covering the last several elections. Unfortunately, the process does not seem to be moving forward. Once the process is launched in earnest, the Mission stands ready to provide support with the goal of helping the country create an even more open, transparent, and democratic electoral system. As to the number of electoral districts and open versus closed lists, there are no accepted OSCE standards for these political questions. Each participating State must decide on these issues for itself. Your mission also stands for gender equality, women’s empowerment. Unfortunately, domestic violence and economic dependence of women are commonplace in North Macedonia. Recently there was a new case of femicide. Statistical data shows that every third woman in the country suffers violence at home, both physical and psychological. How can this situation be changed? According to the OSCE mission’s report, in contrast to EU countries, there are three times more women in North Macedonia who believe that domestic violence is a private matter. They even justify violence against themselves. How did you get to these data, and what your mission does to raise awareness in the country? The OSCE conducted a regional study in which almost 2,000 women from North Macedonia participated. The study also relied on focus groups and interviews with experts and women who had been the victims of violence. The results clearly demonstrated that gender-based violence remains a challenge, which is why our Mission is doing what it can to support national efforts to deal better with this phenomenon. Each year, together with our partners at the United Nations and the European Union, we participate in the 16-Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign. During my term, we also supported the drafting the Law on Prevention and Protection from Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. We supported research on women with disabilities as victims of gender-based violence, and worked closely with law enforcement agencies to train the police on the functioning of the country’s Sexual Assault Referral Centres, and to improve the police response to cases of gender-based violence. I have long been a strong proponent of the idea that domestic violence and gender-based violence are not issues of concern for girls and women only. Thus, I would like to use this opportunity, once again, to call on the country’s men and boys to help end violence against women and girls in North Macedonia. One of the spheres of work of the mission includes the media. North Macedonia ranks 57th out of 180 countries in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders, a 33-spot improvement compared to last year when it ranked 90th. But, Reporters Without Borders notes that “due to strong political polarization, the media can be subjected to pressure by the authorities, politicians and businessmen.” How free are the media in the country and where did we fail with the reforms? We have also witnessed even over the recent period attacks on journalists and obstruction on their work. Impunity remains one of the main problems. Amendments are now also foreseen in the Criminal Code by which an attack on a journalist will be treated as an attack on an official. How safe are journalists in North Macedonia? The media freedom situation in the country has improved during my time in Skopje, as shown by the country’s rankings in international reports on the subject. But there is still significant room for progress. First, reformed media legislation needs to be fully implemented. New governing bodies for MRT and the Media Agency have not been appointed, and journalists still face difficult working conditions, often receiving only short-term contracts that provide little job security. Our Mission has worked hard to support efforts to improve the safety of journalists, and we are pleased that the number of physical attacks against journalists has decreased in recent years. Unfortunately, the number of cases of cyberbullying and online violence, particularly against women journalists, is growing. We have encouraged the relevant governmental institutions to improve their response to such cases. We have also worked to enhance professional standards for reporting and increased media coverage of the concerns of vulnerable groups in the country. North Macedonia is part of the OSCE Troika of chair-countries, and will officially start its chairpersonship next year amid challenging global times – the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis... What was your advice to the country’s authorities regarding the coming chairpersonship with the largest regional security organization that includes 57 member-states, plus 11 Mediterranean and Asian partners? Chairing the OSCE is a huge task, but also an honor for North Macedonia, which was unanimously chosen as Chair by all 57 participating States. I have a very high regard for Ambassador Dzundev and his team at your Mission in Vienna, and for the team your government has put together to work on the Chairpersonship here in Skopje. I have no doubt that they will do an admirable job as Chair in a very difficult and complex environment. The war in Ukraine caused turmoil at global level, Russia is problematizing OSCE presence in Ukraine, and according to the latest information, the Organization remains on Ukrainian territory. The OSCE claims that Russian forces in Ukraine have committed major violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. How do you asses the current situation in Ukraine? The situation in Ukraine has destabilized the European security architecture, heightened geopolitical tensions, and exacerbated post-pandemic energy and economic crises. Moreover, the situation in Ukraine also affected the internal OSCE dynamics related to budget approval, and the organization is now in the 10th month of operations without an approved yearly budget. Two OSCE Field Missions were shut down when the Russian Federation refused to join consensus on the extension of their mandates. Therefore, the good work of our colleagues in Ukraine was effectively halted. The Organization’s Chairperson, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, and Secretary General Helga Schmid have announced plans to support Ukraine through some specific projects, with support of individual OSCE participating States. Hence, the organization will remain present, with plans already to implement more than 20 projects to support Ukrainian state institutions, civil society and its citizens.