Skopje, 21 May 2024 (MIA) - The number of complaints received by the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination in 2024 has doubled compared to the previous year, according to the annual report on the Commission’s work for 2023. Sexual orientation, gender identity, national and ethnic belonging, as well as political beliefs remain the most common bases for discrimination in the complaints received by the Commission.

At Tuesday’s presentation of the annual report, Igor Jadrovski, the head of the Commission, said despite an increase of the Commission’s visibility as an entity that the citizens turn to in order to seek protection of their rights, the citizens remain insufficiently informed about the competencies of the Commission.

“The Commission worked on 523 complaints, which is an increase of more than 100% compared to the previous year, which probably shows that the Commission is gaining visibility, that the citizens are more informed, and that the institution is gaining trust,” said Jadrovski.

Jadrovski added that the media, public information, workplace, work relations, education, and access to goods and services remain areas where cases of discrimination are most often reported.

Compared to 2022, according to Jadrovski, there is a trend of reduction in the discrimination on a national and ethnic basis, but a rise in cases of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. 
Some of the challenges the Commission faces, according to Jadrovski, are understaffing, limited budget and a continued violation of its financial independence.

“Above all, I urge Parliament, which votes for the budget, as well as the other relevant institutions to be open-eared about our challenges. Despite having quantitively and qualitatively more work in 2023 compared to 2022, we worked with reduced human capacities in 2023. The Commission continues to have a fairly limited budget and experiences a continued violation of its financial independence,” Jadrovski said. 

Photo: MIA