MFA: Bulgarian consul had no right to be present during fact-finding visit by Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination
Skopje, 5 August 2022 (MIA) – The general consul of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Republic of North Macedonia, based in Bitola, Dimitar Ivanov, had no right to be present during the fact-finding visit of the Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination in the premises of the Culture Center in Bitola, according to the Convention on Consular Affairs, because it is a procedure involving two associations, legal entities from North Macedonia, registered according to the current legal regulations of the state, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release on Friday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia monitors and notes the engagement undertaken by the Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination in relation to possible allegations of discrimination in the case of the Ivan Mihajlov association from Bitola, reads the press release. It is a firm commitment of the Ministry, it adds, that all such and similar examples be resolved institutionally, in accordance with the positive legal regulations of North Macedonia, whereby we encourage all natural and legal entities to use these legal instruments and mechanisms in proving these possible or any examples of discrimination. “As regards the presence of the general consul of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Republic of North Macedonia, based in Bitola, Mr. Dimitar Ivanov, during the fact-finding visit of the Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination in the premises of the Culture Center in Bitola, the Ministry points out that according to the Convention on Consular Affairs, he had no right to be present at the fact-finding visit because it is a procedure involving two associations, legal entities from North Macedonia, registered according to the current legal regulations of the state. Mr. Ivanov has the right to represent the rights and interests of citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria who live in the Republic of North Macedonia, but not the rights and interests of a citizens’ association registered in the Republic of North Macedonia,” the press release reads. The Ministry also points to the obligation of institutions to approach such complaints and cases professionally and objectively. “The Ministry points to the obligation of all institutions, in the case of the Commission which addresses a particularly sensitive issue, to approach such complaints and cases professionally and objectively, in order to avoid any politicization in the resolution and protection of the rights of natural and legal entities,” the press release reads. The Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination said earlier on Friday it views the presence of the Bulgarian consul, Dimitar Ivanov, during the body’s fact-finding visit to the Ivan Mihajlov Culture Center in Bitola as an attempt to influence its work, and use the Commission for political goals, adding that the Foreign Ministry has been notified about this. The anti-discrimination commission paid an announced fact-finding visit yesterday to the culture center in Bitola after a discrimination complaint was filed by a citizens’ organization against the Ivan Mihajlov Center.
