SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS RECOMMENDS REMOVAL OF FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA FROM HER MANDATE
Press Release
HR/CN/813
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS RECOMMENDS REMOVAL OF FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA FROM HER MANDATE
19971002 GENEVA, 30 September (UN Information Service) -- Elisabeth Rehn, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, has recommended to the Commission that The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia be removed from her mandate.In a final report dated 30 September, which will be publicly available by 15 October, the Special Rapporteur says that the Government of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia "has made considerable progress in the protection of human rights since the establishment of the Special Rapporteur's mandate in 1992". However, she reserves the right to comment on developments in the country between the date of her report and the Commission's next session in March 1998 in Geneva. Ms. Rehn says she will continue to observe the human rights situation in the country, and will pay special attention to the implementation of human rights training programmes for the police, the Office of the Ombudsman, respect for the new Law on Criminal Procedure regarding so-called "informative talks" and steps to improve higher education of minorities.
In her report, the Special Rapporteur discusses in detail the Gostivar incident of 9 July, in which three ethnic Albanian demonstrators were killed and more than 100 others injured in a clash with police over the issue of the use of minority flags. She concludes that it "involved an excessive use of force by the police of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".
Deeply regretting the deaths and injuries resulting from the incident, she calls on the Government urgently to arrange a human rights training programme for police, including international agencies and experts in the field. She also strongly recommends that police officers implicated in the use of excessive force at Gostivar be immediately suspended form duty, pending the final results of the inquiries into the incident.
While saying she is generally satisfied with the Government's efforts in the field of human rights, the Special Rapporteur says there is still cause for concern about abuse of police authority, including unlawful arrests and detentions, excessive use of force and physical ill-treatment of detainees.
With respect to minority rights, the Special Rapporteur says that some problems still exist. These include the continued underrepresentation of
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minorities in public administration and the need to respect the wishes of minorities to receive higher education in their mother tongue. She specifically mentions her concern about the young ethnic Albanians who will soon be graduating from the unofficial "Tetovo University" and whose futures will be affected by diplomas which are recognized by the authorities.
Nevertheless, the Special Rapporteur says she believes that the Government of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia generally has implemented policies which protect and advance minority rights while at the same time preserving the rights of all citizens of the Republic. She urges the Government to maintain its close cooperation with international offices concerned with minority rights, notably the High Commissioner for National Minorities of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Max van der Stoel, with whom she will also stay in close contact.
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