Skopje – The human rights situation in North Macedonia saw minimal changes over the past year. Key concerns included serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, highlighted by incidents of violence and threats against journalists. The U.S. State Department’s Human Rights Report for 2024 noted that the government took important steps to identify and hold accountable officials who committed human rights violations.
The report indicates that while the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression for journalists and the media, this right was generally respected by the government.
Media and civil society organizations reported that freedom of expression faced obstacles such as lawsuits against journalists, inappropriate conduct by public officials towards them, undue pressure on journalists investigating corruption, disinformation, hate speech online, and instances of self-censorship.
Amendments to the Law on Audio-Visual Media Services were adopted, permitting government-funded advertising for campaigns of “high public interest” through commercial broadcasters. Independent media associations expressed concerns over these amendments, criticizing the law as a regression to widespread media corruption and clientelism.
– Violence and threats against journalists remained a significant human rights issue. The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) reported numerous instances of violence and harassment directed at journalists, noting a rise in violence against female journalists.
Editorial independence faced challenges, with AJM and other media groups pointing out that political polarization led to pressure on media from authorities, politicians, and business interests, as highlighted in the annual report by “Reporters Without Borders.” The report also stated that the two largest political parties operated parallel media systems to exert political and economic influence, while the public broadcasting service was criticized for lacking both editorial and financial independence. Furthermore, despite greater freedom of expression online, digital attacks and efforts to discredit journalists were prevalent. (August 13, 2025)
MIA is responsible for the editing of this publication.
Leave a Reply