UNCAC implementation and reviews in North Macedonia

UNODC coordinated non-state actors, including civil society and the private sector at a recent workshop, to aid in the effective implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in South Eastern Europe.

A two-day multi-stakeholder workshop in North Macedonia, organized by UNODC in partnership with the Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation gathered 30 participants from civil society, public authorities and private sector. The workshop sought to increase participants’ understanding of the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism and discuss the recommendations stemming from the first and second cycle reviews that the country has already completed, in particular, how civil society can support the implementation of those recommendations through common platforms for dialogue and cooperation.

Speaking at the opening, the Deputy President of the Government in charge of Good Governance Policies said, "The prevention of corruption is a process where all entities should be actively involved, and jointly with the civil sector, we are building a systemic approach in creating and implementing anti-corruption policies".

The Minister of Justice of North Macedonia further added that “although there are seven institutions specialized in the fight against corruption, there is still serious work to be done in terms of achieving the goal”.  

In January 2022, the Government  of North Macedonia adopted a plan of activities for collecting and publishing updated data related to the implementations of the observations and to overcome the challenges identified under the second UNCAC review cycle, outlined in the full country report (2016-2024). One of the key objectives of this plan is to increase the transparency of the UNCAC self-assessment checklist, one of the stages in UNCAC implementation. Transparency efforts will be undertaken in cooperation with civil society to strengthen both the institutional and public awareness of the requirements set by the Convention. North Macedonia’s CSOs, such as the Centre for Civic Communications and the Platform of CSOs for the Fight against Corruption pledged to assist and request the Government to uphold those commitments.

UNODC will continue strengthening the multi-stakeholder involvement in the UNCAC implementation in the region, the next step being a training on private sector integrity on 10-11 May in Tirana, Albania.

Further resources:

UNODC Regional Programme for South-Eastern Europe