Yesterday, on 28.02.2019, 100 CSOs and 7 networks from Republic of North Macedonia held a press release in front of the Parliament of the country, asking for urgent adoption of the new national Law on prohibition and prevention from discrimination which is in parliamentary procedure since July last year, but has not been yet enacted due to obstructions of parliament members from the opposition party in the parliamentary commission for labor and social policy.
The new draft Law on prohibition and prevention from discrimination was drafted after a long and wide consultation process of all the interested parties and is meant to improve the shortcomings of the previous law which was enacted in 2010. One of the most criticized shortcoming of the law from 2010 was that it did not include SOGI as discriminatory ground, which this is now amended by the new law. The new law also provides professionalization of the Commission against discrimination, suspense of court taxes when filing lawsuits for discrimination, introduces the actio popularis as a manner of initiating court procedures and introduces segregation as a form of discrimination.
The initiative was supported by the organizations of the Consortia and was done with wide involvement of the LGBTI community.