II. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

26. In terms of thematic areas of work, some trends identified in the 2004 report were confirmed, such as the strength of the women’s movement, the steady growth of capacity and activities carried out by defenders working on the rights of Roma. New thematic areas are now on the agenda of human rights defenders. Work on the human rights of persons with disabilities has become prominent in the country. Another emerging area is the rights  of lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and inter-sexual persons (LGBTI). While the difficult access to public authorities for NGOs  working on LGBTI rights is a concern, the Special Representative notes as a positive development the solid work of defenders on LGBTI rights, who are well-integrated among human rights organizations, formed a coalition to pursue improvements in the legislation, and achieved changes in media ethics banning homophobic positions.

Link to full text of the report: Mission report-SR Human Rights Defenders-Macedonia-2008-eng