North Macedonia

Intergenerational statelessness among the migrant-descended / minority groups

North Macedonia is home to many Roma who remain stateless after the country gained independence in 1991. A mapping of affected persons found 800 non-registered Roma, some of whom have not been able to regularize their status for over 30 years. The CRC (2014) expressed concern at the number of Roma children who lacked registration and identity documentation. A submission to the 2024 UPR reported that Roma people face high levels of non-registration, primarily due to the requirement to provide proof of address. Consequently, many individuals residing in informal settlements lack identity documentation, leading to the non-registration of their newborns.

Promising Practices and Updates

The government of Macedonia has engaged in many efforts to improve the registration rates of Roma. This includes a Roma Strategy and Action Plan as part of a Strategy and Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015, a Strategy for the Roma 2014-2020, and 2023 amendments to the Law on Civil Registry.