At the beginning of 2024, Transparency International-Macedonia published the report: “National Integrity System of North Macedonia”.
The National Integrity System Assessment is an analyses prepared within the project “EU4 Rule of Law: Citizen Engagement for Public Integrity (CEPI) in the Western Balkans and Turkey”, funded by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland.
The report contains an analysis of the situation with the pillars of the state’s integrity in relation to corruption and the effectiveness of national efforts to deal with corruption.
One of the pillars analyzed in the NIS report is the Ombudsperson institution, with a score 70,84.
Pillar Recommendations
The Ombudsperson institution
- The Ombudsperson needs to draft and adopt a code of ethics and integrity policy in accordance with the directions from the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption.
• The Ombudspersons office needs to hire more staff to be able to implement sub-programmes properly.
• The Ombudsperson needs to increase visibility by developing and implementing a communication strategy that will also promote the ombudsperson’s competences as a point for external disclosure and the protection of whistleblowers.
• The Ombudsperson needs to provide the possibility for integrity and whistleblowing training for staff.
• The Ombudsperson should include gender-disaggregated data of received complaints in its annual report in the general statistical data section.
• The Ombudsperson should actively promote the implementation of the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers by preparing campaigns, conducting training with the people responsible for external and internal disclosure and closer communication with the other institutions responsible for external disclosure: SCPC, public prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Interior.
For the government
- Provide additional budget for the ombudsperson office to better implement sub-programmes, and hire more staff and deliver integrity and whistleblowing training.
• Amend the Law on the Ombudsperson, other legal acts and internal procedures in line with the Paris Principle, so the institution can receive the statutes as a national human rights institution
The Assembly
- Finalise the review of the ombudsperson office 2021 report and ensure future reports are reviewed and discussed within a legal deadline, which should be included in the legal framework.
• Establish effective and time-determined procedures that will ensure efficiency in the monitoring and implementation of the ombudsperson’s recommendations. Ombuds staff should be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the recommendations with a publicly available report.
• Establish a more transparent and open procedure for the election and appointment of the ombudsperson and its deputies, similar to the one for the election and appointment of the president and the members of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption.
National Integrity System Assessment 2023
