LGBT rights in North Macedonia

Homosexuality was outlawed in North Macedonia until 1996, when the country decriminalized sex between people of the same sex as a condition for becoming a member of the Council of Europe.[2]

There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples. The family law defines marriage as "a union between a man and a woman".[3]

In September 2013, a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman failed to meet the required two-thirds majority in the Assembly of North Macedonia.[4] In late June 2014, the re-elected main party once again submitted the bill, this time hoping that the conservative opposition party, the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), would provide the additional votes needed to pass.[5]

In January 2015, Parliament voted in favour to constitutionally define marriage as a union solely between a man and a woman.[6] In addition, politicians adopted an amendment to ensure that a two-thirds majority would be necessary to regulate marriage, family and civil unions. Such a majority was previously reserved only for issues such as sovereignty and territorial questions. On 9 January, the parliamentary committee on constitutional issues approved a series of amendments, including the limitation of marriage and the two-thirds majority requirement which was included at the last minute. On 20 January, the amendments were approved in Parliament by 72 votes to 4. In order for these amendments to be added to the Constitution, a final vote was required. This final parliamentary session was commenced on 26 January but never concluded, as the ruling coalition did not obtain the two-thirds majority required. The parliamentary session on the constitutional amendments was in recess until the end of 2015, thus the amendment failed.[7]

From 2008 to 2010, LGB individuals were protected from discrimination in the area of employment. In the beginning of 2010, however, while revising the anti-discrimination law, the country's Parliament removed sexual orientation from the list of protected grounds.[8]

In March 2019, with 52 votes in favour and three abstentions, the Parliament adopted a new anti-discrimination law[9] that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, among other grounds.[10] On 22 May, the Law on Prevention of and Protection against Discrimination (Macedonian: Закон за спречување и заштита од дискриминација; Albanian: Ligji për parandalimin dhe mbrojtjen nga diskriminimi) came into effect, after newly elected President Stevo Pendarovski had signed it into law.[11] On 14 May 2020, the Constitutional Court struck down the law on procedural grounds.[12][13][14] A similar bill was passed by the Parliament on 27 October 2020.[15]

In January 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that North Macedonia's requirement that transgender people undergo sex reassignment surgery before their gender marker on ID documents can be changed is a violation of human rights. The judgment held that deficiencies in North Macedonia's laws concerning modifying gender on official identification documents infringed the private life of transgender Macedonians.[16][17]

The gay scene in North Macedonia is very small. There are a few gay-friendly establishments in Skopje and some bars organize "gay nights". The country itself is mainly socially conservative towards homosexuality.[18] There are many reports about public humiliations, worker firings and even casting homosexual teenagers onto the streets due to revelation of their sexual orientations.[2]

In 2019, North Macedonia was ranked the tenth worst European country for LGBT tourists.[19]

On 29 June 2019, an estimated 1,000 people participated in the first Skopje Pride. Some state officials joined the march, including Defense Minister Radmila Šekerinska and Labor and Social Issues Minister Mila Carovska. Several foreign diplomats also attended the march.[20][21][22][23]

• Human rights in North Macedonia
• LGBT rights in Europe
• LGBT history in Yugoslavia

• "Official website of EGAL" (in Macedonian).
• "Official website of Coalition "Sexual and Health Rights of Marginalized Communities"" (in Macedonian).
• "Official website of the LGBTI Support Center" (in Macedonian).
• "Official website of LGBT United" (in Macedonian).