Glossary

Crime motivated by intolerance, i.e. prejudice toward a certain group in society is described as hate crime.

Anyone can be a victim of hate crime, however, members of vulnerable communities are the most frequent victims. Hate crimes are often directed toward members of different ethnical communities, religious and sacred buildings, such as churches, mosques and graveyards, Roma people, sexual minorities, internally displaced persons.

An injury to the equality of citizens is a criminal act stipulating that a person who shall deprive of or limit the rights of a person and citizen on the grounds of sex, race, skin color, national and social origin, political and religious beliefs, wealth and social status, language or any other personal trait or circumstance, shall be punished according to law.

Causing national, racial and religious hate, discord or intolerance is a criminal act according to which, a person who shall by force, mistreatment, endangering the security, ridicule of the national, ethnic or religious symbols, by burning, destruction or damaging the flag of the Republic of Macedonia or flags of other countries, by damaging other people’s belongings, by desecration of monuments, graves or in another discriminatory manner, directly or indirectly, shall cause or fuel hate, discord or intolerance on the grounds of sex, race, skin color, gender, affiliation to a marginalized group, ethnicity, language, citizenship, social origin, religion or religious belief, other beliefs, education, political affiliation, personal or social status, mental or physical disability, age, family and marital status, wealth, health condition, or any other ground stipulated by law or a ratified international agreement, shall receive a prison sentence of one to five years.

Essentially, discrimination represents unequal treatment of a person/people because of a certain trait they have. Discrimination is a criminal act and is prohibited by the Criminal Code, which stipulates that a person who, on the grounds of sex, race, skin color, gender, affiliation to a marginalized group, ethnicity, language, citizenship, social origin, religion or religious belief, other beliefs, education, political affiliation, personal or social status, mental or physical disability, age, family and marital status, wealth, health condition, or any other ground stipulated by law or a ratified international agreement, shall violate the basic human rights and freedoms recognized by the international agreement, shall receive a prison sentence of six months to five years.

This is a criminal act, meaning that a person who shall, by means of a computer system, publicly propagate racial or xenophobic written material, pictures or other representation of an idea or theory which aids, promotes or encourages hate, discrimination or violence, against any person or group, on the grounds of sex, race, skin color, gender, affiliation to a marginalized group, ethnicity, language, citizenship, social origin, religion or religious belief, other beliefs, education, political affiliation, personal or social status, mental or physical disability, age, family and marital status, wealth, health condition, or any other ground stipulated by law or a ratified international agreement, shall receive a prison sentence of one to five years.