Refugees Rights: National and international standards vis-a-vis the situation on the ground

Starting from the end of 2014 to date, the Republic Macedonia has witnessed a previously unseen influx of refugees in transit from the country’s territory to the EU member countries. Since the beginning of registration process conducted by the country, starting from June 2015 to the end of the year, 388,233 refugees were registered to have passed through the country.[1] During 2016, from the beginning of the year until March[2], 89,623 refugees were registered to have passed through the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.[3] The majority of refugees were citizens of Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Considering the fact that the registration process started in June 2015, and prior to that a large number of refugees had been allowed to enter the country unregistered for over a year as well as the large number of illegal crossings through the country, the actual number of refugees and immigrants who entered Europe between 2014 and 2015 is much higher that the official one, i.e. over 1 million of refugees and immigrants.

Going through a turbulent period that has significantly affected the development of everyday politics, the refugee crisis in the country has been managed poorly. Hence, the circumstances of the events significantly varied from one period to another and were marked by the developments given below.