MONTHLY OVERVIEW ON HUMAN RIGHTS – March, 2025

On March 8, in honor of the International Day for Economic, Political, and Social Equality of Women, a march organized by the Platform for Gender Equality and independent women’s rights activists occurred in Skopje. The march emphasized several key demands, with the
foremost being justice for all women who have lost their lives due to systemic neglect and femicide.

In the aftermath of the Kochani fire tragedy, North Macedonia confronted a two-fold challenge: seeking genuine accountability for the lost lives while addressing the troubling increase in hate speech, particularly on social media and in certain media platforms. Rather than
fostering respectful discourse and solidarity in the quest for justice, the situation devolved into insults, political blame, hate speech, and incitements to violence, culminating in a perilous online campaign.

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights cautioned that such attacks might severely impact freedom of expression and citizen safety, reiterating that hate speech and calls for violence are criminal offenses. The Committee urged public figures, politicians, and all social
media users to exercise responsibility in their public discourse.