The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) welcomes a landmark opinion by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC), which has found that North Macedonia violated the rights of two Romani citizens who were unlawfully prevented from leaving the country a decade ago.
In its view, the Committee held that North Macedonia discriminated against Senija Kjazimova and Alajdin Abdulovski at the Tabanovce border crossing in separate incidences in 2015 and 2014 respectively, when border guards barred them from travelling abroad despite their valid passports and supporting documentation. Ms. Kjazimova, her husband, and daughter were singled out and barred from travelling to France, while Mr. Abdulovski was refused exit to Austria and left outside the border post in the middle of the night on the pretext of insufficient funds.
Both were singled out for being Roma, while non-Roma passengers continued their journeys without hindrance.
In Ms. Kjazimova’s case, the Committee found violations of Article 12(2) ICCPR (the right to leave one’s own country) and Article 26 ICCPR (non-discrimination). In Mr. Abdulovski’s case, the Committee found a violation of Article 26 ICCPR (non-discrimination). The Committee ordered North Macedonia to: provide adequate compensation and full reparation to the victims; take systemic measures to prevent similar violations in the future; publish and disseminate the decision; and report back within 180 days on steps taken to comply. Both applicants were represented by the European Roma Rights Centre in the proceedings.
These cases highlight a broader pattern of ethnic profiling at North Macedonia’s borders, where Roma were disproportionately stopped and prevented from leaving the country, often on spurious grounds.
Between 2011 and 2015, the ERRC documented 145 cases involving 442 Roma (322 adults and 120 children) who were denied permission to exit North Macedonia. To expose these practices, the ERRC carried out border testing operations, sending Romani and non-Romani testers with identical documents and resources to attempt crossings. The results were stark: Romani testers were systematically singled out, interrogated, and often prevented from travelling, while their non-Romani counterparts were waved through.
“This decision is a real milestone for Roma in challenging racism at the border,” said ERRC Legal Director Senada Sali. “It confirms that border practices which targeted Roma were discriminatory and unlawful. Crucially, it strengthens lawyers and activists’ ability to challenge inadmissibility decisions from Strasbourg before the UN and to demand just compensation beyond the inadequate remedies offered by domestic courts.”
The ruling comes after years of advocacy and litigation, as well as building on a growing body of international case law, including the 2023 Memedova and Others v. North Macedonia judgment by the European Court of Human Rights, which likewise condemned border practices that disproportionately harmed Roma.
The ERRC urges North Macedonia to comply fully with the Committee’s orders and to take meaningful steps to eradicate systemic discrimination against Roma in border control and beyond.
The HRC’s opinion was made on 9 July 2025 and communicated to the ERRC on 22 August 2025.
This press release is also available in Macedonian.
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