Country: Northern Macedonia
Group: Serbs
Date Finalized: 7/13/2020
Team: Leilani Alva (lead), Johanna McCombs, Maya Shrikant
According to Minority Rights Group was, “Ethnic Serbs are by far the largest minority and, together with the Roma, face the most discrimination and exclusion.” (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). The discrimination is so harsh, that when attempting to gather a census, many Serbs are reportedly afraid to declare their ethnicity. Therefore, the actual population of Serbs is unknown and current and past records are inaccurate. Once Macedonia gained its independence, the Association of Serbs and Montenegrins in Macedonia (ASMM) fought for the Serbians that they still have their right to education in their language and freedom to practice their religion which is primarily Christianity (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). In 1993, the position of Serbs worsened, as Macedonia prepared a law that would make all non-Macedonia’s who have been living in Macedonia for less than 10 years along with certain villages forcing Serbs out because they did not want an ethnically mixed region. In 1998, Macedonia made statements that they would implement practices to support minorities, such as equal education and media, but they failed to do so, and continued to suppress the rights and freedom of Serbs in Macedonia (UNHC for Refugees, n.d.)
Data quality: 2
Sources
- Minority Rights Group (n.d.). Serbs. Retrieved from https://minorityrights.org/minorities/serbs-2/
- U. N. H. C. for Refugees. (n.d.). Refworld | Chronology for Serbs in Macedonia. Refworld. Retrieved April 11, 2020, from https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38b8c.html