On June 17 2022, EUROTHINK – Center for European Strategies organized the final national conference on Democratic policing at Hotel Holiday Inn in Skopje. The main goal of the conference was to present key findings and policy recommendations from the project: “Towards transparent, accountable and inclusive policing”. The focus of the discussion was on the institutional challenges for implementing sustainable policies aimed at improving police integrity, including studies that provide practical recommendations and a roadmap for more transparent, accountable, and inclusive police work in the Republic of North Macedonia.
Several key note speakers relevant to the topic of democratic policing participated in the panel discussions including: the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Oliver Spasovski, Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr. Eric Meyer, Mr. Juraj Smolek, Head of the Sector for Public Safety and Community Outreach at the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ms. – Zaklina Prosaroska from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ms. Gordana Smakjoska, Public Prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption in the Republic of North Macedonia.
In the first panel, the speakers addressed the current situation regarding community policing and discussed upcoming activities for its improvement as well as the international assistance that North Macedonia receives from the United States. The second panel was focused more on the specific measures to improve the transparency, accountability, and participatory inclusive decision-making in policing, such as: local prevention councils, external and internal police oversight mechanisms and the need for a proactive approach to transparency in the work of MOI.
The conference was organized within the project: “Towards a transparent, accountable and inclusive policing in Republic of North Macedonia” – financially supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
