1.2 National youth law
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Existence of a National Youth Law
In 2011, the former Agency of Youth and Sport submitted an initiative for the development of a National Youth Law aimed at addressing youth participation in decision-making processes at both local and national levels, as well as youth organization. Following approval from the Government, the Ministry of Justice established a working group to draft the proposed legislation, which was subsequently submitted to the Parliament. However, it was determined that the draft Law on Youth required broader consultation with youth organizations across North Macedonia. Consequently, the Government withdrew the draft for further review and additional revisions.
On April 12, 2011, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia submitted an official letter to the President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, initiating the process for adopting a proposal for the National Youth Law. The draft law was discussed and voted on during a government session, along with the letter addressed to Parliament. In the summer of 2011, for the first time, young people and youth organizations were given the opportunity to publicly access the draft law for review and feedback. At the beginning of 2018, the issue of drafting the National Youth Law was raised again. The same issue was initiated by the Club on Youth Affairs and Policies of the Assembly of North Macedonia.
During 2019, a working group of representatives of youth organizations, institutions and youth of political parties drafted the final version of the first Law on Youth. Finally, the National Youth Law was adopted in January 2020 under the name “Law on youth participation and youth policies”.
Scope and contents
The subject of regulation of the law are the forms of youth organization, youth participation in the process of creating youth policies and decision-making related to them, strategic documents at national and local level, activities and measures undertaken by state administration bodies and local self-government units for advancing the position of young people in society, as well as informing and joint planning of activities related to and for young people.
According to Article 2, the purpose of the law is to provide:
- Creating and implementing youth policy at all levels through a multi-sectoral approach, starting from the needs and interests of young people;
- Strengthening the participation of young people in the processes of creating policies for young people, active information, promotion and protection of the interests of young people, as well as strengthening the awareness of the importance of young people and their social role;
- Promoting intergenerational partnerships to support youth participation in the decision-making and policymaking process;
- Support and promotion of youth organization;
- Encouraging structural dialogue at national and local level;
- Encouraging volunteering, youth activism and youth work and
- Encouraging personal, professional and social development of young people.
The law defines in more detail the forms of youth organization and representation (youth organization, youth umbrella organizations, national assembly for youth), the forms of youth participation, the establishment of local youth councils, the different types of youth policies (national strategy for youth, local youth strategy), and youth services (youth office, youth center, youth officer).
Revisions/updates
The National Youth Action Plan and the Youth Strategy have not been revised or updated since their adoption in February 2023.