Ohrid and Macedonia have a deadline until February 2020 to implement the recommendations for the protection of natural resources, UNESCO decided at its 43rd session held in Baku, Azerbaijan. For the time being, the Ohrid region will not be on the list of endangered areas.

All illegal buildings with demolition decisions will be demolished, including those of current officials and a member of the city council of Ohrid, which connects two disputed buildings, one near the coast, and the other in the center of the city, Zaev informed.

The decision is issued, followed by a process of execution. The law must apply equally to all. If the Council does not act, the state will. This is not only because of UNESCO, but also because of the laws in the country that should be respected, said Zaev after the opening of the new meat processing plant in Glumovo, Municipality of Saraj.

According to the Register of illegal buildings, which was made by the municipality at the request of UNESCO, there are 1,076 illegal buildings in Ohrid, of which over 400 are in the protected zones, due to which, among other things, the Ohrid region is threatened to be placed on the List of protected areas at risk.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee at the 43rd session in Baku opened the debate on the state of the world cultural and natural heritage of the Ohrid region and the proposal to put it on the List of Protected Areas at Risk.

The Macedonian delegation comprised of Minister Edmond Ademi, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrej Zernovski and Ohrid Mayor Konstantin Georgievski managed to convince UNESCO experts that the construction of illegal buildings has already been halted and that by February they will be able to implement the recommendations.

The media’s recent reports reminded the authorities of several illegal buildings that, despite the demolition decisions or lack of construction permits, continue to be built without any problems. The “Front 21/42” association has warned that from November 2017 to April 2019, 250 illegal buildings were legalized.

The Macedonian delegation seeks delay in the decision and a new deadline to act on the 19 requirements of the UNESCO Reaction Mission from 2017, which mostly have not been met. The whole case will be considered once again in a package with the request for placing the Albanian part of the Ohrid Lake under protection.