Last year, only one complaint of discrimination on the grounds of Bulgarian self-feeling was submitted to the State Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination. The chair of the Commission, Vesna Bendevska, said that the institution has a high level of independence and is important at the moment, due to the statements of members of the Bulgarian minority in Macedonia who say that their rights are endangered and there is nowhere to complain.

At the end of last year, only one complaint was filed by a citizen who complained of being discriminated against in the workplace – an employee in a small rural local government – because of his personal feeling that he is of Bulgarian origin. We are obliged to ask the other side as well. The answer was interesting. Every employee declares their nationality in the M1 / ​​M2 form  The applicant declared himself here as an ethnic Macedonian, so his right to equality was not violated with his change of work place, explained Bendevska in an interview with the “Morning Briefing” show.

She pointed out that the State Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination has a website with detailed data on the cases they have, how many have been resolved, how far the procedure with a particular case is, and people can file a complaint online as well.

The chair of the Commission encouraged all citizens who feel discriminated against on any grounds – ethnic, gender, sexual, political and other grounds – to file a complaint to the Commission.