• Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, including those involving complicit officials, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.
• Allocate sufficient resources for victim protection, including to the mobile identification teams, to the shelter for trafficking victims, and in support of specialized services for adult male victims.
• Increase efforts to proactively identify trafficking victims by consistently screening for trafficking among vulnerable populations, including individuals in commercial sex, migrants, refugees, and other at-risk populations.
• Allocate sufficient resources to the police and prosecutors to proactively investigate trafficking and prosecute cases in a timely manner.
• Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a result of being trafficked.
• Provide safe accommodation to potential foreign trafficking victims and allow victims to leave shelters at will.
• Establish access to alternative housing to accommodate victims after leaving the shelter or when the shelter is full.
• Establish mechanisms to ensure all potential trafficking cases are referred to specialized police and prosecutors.
• Institutionalize specialized training for judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement on victim-centered investigations and prosecutions.
• Empower the national rapporteur to successfully monitor and evaluate anti-trafficking efforts.

The government maintained law enforcement efforts.

Articles 418(a) and (d) of the criminal code criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed a minimum penalty of four years’ imprisonment, which was sufficiently stringent and, with regard to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. In 2024, the government investigated six cases involving 22 suspects (three cases for sex trafficking, two for labor trafficking, and one for unspecified forms of trafficking), compared with nine cases involving 11 suspects in 2023. The government continued to investigate two cases involving seven suspects initiated in previous years. The government prosecuted 20 defendants (10 for sex trafficking, five for labor trafficking, and five for unspecified forms of trafficking), compared with 18 defendants in 2023. Courts convicted four traffickers (three for sex trafficking and one for labor trafficking), compared with 16 traffickers in 2023. Courts sentenced eight traffickers with four to 10 years’ imprisonment. Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year. The government reported investigating an official from the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and an official from the Ministry of Justice for “mediation in prostitution.” The government charged a civil servant with complicity in trafficking in 2017 and a municipal inspector for trafficking in 2016; the OCCPO reported that both individuals were standing trial before the Skopje Criminal Court.

The Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings and Migrant Smuggling Unit’s task force within the Ministry of Interior (MOI) led investigations and employed 16 specialized officers. The MOI maintained 16 additional officers across eight regional offices specifically working on trafficking. The OCCPO prosecuted all trafficking cases, but with only 13 prosecutors to handle all crimes under its jurisdiction, it lacked the staff and capacity to review cases in a timely manner. The Skopje Criminal Court and Skopje Appellate Court maintained authority to hear all trafficking cases. Local police officers lacked an understanding of trafficking and did not consistently notify the task force of potential trafficking cases. Similarly, some district prosecutors did not refer potential trafficking cases to the OCCPO and used crimes with more lenient penalties to prosecute traffickers, such as commercial sex, abuse, and sexual assault. District prosecutors also prosecuted some transnational trafficking cases as migrant smuggling offenses due to the lower evidentiary threshold or officials’ conflation of human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Experts reported prosecutors did not routinely grant specialized investigative measures, such as wiretapping, for trafficking investigations; as a result, authorities relied almost exclusively on victim testimony with little corroborating evidence. Additionally, GRETA reported the government had never closed, fined, or suspended businesses used for sex trafficking, and the owners or managers of such businesses have only been convicted in two cases to date. Observers continued to report cases languished or were mishandled due to the absence of a digital case management system to transfer trafficking cases between different police departments and prosecutors’ offices. The government, in partnership with international organizations and NGOs, trained judges, prosecutors, police officers, and task force officers on various anti-trafficking topics. The government initiated a joint investigation with French authorities and shared information with authorities from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Kosovo, Portugal, and Serbia.

The government increased victim protection efforts.

The government identified 39 victims, compared with seven in 2023. Of the 39 victims identified, traffickers exploited 37 in sex trafficking and two in labor trafficking; 37 were women, one man, and one boy; 37 were foreign victims, and one victim was a person with disabilities. The government also identified one girl in forced marriage, which may have involved trafficking in persons. The government maintained SOPs on identifying and referring victims to services, which also included screening indicators and mechanisms to enhance coordination among police, prosecutors, first responders, and civil society. The government maintained mobile teams comprising social workers, law enforcement officers, NGO staff, and psychologists in five regions to identify and assist vulnerable populations, including trafficking victims. The government developed new SOPs for mobile teams to proactively identify and refer potential trafficking victims. Mobile teams assisted 469 vulnerable people (256 children and 213 adults), including 21 trafficking victims and 23 potential victims, compared with assisting 562 vulnerable people, including four trafficking victims and 39 potential victims in 2023. Mobile teams continued to detect the majority of potential victims, and experts viewed the teams as a best practice in proactive identification and cooperation between civil society and government; however, the government did not dedicate specific funding to the mobile teams, leaving their sustainability in doubt. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP) social workers and police continued to identify potential labor trafficking victims among predominately Romani children engaged in begging and street vending and placed them in daycare centers. Government and civil society actors continued to raise concerns that some government agencies lacked policies and mechanisms to ensure proactive identification efforts. For example, local police did not consistently screen for indicators during law enforcement actions on casinos, nightclubs, and bars. Similarly, border agents did not consistently screen for trafficking indicators at border crossings, and reports continued to document police abuse of migrants, including potential trafficking victims, and authorities conducting illegal pushbacks to Greece.

The government maintained the Operational Team for Identification of Trafficking Victims (OTITV) to assess and officially recognize potential victims and assist in coordinating victim care and placement. OTITV comprised a prosecutor from OCCPO, an officer from MOI, a social worker from MLSP, and a representative from an NGO. After OTITV’s official victim identification process, the Office of the NRM within MLSP remained responsible for coordinating the referral of official victims to service providers; the Office of the NRM referred all 39 identified victims to service providers. The government allocated 3.8 million denars ($64,600) for direct victim assistance at the shelter, an increase compared with 2.66 million denars ($45,200) in 2023. The government dispersed 36,588 denars ($620) per month per victim for operating expenses, an increase compared with 32,000 denars ($540) in 2023. However, government funding only covered 40 percent of the shelter’s operating expenses, and the shelter relied heavily on funding from the international community to continue operations. The government also allocated 409,786 denars ($7,164) to the MOI for protection and security of trafficking victims, particularly for those staying at the shelter, compared with 473,368 denars ($8,040) in 2023. The government allocated 2.63 million denars ($44,700) to MLSP for social services, NGO activities, mobile teams, and other types of victim protection efforts, compared with 2.65 million denars ($45,000) in 2023.

The government, the shelter, and NGOs provided officially recognized and potential victims with protection and assistance, including food, clothing, medical assistance, psycho-social support, legal assistance, and reintegration services; 21 victims received assistance (seven in 2023). MLSP assigned a guardian from a social welfare center to victims while they were at the shelter, and MLSP-run social service centers maintained one social worker at each of the 30 centers assisting trafficking victims, including psycho-social support, reintegration assistance, education, and job placement; social service centers assisted in finding a foster family for two victims. Observers reported that social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists lacked resources, and the high staff turnover made it difficult to maintain specialized knowledge on working with trafficking victims. The government did not provide specialized assistance for adult male victims but provided alternative housing in cooperation with NGOs. The shelter accommodated women and child victims with the capacity to house six victims, but the government lacked longer-term housing options and did not have additional capacity to accommodate victims if the shelter was full. The government placed identified Romani child victims in daycare centers and warned or fined their parents; in cases where courts deemed parents unfit to care for their children, the state placed the children in foster families. However, observers reported the low number of available foster families and absence of alternative accommodation resulted in some child victims returning to their parents who exploited them. The government accommodated foreign potential trafficking victims at the transit center, which did not permit foreign potential victims to leave without a temporary residence permit. GRETA reported the transit center lacked specialized staff and was “not an adequate facility” for providing support to trafficking victims; the transit center housed 309 individuals, but the government did not report if any of them were a trafficking victim (one in 2023).

Due to a lack of consistent screening efforts, authorities arrested, detained, and deported some unidentified trafficking victims. As in previous years, reports indicate local police detained and deported potential victims in commercial sex without screening for trafficking indicators or notifying the task force. The law permitted foreign victims a two-month reflection period to decide whether to testify against their traffickers, followed by a six-month temporary residence permit, regardless of whether they testify; one foreign victim required a residence permit (none in 2023). The law provided witness protection and 24-hour police protection; one case required police protection (one in 2023). The government offered free legal assistance to a child victim and a disabled victim and two victims voluntarily participated in investigations and prosecutions (five in 2023). Courts required victims who were voluntarily cooperating with proceedings to remain in North Macedonia until they testified in court. However, prosecutors, with the consent of the defense, had authority to make exceptions and allow a victim to leave the country prior to testifying in court — upon giving testimony before a prosecutor — and in some cases, before a pre-trial procedure judge. Experts reported trafficking cases languished in courts, at times up to 10 years, and authorities lost contact with victims and their testimonies. The Criminal Procedure Code restricted prosecutors and judges from interviewing a victim for an official statement more than twice. The government used video equipment during two trials; however, in previous years, courts allowed traffickers to be present when victims were testifying, creating ample opportunities for intimidation and threats. Some prosecutors interviewed victims multiple times or required multiple testimonies, likely causing re-traumatization, and prosecutors and judges did not consistently protect victim confidentiality and published names of victims in judgements. Courts rarely issued restitution as part of criminal sentences; a judge issued restitution of 300,000 denars ($5,100) to one victim (one in 2023). While victims could claim compensation through civil proceedings, the complexity of the process often dissuaded victims from pursuing action. In November 2022, the government adopted the Law on Compensation of Victims of Violent Crime, which entered into force in May 2023. The law established a victim compensation fund and granted trafficking victims the right to compensation of 120,000 denars ($2,040) to 270,000 denars ($4,600), including in situations without a criminal proceeding against the perpetrator. In September 2024, the government allocated funds to the victim compensation fund and established a commission to adjudicate cases. Additionally, the commission adopted guidelines and standardized formatting for requests, organized awareness campaigns, and started adjudicating requests.

The government maintained prevention efforts.

The government maintained the National Commission (NC) composed of 12 government agencies and led by the national coordinator to direct anti-trafficking efforts. The NC met once, drafted its annual report on government anti-trafficking efforts, and monitored the implementation of the 2021-2025 national action plan. In May 2024, the NC created a group composed of survivors to provide recommendations on anti-trafficking efforts. The NC also supported seven municipal-level anti-trafficking commissions in implementing their local action plans. The Anti-Trafficking Secretariat, composed of government ministries, the international community, and civil society, operated under the NC and held quarterly meetings. The MOI allocated 409,786 denars ($6,960) for prevention efforts, including awareness campaigns, compared with 473,368 denars ($8,040) in 2023. Additionally, the national anti-trafficking rapporteur within the Ombudsman’s Office published an annual report on anti-trafficking efforts. However, observers reported the national rapporteur lacked the authority, resources, and legal mandate to successfully monitor and evaluate anti-trafficking efforts. For example, the national rapporteur could not access transit centers, obtain information from ministries, and lacked general resources, such as computers, office supplies, and transportation.

Existing labor laws prohibited illegal and unreported employment and set out criteria for labor recruitment, defining the terms of employment, employer obligations, and employees’ rights. However, labor laws tied work permits for foreigners to a specific employer and required a new work permit to change jobs, thereby increasing migrant workers’ vulnerability to human trafficking. MOI and the State Labor Inspectorate maintained a memorandum of cooperation to strengthen coordination to investigate labor trafficking, including through joint inspections and trainings. The government trained labor inspectors on indicators of trafficking, and the Labor Inspectorate conducted regular inspections to verify compliance with labor laws and issued fines and sanctions against those companies and owners who were out of compliance, with the ability to press charges for criminal acts. Labor inspectors, in cooperation with police, conducted regular inspections and detected elements of trafficking in several cases (none in 2023). The NC maintained a “Codex of Cooperation” with hospitality and hotel companies to prevent forced labor in the tourism industry. The government did not operate a hotline, but MOI managed an application to report various crimes, including trafficking; officials did not receive any trafficking-related reports via the application in 2024 or 2023. Observers reported cases of Romani children not registered at birth, and their parents lacked registration and identification documents to access health care, social protection, and education, which increased this population’s vulnerability to trafficking. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.

Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking over the past five years. Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in North Macedonia, and traffickers exploit victims from North Macedonia abroad. Traffickers exploit women and girls in North Macedonia in sex trafficking and forced labor within the country in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Traffickers, who are often relatives or close friends, exploit Romani children in forced begging and sex trafficking within forced marriages. Traffickers increasingly recruit victims with fake online profiles on social media and various online applications. Sex traffickers recruit foreign victims from Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and South America, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Colombia, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. In 2021, traffickers from Taiwan recruited workers from Taiwan with false promises of work in North Macedonia for the purpose of forced labor. Traffickers confiscated passports, withheld wages, restricted movement, and set up a call center where they forced the victims from Taiwan to make fraudulent calls. Traffickers exploit citizens of North Macedonia and foreign victims transiting North Macedonia in sex trafficking and forced labor in construction and agricultural sectors in Southern, Central, and Western Europe.

Migrants and refugees traveling or being smuggled through North Macedonia, particularly women and unaccompanied children, are vulnerable to trafficking. NGOs report that children with mental and physical disabilities are increasingly vulnerable to trafficking. Officials and observers continued to report low-ranking police officers may be complicit in trafficking, including hiding evidence, accepting bribes, changing patrol routes to benefit perpetrators, tipping off perpetrators before law enforcement actions, or direct involvement in organized crime.