on the honouring of obligations and commitments by “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” in which it:
1.1 congratulates the Macedonian nation for its hospitality towards
refugees all through the Kosovo crisis, for its restraint and its determination
to maintain democratic stability, as well as for its co-operation with the
international community, all of which have contributed to easing the dangerous
situation in the Balkans;
1.2 commends Macedonia on having preserved the fragile equilibrium
between the Macedonian majority and the ethnic Albanian minority and encourages
both sides to continue striving for full integration of this and the other
minorities, within one state that is respectful of all citizens’ rights and
freedoms;
1.3 notes that Macedonian authorities have undertaken many creditable
legislative initiatives which have been interrupted during the Kosovo crisis
but should be re-launched and where necessary accelerated;
1.4 welcomes the signature and ratification of many conventions of the
Council of Europe;
1.5 understands and accepts that, during the conflict and in the aftermath of the crisis, among the commitments listed in
Opinion No. 191 (1995), priority was given by the Macedonian authorities to Macedonia’s humanitarian obligations towards refugees and displaced persons from Kosovo and that action to honour other commitments was temporarily interrupted.
