Twenty-four years after the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the peace deal that ended a brief armed conflict between ethnic Albanians and Macedonians in what is now North Macedonia, analysts say its provisions have yet to be fully implemented.
The agreement, signed in August 2001 with international mediation, ended months of fighting triggered by long-standing grievances over discrimination against ethnic Albanians. It enshrined the country’s unitary character while banning the use of violence to achieve political goals, introduced constitutional changes, and granted wider rights for non-Macedonian languages.
Analyst Xhelal Neziri said the accord “modernised and democratised” the country, paving the way for NATO membership and progress toward European Union integration.
“It was a historic moment and decision. The most important achievement is that it brought peace and set Macedonia on the Euro-Atlantic track,” he told KosovaPress. “But other rights for Albanians require strong political articulation to be protected and realised.”
Implementation has often depended on the political will of the government in power, Neziri said, accusing the current VMRO-DPMNE-led administration of neglecting the agreement’s spirit.
“When a Macedonian party has had enough MPs to govern without relying on Albanian parties, implementation has been minimal. The Ohrid Agreement is not just law or constitution – it is a spirit of consensus, dialogue and compromise,” he said.
Former diplomat Xhevdet Halili, who took part in the 2001 negotiations, noted the original deadline for full implementation was 2004. “We are now 20 years past that and still have elements that have not been properly implemented. One of the biggest weaknesses was that the agreement was privatised and politicised,” he said.
Language rights remain among the most contested issues. Under a 2018 law, Albanian – spoken by nearly 30% of the country’s two million people – may be used officially in judicial proceedings, on police uniforms and across state institutions where at least 20% of residents speak it. VMRO-DPMNE opposed the law and challenged it in the Constitutional Court.
Rights groups and Albanian parties also cite persistent discrimination, including racist chants at sporting events. Authorities have launched an investigation into anti-Albanian abuse reported during a recent basketball match between North Macedonia and Romania.
The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), now in opposition, has warned of a “risk” to Albanian rights, with leader Ali Ahmeti writing to Western partners earlier this year. But the Albanian-led VLEN coalition, part of the current government, disputes that rights are being eroded.