Skopje, 19 February 2025 (MIA) – After more than 13 years, a girl from Skopje’s Roma-run Shuto Orizari municipality has been issued identification documents, namely a birth certificate, thus becoming visible for the institutions allowing her to exercise her rights, including going to school. Ombudsman Naser Ziberi said Wednesday that hers was not an isolated case and called on institutions to boost efforts to solve the issue involving around 400 “invisible people”, who have filed requests to be issued birth certificates following the 2021 legal amendments.

Even though a document from the hospital where the girl had born was needed to close the case, the issue was solved only after social services, non-governmental organizations and the Ombudsman’s Office got involved.

Multiple people face obstacles to get birth certificates, Ziberi told a news conference. Out of 700 people who applied for the first call, 400 have submitted documents. Of those, procedures are under way for 268 and 60 have managed to be issued a personal identification number.

“Although legal amendments were passed in 2021, things seem different in practice. To prove that it doesn't function fully, in less than two months this year, complaints have been submitted regarding this issue. One of the most notable examples include a mother and a child that have no documents, thus being invisible for the institutions,” he said calling on the Civil Registry Office to be more engaged.

MIA file photo