Contributed by: Gabrijela Mihova, Macedonia National VAW Monitor

On 29 May, the Law on Equal Opportunities between Women and Men was published in the Official Gazette, after its adoption by the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The law comes into effect eight days following its publication and introduces measures to ensure and promote equality in all spheres of social life. Special measures for accelerating equality between women and men are also foreseen. The institutional set-up proposed by the law puts the obligation of implementation of the law under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the existing Equal Opportunities Unit, which is competent to ensure both compliance with the law and its adequate implementation. The law mentions specifically the responsibilities of local governments, the media, political parties and educational institutions and sets up a procedure for determining cases of unequal treatment between women and men, in addition to the recourse available through the Ombudsman's Office. Although procedure and mechanisms for protection from discrimination are established within this law, it is still unclear how effective it will be, keeping in mind that the draft Anti-discrimination Law, which is in the process of preparation, stipulates additional instruments for protection from discrimination. What would be the interaction of both mentioned laws is not very clear, i.e. which of these laws would be most useful for efficient protection of gender-based discrimination.