JOURNALISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (JHR)

Country: North Macedonia
Website: www.jhrmk.org
Email: email hidden; JavaScript is required
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/novinarizacovekoviprava
Focal Point: Natasha Dokovska
Working language/s: English, French, Macedonian, Serb-Croat

Mission and vision:

The mission of Journalists for Human Rights – JHR is to investigate, inform and work towards the advancement of public policies and practices for respecting human rights and sustainable living and environmental protection. JHR supports and fosters civic awareness and active participation and promotes practical solutions in cooperation with organizations and institutions, works on detecting corruption in the environment, has so far participated in the preparation of shadow reports on access to information and public participation in relation to the environment
Our vision is a fair, responsible, and conscious society where sustainable healthy citizens live in prosperity and in harmony with the environment.

Priority areas your organization is working on:

The priority areas for JHR are media independence as well as the protection of environmental and human health from corruption and the adverse effects of industry and infrastructure projects by monitoring and promoting alternative and sustainable concepts for development. JHR also actively participates in creating a strategy for sustainable agriculture for all farmers and advocates for gender representation in all institutions. Other areas of work are education, the protection of whistleblowers, and investigative journalism.

Important achievements for your organization over the past 2 years:

– Tax discrimination project related to the taxation on personal hygiene products
– ‘Water as a common good’ campaign involving a self-assessment card on access to water and sanitation)
– Education campaign for journalists related to the implementation of the Aarhus Convention
– Shadow report on the implementation of the second pillar of the Aarhus Convention: public participation and misuses

Specific description of the CSO’s work in anti-corruption:

We have worked on a self-assessment card for access to water and sanitation and monitored possible corruption in infrastructure policy. For our tax discrimination project related to the taxation of personal hygiene products, we further conducted a cost-benefit analysis to identify misuse of legislation. Moreover, for our ‘water as a common good’ project, we monitor and identify corruption in the process of selling water concessions.

Anti-corruption activities CSO was involved in over the past 2 years:

We worked on a shadow report on the implementation of the Aarhus Convention and identified corruption related to access to justice and information in the environmental field.
We also started an Environmental Media Hub with a focus on investigative storytelling related to corruption, bribery, and the environment.

CSO’s work in relation to the UNCAC and the UNCAC review mechanism:

We work on advocacy to promote a transparent and inclusive UNCAC review process, especially with private companies that work on environmental protection. We also monitor the call for tenders in municipalities and the way of announcement.

A global civil society network promoting the implementation and monitoring of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)