154th session of the Government: New Defence Strategy Adopted; Draft Law on Classified Information following NATO standards; Recommendations adopted for anti-corruption education of students

On today’s 154th regular session the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia discussed and adopted the Communiqué and Draft Defence Strategy of Republic of North Macedonia and assigned the Ministry of Defence within 7 days as of the adoption of the Communiqué, to deliver the Defence Strategy of the Republic of North Macedonia to the President of the Republic of North Macedonia to be adopted.

The current Defence Strategy was adopted in 2010 and as a result of the security dynamics, the modern security threats and challenges, but as well as a result of the changed status of the Republic of North Macedonia within international framework, the Ministry of Defence has prepared a draft Defence Strategy for the Republic of North Macedonia. 
The new Strategy identifies the features of the modern security environment, provides directions for further development of the defence capacities and capabilities of the defence system of the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as instructions for synchronization and enhancement of the defence planning, in pursuance with NATO and EU standards.

The Ministry of Defence proposed and the Government adopted the proposed Law on Classified Information.

This Draft Law on Classified Information regulates the system for protection of classified information in the Republic of North Macedonia and enables high-level harmonization with NATO and EU regulative, following current trends in practices of manipulating classified information, as well as detailing certain issues related to other areas in the work of the Directorate for Safety of Classified Information.

The new Draft Law takes into consideration the legal base for adoption of bylaws that regulate crypto-protection in the country and in pursuance with the integration process of the country within NATO and EU, encompasses the need for expanding the competencies of the Directorate in the domain of exchange and protection of classified information within international organizations.

The Government of the Republic of North Macedonia discussed and adopted the Communiqué regarding the needs for the Republic of North Macedonia and its accession to the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness 1961.

The UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness 1961 is primary international instrument that treats the problem of statelessness. The essential objective of the Convention is to prescribe gaining citizenship for those persons who otherwise would have no citizenship and who have appropriate connection to the state by being born on its territory or have origin from its citizens, as well as withholding citizenship by those persons who would become stateless if they negligently lose their citizenship. 
The accession to this Conference embodies the principles that are generally accepted in the international law and are also contained in other significant conventions, as well as in the UN Universal Declaration on human rights which stipulates that each person has right to citizenship i.e. no person will be arbitrarily deprived of their citizenship nor the right to change its nationality, calling on States to “adopt legal regulations on citizenship for the purpose of reducing statelessness consistently with the principles of international law. 
The Government of the Republic of North Macedonia adopted the Communiqué for activities regarding the implementation of the key measures under the dimension Anti-Corruption from the SEE 2020 Strategy and assigned the Ministry of Education and Science in cooperation with the Education Development Bureau to inform in written all primary schools for the need of planning anti-corruption contents in their annual curriculums. 
In pursuance to this notification, it is expected that in the school year 2019/2020 will realize the planned activities stipulated in their annual curriculums related to the anti-corruption education of the students.

In the end, on today’s session the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia adopted a Proposal Decisions for sending members of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia for participation in the peacekeeping operation “Resolute Support” in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and for participation in the peacekeeping operation in the European Union “ALTEA” in Bosnia and Herzegovina.