Balkans and eastern Europe
Source tier A. Conventions checked 2026-07-29.
Drug and firearms law in North Macedonia: statutes on record
North Macedonia, in Balkans and eastern Europe, is party to all four of the instruments tracked here, the last of them since 2007. It appears on neither FATF list. Its legislation on record runs to 2 confirmed instruments. The record is set out in the order the obligations arrive: treaty first, statute second, enforcement last.
International framework
North Macedonia is bound by all four instruments this dataset tracks, the earliest from 1993 and the most recent from 2007.
| Instrument | Adopted | Ratified or acceded | Depositary reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Convention | 1988 | 13 Oct 1993 | Chapter VI-19 |
| UNTOC | 2000 | 12 Jan 2005 | Chapter XVIII-12 |
| UNCAC | 2003 | 13 Apr 2007 | Chapter XVIII-14 |
| Firearms Protocol | 2001 | 14 Sep 2007 | Chapter XVIII-12-c |
What each instrument obliges a party to do is set out once, per instrument, in the conventions reference. The dates above are what is specific to North Macedonia: they are the points from which each obligation began to bind, taken from the depositary's own status tables.
National legislation
The following instruments have been confirmed against a citable national source. Titles are given as enacted and are not translated.
Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism — A principal anti-money-laundering instrument, carrying the laundering and proceeds obligations common to the 1988 Convention, UNTOC and UNCAC into domestic law. Confirmed against ufr.gov.mk, checked 2026-07-30.
Criminal Code — A code rather than a dedicated statute: the offences sit within the general body of law and are read together with its provisions on attempt, participation and sentencing. Confirmed against www.unodc.org, checked 2026-07-30.
Enforcement authorities
One body is named in the record for North Macedonia, each confirmed on North Macedonia's own government domain. Naming the body matters because the treaty obligations above bind the state, while the powers to act on them sit with particular institutions under national law.
| Body | Function | Confirmed on |
|---|---|---|
| Customs Administration | customs and border control | finance.gov.mk |
Ratification sequence
The dates below are worth reading as a sequence rather than as a set. North Macedonia came to these instruments over 14 years, beginning with the 1988 Convention in 1993 and ending with the Firearms Protocol in 2007. Measured against each instrument's own adoption, the shortest gap was the UNCAC at 4 years, the longest the Firearms Protocol at 6.
North Macedonia became a party to the 1988 Convention in 1993, 5 years after it was adopted — exactly the median lag across the jurisdictions in this dataset.
The years in between are the ones a case from that period would have to be judged against. For the 12 years between 1993 and 2005, North Macedonia was bound by the 1988 Convention but not yet by the UNTOC, the UNCAC or the Firearms Protocol. Treaty obligations do not apply backwards, so the interval is a real limit on what the framework could reach at the time rather than an administrative detail.
On coverage, North Macedonia is one of 81 jurisdiction s here party to 4 of the four, against 81 party to all four. Balkans and eastern Europe accounts for 10 of the records here; 1 of them carries a current monitoring listing.
Position on the trafficking corridors
North Macedonia sits on the balkan route, one of the six corridors profiled here. What the corridor meets at this leg is the record set out above.
The Balkan route — 8 jurisdictions, carrying heroin. The legs either side of North Macedonia in the reporting are Albania and Montenegro. Across the corridor as a whole, 6 of the 8 legs are party to all four instruments, 2 sit outside the Firearms Protocol, every leg carries a confirmed national instrument , and 1 is under increased monitoring. North Macedonia clears all three of those checks. The full corridor profile lists the jurisdictions it runs through in order.
Financial-crime monitoring
As of the FATF plenary statements of 2026-06-19, North Macedonia is recorded as Not listed . The lists are revised three times a year, so this record moves on that cadence rather than continuously. The current statement and what it changed are tracked on the FATF grey list tracker.
Questions about drug and firearms law in North Macedonia
Which drug-control conventions has North Macedonia ratified?
All four: the 1988 Convention on 13 Oct 1993, the UNTOC on 12 Jan 2005, the UNCAC on 13 Apr 2007, the Firearms Protocol on 14 Sep 2007.
Is North Macedonia on the FATF grey list?
No. North Macedonia appears on neither the increased-monitoring list nor the call-for-action list in the FATF statements of 19 June 2026.
What national drug legislation is on record for North Macedonia?
Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, confirmed against ufr.gov.mk; Criminal Code, confirmed against www.unodc.org.
Which register confirms the legislation on this page?
Each instrument names its own. For North Macedonia that is ufr.gov.mk, www.unodc.org. Following the link reaches the document itself; nothing here paraphrases an instrument it has not cited.
What is source tier A, and why is this record in it?
Tier A means a national instrument has been confirmed against an official register — for North Macedonia, 2 of them. The treaty dates and the listing status are separately sourced, so all three layers of this record carry a citation.
Why does the ratification date matter?
The date is the point from which the obligations bind. North Macedonia's earliest of these commitments dates from 1993, its most recent from 2007; the gap between them is a rough measure of how long the framework took to assemble.
Sources
- Ratification dates: United Nations Treaty Collection, depositary status tables (chapters VI-19, XVIII-12, XVIII-14, XVIII-12-c). Checked 2026-07-29.
- Listing status: FATF, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring and High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action, 2026-06-19.
- Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism: ufr.gov.mk, checked 2026-07-30.
- Criminal Code: www.unodc.org, checked 2026-07-30.