The Albanian American Relations Council (AARC) strongly supports President Trump’s Executive Order reaffirming the United States’ commitment to peace, stability, democratic governance, and the rule of law in the Western Balkans. By reaffirming the importance of the Ohrid Framework Agreement and recognizing that actions undermining it threaten U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, the Executive Order sends a clear message that lasting stability in the region depends on the protection of equal rights and the faithful implementation of international commitments.
After numerous visits to Washington, D.C., and countless meetings with Administration officials, AARC is encouraged to see the United States formally acknowledge the growing challenges facing the rights of Albanians in North Macedonia. This recognition reflects concerns AARC has consistently raised—that efforts to roll back the rights guaranteed under the Ohrid Framework Agreement threaten not only the country’s stability and interethnic harmony, but also broader U.S. strategic interests in the Western Balkans. The Executive Order underscores the importance of sustained American leadership in preserving peace, strengthening democratic institutions, and ensuring the full implementation of Ohrid.
This Executive Order reinforces a fundamental principle: the rights secured through the Ohrid Framework Agreement are binding obligations grounded in inalienable rights, not discretionary political concessions. Ohrid remains the cornerstone of peace, stability, equality, and interethnic partnership in North Macedonia.
AARC expresses deep concern regarding recent developments that call into question full adherence to these commitments. Most notably, the challenge before the Constitutional Court to the Law on the Use of Languages raises serious concerns about the status of the Albanian language as an official language. We are also concerned by measures that diminish the visibility and practical use of Albanian in public life, including efforts to reverse established municipal language designations and place names in areas where Albanians have long lived and contributed as equal partners in state formation.
Such actions are inconsistent with both the letter and spirit of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. They weaken trust, equality, and inclusion—principles Ohrid was designed to permanently safeguard. Recent student protests seeking the right to take the Bar Examination in the Albanian language further underscore a basic truth: access to education, justice, and public institutions in one’s official language is an inalienable right, not a privilege.
AARC calls on the Government of North Macedonia and all relevant institutions to fully respect and implement the Ohrid Framework Agreement, protect constitutional guarantees, and ensure the full and practical equality of languages in public life.
The Executive Order is an important reminder that lasting stability in the Western Balkans depends on the consistent application of democratic principles, constitutional protections, and inalienable rights for all citizens. The path forward lies in fully realizing the Ohrid Framework Agreement and strengthening a truly multiethnic, democratic state built on equal partnership.
AARC stands firmly with all who peacefully advocate for equality, constitutional rights, human dignity, and the full implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement.