A war graves agreement with Macedonia was concluded in November 2012.
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Macedonian Government, desiring to establish a definitive contractual arrangement for the German graves of war victims located in the territory of Macedonia and for the Macedonian graves of war victims located in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, seeking to ensure the preparation, maintenance, upkeep and protection of these graves in a dignified manner and in accordance with the provisions of applicable international humanitarian law, we have agreed as follows:
Article 1
(1) For the purposes of this Agreement, the terms below shall have the following meanings:
1. “German war graves” shall mean
- members of the German armed forces,
- persons equated with them under German law,
- other persons of German nationality who, in connection with the events of the
1914/1918 war or the 1939/1945 war,
lost their lives on the present-day Macedonian territory:
2. “German war graves”
- the graves of German war dead located on the present-day and Macedonian territory.
3. “German war gravesites”
- the cemeteries or parts of cemeteries in which German war dead are buried, which still exist in today's Macedonian territory, can be found or are to be
re-established.
(2) For the purposes of this Agreement, the terms shall have the following meaning:
1. ”Macedonian war dead”
- members of the armed forces
- persons equated with them under Macedonian law
- other persons attributable to the Macedonian party to the agreement who
lost their lives in connection with the events of the war of 1914/1918 or the war of 1939/1945 on the sovereign territory
of the Federal Republic of Germany.
2. “Macedonian war graves”
- the graves of Macedonian war dead located in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany
:
3. “Macedonian war gravesites”
- the existing, discoverable or newly
established cemeteries or parts of cemeteries in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany in which Macedonian war dead are buried
.
(3) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Macedonian Government agree that memorials to war victims not located on war gravesites within the meaning of the Agreement shall be protected under the relevant domestic legislation.
Article 2
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Macedonian Government shall ensure the protection of war graves, access to war graves and the permanent right of burial for the war dead on their sovereign territory. They shall keep the surroundings of the war gravesites free of all installations that are incompatible with the dignity of these sites.
(2) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Macedonian Government shall be entitled to arrange and maintain their graves of war victims and war gravesites on the sovereign territory of the other state at their own expense.
(3) The Federal Republic of Germany shall guarantee the maintenance and care of Macedonian graves of war victims on the sovereign territory of the Federal Republic of Germany at its own expense.
Article 3
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Macedonian Government shall mutually guarantee the use of the areas of land serving as war graves as permanent resting places for their war dead, for the past and the future, free of charge and for an unlimited period.
(2) Property rights are not affected by this Agreement. Any changes deemed necessary to the boundaries of areas of land used as war gravesites shall be resolved by mutual agreement between the Governments or the bodies designated by them. If, by agreement of both Governments, an area is no longer used in whole or in part for the intended purposes, the previous right of use shall lapse.
(3) Should a government require a site under paragraph 1 for another use for compelling public reasons, it shall provide another suitable site and bear the costs of reburial of the dead and of the preparation of the new graves. The selection of the new site, its preparation and the reburial shall be carried out by mutual agreement.
Article 4
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Macedonian Government shall allow the other side, without incurring any costs and after having been presented with a plan for prior approval, to consolidate the graves of war dead whose reburial is deemed necessary. The reburial of German war dead shall be carried out by forces designated by the German side. The reburial of Macedonian war dead shall be carried out by forces designated by the Macedonian side.
(2) A protocol shall be drawn up for each reburial of a war dead person, stating the old and new grave location, personal details, the inscription on the dog tag or other identifying features.
(3) Insofar as formerly existing war gravesites have been abandoned due to infrastructural changes and the dead buried there can no longer be reburied, the side on whose sovereign territory this formerly existing war gravesite is located shall permit the erection of memorials at these former sites in a dignified and locally appropriate form upon application and at the expense of the other side. If land needs to be provided or the consent of local authorities obtained, each side shall assist the other in making appropriate applications and in concluding contracts.
(4) Insofar as a provisional burial of war dead becomes necessary to enable a final burial at a war grave site, the side on whose sovereign territory the war dead are found shall make arrangements for their proper and dignified provisional burial and marking of the graves.
Article 5
If graves of war dead from other countries are found on German or Macedonian war graves sites in addition to German or Macedonian graves of war victims, this fact shall be given due consideration in decisions concerning the preservation and maintenance of these graves.
Article 6
(1) The repatriation of German war dead from the territory to the Federal Republic of Germany requires the prior consent of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Macedonian government shall only permit such repatriation if this consent has been obtained.
(2) The consent of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany is also required for applications to the Macedonian government for the repatriation of German war dead to third countries.
(3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the repatriation of war dead from Macedonia to Macedonian territory or to third countries.
(4) All costs and fees for the reburial and repatriation of German war dead shall be borne by the applicants.
(5) Representatives of the authorities of both sides may be present at the reburial of German war dead for repatriation.
Article 7
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany commissions the “Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V.” (hereafter referred to as “VOLKSBUND”) with the technical implementation of the tasks on Macedonian sovereign territory that arise for the German side from this agreement.
(2) The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (the Administration for the Affairs of Fighters and War-Disabled as an authority within the scope of the Ministry) is the competent body for the Macedonian government for the implementation of this Agreement. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy may commission a third party with the technical implementation of this Agreement.
(3) The prior consent of the other government shall be required if another organization or institution is to be entrusted with the technical implementation of this Agreement.
Article 8
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Macedonian Government shall afford the institutions or organizations referred to in Article 7 every possible assistance, in particular access to records concerning war dead and graves of war victims of the other side, which are or will be available at authorities, natural and legal persons in their country. Other agreements and arrangements shall remain unaffected.
Article 9
(1) In order to carry out its tasks, the VOLKSBUND may send representatives, specialists and other personnel into Macedonian territory.
(2) In the execution of the work arising from the implementation of this Agreement, the VOLKSBUND shall, wherever possible, employ local workers and materials in accordance with the conditions prevailing in free competition.
(3) The VOLKSBUND may also import into and re-export from the Federal Republic of Germany or another member state of the European Union equipment, means of transport, materials and accessories that are necessary for the work mentioned in this agreement in the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.
(4) The following applies to the customs clearance of these goods:
1. temporarily imported equipment and means of transport shall be cleared upon their import into Macedonian
territory free of import duties and taxes, subject to the condition that the
said equipment and means of transport are re-exported free of export duties after completion of the work
:
2. material and accessories intended for the construction, decoration or maintenance of graves, memorials
or cemeteries shall remain free of import duties and taxes if the customs authorities
are presented with the following in addition to the regular import declaration:
- an exact list of the imported goods,
- a declaration of commitment signed by a representative of the Volksbund that the
goods mentioned will only be used for the purposes specified in this agreement.
Article 10
(1) The transfer of the areas serving as German war graves sites, agreed in accordance with Article 3 (1),
authorizes the VOLKSBUND to carry out all the preparation and beautification work on the
war graves sites and to construct suitable access roads, recreation rooms and other
facilities for visitors.
(2) The VOLKSBUND shall ensure that all relevant national
Macedonian legal regulations are observed during construction work.
Article 11
The provisions of Articles 9 and 10 shall also apply accordingly to any third party which is entrusted by the Macedonian Ministry of Labor and Social Policy with the technical implementation of this Agreement in accordance with Article 7 paragraph 2.
Article 12
Any disputes regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled through negotiations between the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties.
Article 13
(1) This Agreement shall enter into force one month after the date on which the Contracting Parties have notified each other that the necessary domestic requirements for its entry into force have been met. The date of receipt of the last notification shall be the determining date.
(2) This Agreement is concluded for a fixed period. If either of the Contracting Parties wishes to amend the Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall enter into negotiations to that effect.
(3) The registration of this Treaty with the Secretariat of the United Nations pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations shall be arranged without delay after its entry into force by the party on whose territory the Treaty is signed. The other Contracting State shall be informed of the registration, stating the registration number, as soon as this has been confirmed by the Secretariat of the United Nations.
Done at Skopje, 01.11.2012, in two signatures, each in the German and Macedonian languages, each text being equally authentic.
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany For the
Macedonian Government