Thursday, 10 December 2020
CONSTITUENT MEETING OF THE INTER-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP FOR IMPROVEMENT OF THE RIGHTS OF LGBTI PEOPLE
On the occasion of the International Day of Human rights, 10 December, the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia in cooperation with the National Network Against Homophobia and Transphobia held the constituent meeting of the Inter-Party Parliamentary Group for Improvement of the Rights of LGBTI People.
This group, for the first time was established in the mandate of the previous parliamentary composition. In the group will participate many MPs from the majority and the opposition who in cooperation with citizen associations in the legislature will represent the improvement of the rights of LGBTI people. Until now, more than ten MPs have joined the group, but in the upcoming period is expected this number to increase. As coordinator of the Group was elected the MP Maja Moracanin, who underlined that it is a great pleasure that in this mandate the informal Inter-Party Parliamentary Group for Improvement of the Rights of LGBTI People is again established and also that was trusted again to be the coordinator of the group. She informed that in the last three years were achieved important steps in improving the rights of LGBTI people.
“In the previous mandate we advocated for the adoption of the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination, we included sexual orientation and gender identity in the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and the Criminal Code as the grounds for protection from hate crimes. The group participated in numerous activities for promotion of the rights of LGBTI people, such as the campaign “Don’t Judge Who Loves Whom”, the marking of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, participation in the Pride Parade in Skopje and many others. At the initiative of LGBTI Group, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took measures for joining of the Republic of North Macedonia to the inter-governmental Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) and informed us that on 31 May 2019 our state was formally a member of the Coalition”. – stated Moracanin.
The MP Gordana Siljanovska Davkova underlined that on 10 December is the International Day of Human Rights, the day when in 1948 was adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. She added: “We must build a democratic parliamentary wave against the verbal and physical assaults against the people of the LGBTI community, we must enable them to become SUBJECTS, instead of objects, we must accept them as equal. As a MP, initiator and member of the Inter-Party Parliamentary Group for Improvement of the Rights of LGBTI People, my message is: We, the MPs from different parliamentary groups and parties, to represent all citizens, including LGBTI persons and we have a constitutional, legal and ethical, parliamentary and human liability to fight against any form of discrimination towards any individual, regardless of the affiliation!”
Dragana Drndarevska from the National Network against Homophobia and Transphobia, in her address stated that: “Even though we mark improvement of the rights of the LGBTI people, this parliamentary composition must continue with this trend. The voting of the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination was the first step, but there is an equal important task ahead the Assembly, to elect professional and independent members of the Committee for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination who will efficiently protect all marginalized groups, including LGBTI people against discrimination. Furthermore, ahead us is the election of the new Ombudsman, and whom we demand to be an independent expert in order to reform the institution and provide a more efficient protection of human rights and the citizens, whenever they are violated by the state. The protection from hate crimes must be improved by strengthening the capacity of the policy and prosecution, because besides the legal amendments there are no significant improvements in the practices of these institutions. The rights of LGBTI people are human rights, and their realization is reducing the stigma and hate towards this community, that can be achieved only by constant activities and measures by all competent institutions”.
At the constituent meeting also addressed the MPs Snezhana Kaleska Vaiceva and Velika Stojkovska Serafimovska.