Thursday, 27 May 2021
MEETING OF PRESIDENT XHAFERI WITH THE OMBUDSMEN ZIBERI, BALLANCA AND QELAJ
Today, the President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, met with the ombudsmen of the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr. Naser Ziberi; of the Republic of Albania, Ms. Erinda Ballanca and of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Naim Qelaj. He wished them a warm welcome in the legislature and referred to the key role of the Institution of Ombudsman, namely, the protection of human rights.
Furthermore, President Xhaferi shared with the guests the conclusion for the recent election of Mr. Naser Ziberi as ombudsman and informed that the general acts of the ombudsman will be verified in the following new session.
Ombudsman Ziberi thanked President Xhaferi for the meeting and expressed pleasure from the current cooperation between the institution of Assembly and Ombudsman, while expressing assurance that this cooperation in the future will strengthen and gain quality.
Ms. Erinda Ballanca, the ombudsman of the Republic of Albania, after thanking for the hospitality, underlined that her every visit to the Republic of North Macedonia is a great pleasure for her, given her origin from Debar. She stressed that is of a great importance for her that the Ombudsman be granted the status “A” of a national institution for human rights, according to the “Paris Principles” which refer to the status and functioning of national institution for protection and promotion of human rights.
The Ombudsman of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Naim Qelaj, expressed satisfaction with the progress of the institution led by him, which for him represents a moral and prestigious authority. He emphasized the important role of the legislature in protecting the independence of the institution Ombudsman. He referred to the issues that are still pending, including the problems with the budget and insufficiently powerful oversight mechanisms of the institution.
The interlocutors came to a joint conclusion that the inter-institutional cooperation is of exceptional interest for the comprehensive progress.