Skopje, 27 June 2023 (MIA) – The First Lady of North Macedonia, Elizabeta Gjorgievska, addressed a thematic discussion on the rights of women and girls with disabilities, organized at the President’s Office on Tuesday by the United Nations Development Programme’s Office (UNDP) in North Macedonia.

According to the President’s Office, Gjorgievska said the discussion aims to express public support for the persons with disabilities and represents an opportunity for the beginning of real change.

According to the First Lady, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was ratified by North Macedonia in 2011, lists the basic principles of a truly just and inclusive society, which the country strives to, as well. Gjorgievska noted that many of these principles are yet to be reached, which, she said, was confirmed by the Situational Analysis of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Republic of North Macedonia, carried out in 2021 by the UN’s agencies in the country and local experts in the field.

“There is also visible unequal progress in terms of the rights of women and girls with disabilities. Their rights are an integral part of the wider fight for gender equality and social justice. I would like to note the double marginalization in their case. Of course, the challenges they face aren’t small, and on top of that they face challenges related to gender inequality. A reality which often remains under the layers of discrimination and lack of empathy,” said Gjorgievska, adding that “it is our obligation to protect the right to equality, to take down prejudices and create an environment in which the marginalized and the vulnerable won’t be forgotten or ignored.”

The UNDP Resident Representative to North Macedonia, Armen Grigoryan, highlighted the importance of support from the international community in securing equal opportunities for everyone in society.

“The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the basis of our work, reaffirming the commitment that all persons with disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and protecting the dignity of persons with disabilities. The UNDP has realized a series of project activities together with persons with disabilities, directly targeting them, and paying special attention to the creation of conditions and opportunities for their activation in the labor market, access to quality education and training, with the goal of their complete inclusion and independent living in the community on an equal basis with everyone else,” stressed Grigoryan.

Elena Kochovska from the Polio Plus – Movement Against Disability, said independent living depends above all on the acceptance of their differences, of their condition as a part of human diversity, and the acceptance and promotion of their identity, adding that these three principles complete the human rights approach of the Convention.

The Director of the Secretariat of the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) Ines Bulic Cojocariu, and ENIL Board Member Suela Lala also participated in the discussion.

The event, realized with the support of the First Lady is a part of the joint project of three UN organizations – UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA, titled “From Knowledge and Engagement - to Empowerment and Participation,” the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Health, and the organizations which represent the rights of persons with disabilities.

Photo: President's Office