Speech by Ms Jagoda Shahpaska, Minister of Labour and Social Policy of North Macedonia

8th International Conference on Roma Women - Council of Europe

24 November 2021

Dear Mr. Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe,

Dear Representatives of the Council of Europe,

Dear Representatives of international organizations,

Dear Representatives of the non-governmental sector,

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

Respect for human rights and freedoms is the foundation of democracy in every country. According to the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, all citizens are equal, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender or any other affiliation.

Therefore, the greatest responsibility for respecting the human rights of Roma and Travelers, their dignity, the need for their promotion and respect, lies with the decision makers, who create public opinions, but also the non-governmental sector as a partner in their implementation.

This responsibility is twice as great in pandemic times.

That is why this conference where, among other things, we will discuss the effects COVID-19 had on Roma regarding health care, as well as human rights, discrimination, racism, employment, gender equality and youth is of the utmost importance to better and more easily tackle the challenges Roma are facing in each country.

I am honored and pleased to be part of this conference. I am convinced that the experiences shared here, the lessons learned, the obstacles overcome will motivate each participant to carry them over to their own country when creating and implementing future policies and measures.

We can tackle certain pandemic challenges much more easily and efficiently if we have built a system that addresses the demands and needs of citizens.

The Republic of North Macedonia adopted a new social reform in 2019. We increased the social assistance right, so called Guaranteed Minimum Assistance by 300 percent, introduced child and education benefits and state social pension, which enabled vulnerable categories of citizens to overcome the pandemic more easily.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, in order to protect workers who have been unemployed due to Covid-19, we have simplified the criteria for entering the social protection system. Thus, in just one year, we provided access for an additional 8,500 households to the social protection system. I would like to highlight that out of a total of 36,300 households receiving Guaranteed Minimum Assistance, 7,200 are Roma households, that is, 20 percent of all beneficiaries of guaranteed minimum assistance.

The success of social reform is not to increase the number of citizens who depend on the system, but rather to remove them from the system and make them independent. For this purpose, we have established web services between the centers for social work and employment agencies and for each unemployed person we develop individual plans for faster activation in the labor market of the guaranteed minimum assistance beneficiaries.

We created measures for bigger coverage of Roma in the labor market within the Operational Plan for Active Employment Programs and Measures for 2021.

The services Job search sssistance, Motivational training, Employment and work preparation, Professional orientation and career counseling, as well as Employment mediation covered a total of 5,065 unemployed Roma, including 2,306 women and 1,785 young unemployed Roma.

Through the service “Activation of unemployed Roma and other persons at risk of social exclusion”, 3,937 Roma were informed, and the service included 2,448 people, out of which, 1,210 women and 727 young people.

The data I shared show that we put special emphasis on gender equality, economic empowerment of women, and support for young people.

The Republic of North Macedonia pays particular attention to the inclusion of the gender perspective in policies of all areas of social action.

As a state, we work to implement the goals set out in the Beijing Declaration on gender inclusion in state policies and our Strategy for Gender Equality is based on the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Strategy for the period 2018-2024.

Our Government’s policies focus on preventing and combating gender stereotypes and sexism, preventing and combating gender-based violence, equal access to justice for women, balanced participation of women and men in decision-making, protectingthe rights of women and girls asylum seekers, migrants and refugees, integration of gender policies, and gender-responsible budgeting in institutions at central and local levels.

We have ratified the Istanbul Convention - the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. This document in the area of violence against women provides a broad framework of action for the prevention, protection and support of victims and punishment of perpetrators. This is exactly what is contained in the Law on Prevention and Protection from Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, which through a broad, social and democratic debate was adopted in the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, by both the ruling party and the opposition party.

The Republic of North Macedonia has become an example, in the region and beyond, of a country with traditionally interethnic and interreligious tolerance and a country where differences are respected. We achieved this through policies that ensure equal levels of inclusion and integration for all ethnic communities. In fact, this is represented by the Concept “One Society for All” promoted by the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, which became generally accepted in the country.

It is our commitment to create a society where citizens, regardless of ethnicity, will feel secure and have equal opportunities and access to resources for personal development and progress. A society that integrates, not segregates, a society that unites, not divides, that is, a society that includes, not excludes.

The priorities of Roma women are part of the efforts of the Republic of North Macedonia to promote and support the gender-sensitive approach in the decision-making process at all levels, as well as to strengthen the social and political representation of women in all areas of society.

Her needs and problems are similar or the same as the problems of other women in the Republic of North Macedonia, but at the same time the Roma woman has specific gender-based problems which are characteristic for the Roma ethnic community. The whole collection of issues about the position and progress of the Roma community is directly linked to the improvement of the position and emancipation of Roma women.

Therefore, the development of gender relations in the Roma community is of primary importance, because Roma women live in double discrimination both as women and as Roma.

Our efforts to advance the status of Roma women in our country are derived from the Strategy and National Action Plans for Roma in North Macedonia, as well as the Special Action Plan for Roma Women.

Roma women and girls face issues arising from gender stereotypes, family traditions, discrimination on multiple grounds, early school leaving, early marriages and unfortunately the list goes on.

Our commitment is to take measures and actions to overcome this situation, to include Roma children in preschool education, to include Roma children in the education system, to accommodate them in day care centers in order to provide support to both the children and their mothers and parents.

Caring for the sexual and reproductive health of Roma women is high on our agenda. Every Roma woman has the right to free screenings during pregnancy, just as other women; we established mobile and also permanent gynecological offices in areas with Roma population only, such as the Municipality of Shuto Orizari. Sexual education is becoming an integral part of primary education.

The question arises… Are we successful, have we accomplished everything?

Naturally, not.

The fact is that we can always be better and more efficient in this process and exactly within that I see the significance of this conference.

During these three days we will have the opportunity to see what progress was made in the integration of Roma women, share experiences and highlight the challenges we face and should work on in the future.

I would like to wish you successful work at the 8th International Conference on Roma Women and Women Travellers organized by the Council of Europe and to thank you for the joint successful cooperation so far in advancing the integration of the Roma ethnic community, especially the integration of Roma women.

Thank you.