Saturday, 12 june 2010, Limassol, Cyprus
ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA, MR. TRAJKO VELJANOSKI ON THE EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS OF PARLIAMENT
Distinguished Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your excellences
The discrimination is as old as humanity. It is, most often in the most severe forms, manifested through a discriminating on the grounds of race, ethnic or religious belonging. Nevertheless, we should not forget other forms of discrimination, such as teh violation of human rights and freedoms. After the bad experience during the World War II, the establishment of the United Nations and later with the establishment of the Council of Europe, many international documents have been adopted guaranteeing the protection from discrimination on any ground as a generally accepted standard and a binding obligation from all the countries. Having in mind the fact that we as parliaments ratify these documents, and then we adopt laws, our obligation is essential in the area of protection of any kind of discrimination.
Ladies and gentlemen
The Republic of Macedonia is a unitary state, but at the same time it is a multiethnic, multicultural and muticonfessional society. This is why I would like to say a few words about the situation of the ethnic communities, about the building of a society in which no one will feel 
discriminated only because he/she is not a member of the majority - the Macedonian nation. Certainly, everything begins with the normative regulations, that is the Constitution and the Laws which create the legal framework for full integration of the ethnic communities, but also protection from any form of discrimination, which is part of the corpus of the international standards and recommendations of the Council of Europe.
In the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia There we have two working bodies which are dealing with these issues.
The first one is the Standing Inquiry Committee for Protection of the Civil Freedoms and Rights, to which the citizens can address their complaints if they feel that their rights are being violated or that there is any kind of discrimination.
The second body is the Committee on Relations among the Communities, whose competence is to review all issues connected with the ethnic communities and to propose solutions, and the Assembly is obliged to review and decide upon these proposals. This is why one of the priorities of the Macedonian Chairmanship with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is the issue of protection of the national minorities and their full integration. The Republic of Macedonia has high standards and has achieved excellent results in the area of both, the prevention of discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic belonging or religion, and in the area of integration of the minorities and the ethnic communities. We are prepared to share our experience with everyone, but also, we are prepared to learn something new and better.
Ladies and gentlemen
Our responsibility as parliament does not end with the adoption of laws, especially in this sensitive area. The scrutiny role of the parliaments is also important, especially if we have in mind that discrimination on any ground can be very subtle. That is why, as parliaments, we should strengthen the cooperation with the NGO sector, the Ombudsman and other institutions, but also we need to learn from other states. We should remember that the discrimination often arises from the stereotypes and prejudices. I believe that you will all agree that we cannot fight prejudice with laws alone, but that we have to build a political culture which starts in our home and in the education system. This means building a system of values which will be based on the fact that we are all equal and that we are all human; a system of values which will result in mutual respect.
Thank you.