Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Address by the President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Trajko Veljanoski on the occasion of receiving the Award “Pearl of Wisdom” from the European Cervical Cancer Association
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tomorrow is World Cancer Day. We have gathered here for two reasons - the first reason is the “Pearl of Wisdom” award presented by the European Cervical Cancer Association. This award acknowledges the achievements of the Republic of Macedonia in the area of cervical cancer prevention. The ceremony of presentation of the award was held last month in the European Parliament in Brussels.
As a Member of Parliament and as President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia I am very pleased that among all the other awarded institutions and NGOs from Macedonia, the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Man of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia also received this award. This is recognition of the activities and results of this Committee, but also acknowledgement for the level of parliamentarianism in Macedonia, which is not limited only to adoption of laws.
This is a demonstration of the interaction between the executive which proposes the laws, and the Assembly, as the legislative authority, which in the process of adoption of the laws reviews and tries to improve these laws with amendments. There is no doubt that the NGO sector, which first identifies the problems and lobbies for their solution, has an important role in these processes, and then together with the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, i.e. the relevant working bodies monitors the implementation of the laws. Let me remind you that in 2007 and 2008 the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Man, together with the NGOs, organised many public debates on this particular topic. All this resulted in amending the Law on Health Protection and obligatory free HPV vaccine. I would also like to underline another dimension, and we have reached consensus when it comes to the laws on prevention regarding the health of the citizens, which demonstrates the responsibility of all the parliamentary parties.
The second reason why we are here, and essentially the most important one, is to say what we must do in the future.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The fight against cervical cancer is, above all, an issue of medicine as a science. However, this terrible illness has another dimension, and that is the socio-economic dimension, felt not only by the patients but also by their families. I believe that these issues will be discussed during today’s public debate organised by the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Man and the NGO sector.
As President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, in accordance with the competences deriving from the Rules of Procedure, I would like to convince you that I will continue to support every initiative that is in the function of organizing a more efficient fight against this illness. I will support all the initiatives, and I am convinced that all the 120 MPs will do the same, regardless of its form - whether it is an initiative for amending certain laws, organizing a public debate, or any other form of parliamentary activity. I would like to express my gratitude and to congratulate the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Man and its members for bringing this award to the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. At the same time, I congratulate all the other institutions receiving this award: the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Macedonia, the Women’s Organisation from Sveti Nikole, the Regional Research Centre ”Studiorum”, and the Macedonian Women’s Lobby, and I am convinced that we will all continue with the successful work for the benefit of all the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia.
Thank you.