Skopje, 22 September 2023 (MIA) – Deputy Prime Minister in charge of good governance policies Slavica Grkovska addressed Friday a conference on women and youth empowerment in the fight against corruption, saying that the politicians should act with integrity and then demand that from others. Personal integrity is important for all levels in society, but transparency in operations is also key, so that citizens have a real picture of the situation.

Conference on empowering women and young people in the fight against corruption is organised by the South-Eastern Europe Women Leaders Forum in attendance of Supreme Court judge and former European Human Rights Court judge, Mirjana Lazarova-Trajkovska, Judge of Special Appeal Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Albania, Ina Rama, prosecutor and the first Liaison Prosecutor for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at Eurojust, Lenche Ristoska, deputy prosecutor in the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Bojana Savović, and Head of Montenegro's Anti-corruption Agency, Jelena Perović.

Grkovska underlined that the general atmosphere of impunity derogates our societies, as well as the double standards and the lack of solidarity for people with integrity.

“I am convinced that women and youth are the bearers of positive changes in society. Therefore, I am glad that today we are expanding the network for cooperation and support of women, who are or have been involved in the efforts to promote and incorporate the principles of good governance, to prevent and deal with corruption, but also to support the youth of the region to unite in increasing the pressure to build societies based on integrity, honesty and responsibility,” Grkovska said.

The distinguished speakers shared their personal experiences in the practice of their profession and about the situation in the professional field. They agreed that women are indeed above average represented in countries across the region, but that this does not reflect real power and representation at a decision-making level. Referring to the gender-based risks in performing the responsible tasks in the fight against crime and corruption, they referred to the pressures and humiliations they were subjected to.

The second regional conference of South-Eastern Europe Women Leaders Forum held in Skopje was supported by the UN Women Office in North Macedonia.

Photo: Government of the Republic of North Macedonia