Skopje, 24 June 2024 (MIA) - Parliament marked June 20 – World Refugee Day on Monday, at an event hosted in cooperation with UNHCR, which was opened by the Speaker of Parliament, Afrim Gashi.

In his address at the event, Gashi said 2024 marks the 30th anniversary since the ratification of the United Nations’ Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, as well as three decades since the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the country.

The Speaker stressed that Parliament will always remain open and positively approach all initiatives that mean the promotion of human rights and improvement of living conditions, as well as opportunities for development for all who have found themselves in a position to be without a home and far from their own native country. 

“I am especially proud that the country is demonstrating great empathy. The democratic world has a responsibility to ensure that the refugees, who are fleeing war, the cruelty of conflicts, of interethnic, religious or other types of intolerance, don't lose their dignity, their basic human rights, such as education, healthcare and social security...,” Gashi said.

Gashi highlighted that over the past period, thanks to the intensive cooperation between Parliament and UNHCR, the country has helped solve the issue of statelessness, overcoming a problem faced by over 700 people.

At the event, the UNHCR representative to the Republic of North Macedonia, Gabriel Gualano de Godoy, applauded the work of Parliament and the state institutions in tackling the issue of stateless people, and voiced his gratitude over the country’s approach to refugees from Ukraine. 

Photo: Parliament