After decades of struggle, children born as a result of war achieved legal recognition as civilian victims of war in July of this year, when the Assembly of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina enabled the recognition of that status within the framework of the Law on Civilian Victims of War.
President of the Association ‘Forgotten Children of War’, Ajna Jusić, said at a press conference today that the decision of the Brčko District Assembly is historic. This was the motivation for the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt the Draft Law on the Protection of Civilian Victims of War, which also recognized children born as a result of wartime rape.
“The constant normative and practical marginalization of children born of war is an obstacle to sustainable and inclusive peace, reconciliation and transitional justice. This is not only our problem, and our mothers’, we are the truth of this country, region, and world. We are the truth of the international community and we have spoken, it’s time for institutions and society to end their silence about us,” Jusić emphasized.
The European Union provides support to associations of children of civilian victims of war, and they strive to influence all levels of government to adopt a single law on the recognition of the status of civilian victims of war, especially children born of war.
In this sense, the representative of the EU Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Joeri Maas, said that it is necessary to pass a law that will recognize the status of civilian victims of war for children born of war.
UN Resident Coordinator in BiH Ingrid Macdonald also acknowledged the Brčko District Assembly for passing the law and expressed the expectation that such a law will be adopted in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be implemented for the benefit of the victims and the satisfaction of their needs and rights, Fena news agency reports.
