On International Women’s Day, heads of the EU Mission to BiH stress that equality of women and men is one of the cores of EU values.
In this context, they urge the BiH authorities to fully embrace the principle of equality between men and women, protect and promote civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of women and to promote to include women when it comes to access to employment and mechanisms of social protection.
“Gender issues should be integrated into laws, policies and programs in BiH. The BiH government should strive to provide women with equal access to economic opportunities, to ensure their equal participation in the political process and public life, to repeal laws and practices that still contain elements of discrimination against women, to ensure that homes, offices, streets and schools are safe for women and girls’’, said in a joint statement by the heads of the EU Mission to BiH on the occasion of 8 March, International Women’s Day.
Also, the heads of the EU Mission in BiH encourage the competent authorities in BiH to take rigorous action in violence against women and to immediately sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention of the Council of Europe on preventing and combating violence against women and families.
Heads of the EU Mission confirmed the importance of further improving judicial structures that would provide effective protection for women who have been victims of violence in the family, human trafficking and war crimes in order for these institutions to provide adequate financial and human resources to fulfill their tasks.
Heads of the EU mission reminded of the importance of continuing the implementation of the Action Plan for carrying out the UN Security Council Resolution No. 1325 in BiH for the period of 2010-2013.
They call upon all relevant BiH institutions to continue to work together to fulfill goals, such as: increase level of participation for women at all levels of decision-making, include a gender perspective and education in development of peace, solve issues of protection of women and raise awareness on gender equality in the security sector.
