Governments and Civil Society in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro to work towards Gender equality
05/05/2005
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The newly established Gender Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been officially opened today. At this occasion, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) presented the new two-year sub-regional joint initiative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro.
“Gender equality has always been at the heart of the United Nations’ quest for a safer world. Indeed, sixty years ago the founders of the UN inscribed the equal rights of women and men in the first page of the UN Charter. No other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, reduce infant and maternal mortality, improve nutrition and promote health – including the prevention of HIV/AIDS. No other policy is as powerful in increasing the changes of education for the next generation”, said Mr. Jens Toyberg-Frandzen, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Canadian Ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms. Shelley Whiting also noted, that “gender equality means that boys and girls both understand the importance and are encouraged to finish high school. Equality means that women realize their full potential in all aspects of society, like in upper management and achieve high political office. Equality means that the BiH legal system serves women and men equally, and all citizens feel secure to use their own systems,” said Ms. Whiting.
Minister for Human Rights and Refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Mirsad Kebo said that the establishment of the Gender Agency ''presents a step further, not just for the implementation of the Gender Law, but for the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina into European integrations as well. '’In Bosnia and Herzegovina, besides entity Gender Centers, now we have an Agency on a state level. It shows that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a leading country in the Western Balkans when it comes to Gender integration'', Kebo said.
The development objective of this sub-regional Gender Equality Program is to promote gender equality in these two countries. The project aims at creating a critical mass of gender competent professionals in targeted key government offices, the International Community and civil society organizations especially those in the areas of rule of law, health, education and the media.
Within this project, the UNDP will conduct a comprehensive analysis in both countries to assess the level of awareness and understanding of gender equality. Based on the assessment different training modules and training of trainers for various target groups will be developed.
Important part of the project will also be a strategic awareness-building media campaign, which will include a series of politically visible events related to the 10th Anniversary of the Beijing Platform of Action in 2005. This initiative directly contributes to achieve MDG 3 on Gender Equality.
This sub-regional initiative will be done in close collaboration with the CIDA, who have contributed one million, two hundred thousand Canadian dollars ($ CAD 1,200,000) to UNDP for this purpose. It is planned however that the project benefits from larger partnership while moving towards other countries in the western Balkans-Macedonia and Albania in particular, focusing more on local level.
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