The Regional Women’s Lobby for Peace, Security and Justice in Southeast Europe (RWL SEE) held their Regional Conference and Annual Meeting on 18-19 October in Zagreb, Croatia.

The RWL SEE is comprised of women leaders from politics and civil society from 7 countries in the region: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.  During the Conference, over 100 participants were present from the region and the European Union, including Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, Members of Parliament and representatives of civil society.  The Conference was held with the financial support of UN Women Regional Office, under the direct auspices of the President of Croatia, Mr. Ivo Josipovic, who also officially opened the Conference, and the government of Croatia.

The main topics discussed were: the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in the region, European integration processes, corruption and crime, and access to justice for survivors of sexual violence against women in war.

Participants adopted a joint Conference Declaration outlining key recommendations calling for:

• Creation of a common platform for the improvement of access to justice and transitional justice for women in post conflict countries
• Implementation of reforms in the justice systems in countries of Southeast Europe, which would contribute to gender awareness, in accordance with the commitments deriving from international and regional human rights protection instruments, which guarantee effective court protection for women
• Improvement of harmonisation with EU standards in relation to the participation of women in decision-making and peace building in Southeast Europe
• Identification of activities/steps for increasing the role of women in improvement of “good governance” and rule of law, by suppressing negative incidents (corruption, crime) and supporting security and stability in the region
• Improvement of cooperation between women leaders from governmental and the civil sector in the region, in relation to gender sensitive transitional justice and more accessible justice for women
• Exchange of information and examples of good practice in relation to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in the countries of Southeast Europe

The importance of the conference was noted as showing ‘a whole range of issues that women are dealing with since the beginning of the war in our area and the region, that there is political will and political interest in the topic’ (Maja Mamula, Coordination, Women’s Room Centre for Sexual Rights) and also as demonstrating ‘collaboration between women in the civil sector and women at the political level’ (Andrea Zlatar, Minister of Culture, Republic of Croatia).

Ms. Elizabeth Rehn, Minister of State Finland and RWL SEE Advisory Board Member commented that it is ‘important that people representing the same region but different countries and a little bit different cultures are talking with each other…every discussion about these essential questions is developing the issue itself’.

During the constructive panels and open discussions, participants addressed progress that has been made in the region, lessons learnt and problems remaining.  Participants discussed challenges present in the region in terms of women’s participation in political, economic and cultural aspects of life in Southeast Europe, and also identified opportunities for improvement, support and long-lasting solutions to some of these challenges.

The Conference was highly successful, as was noted by many of the prominent participants, with Ms. Teuta Arifi, Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia and RWL SEE member stating that the ‘dynamic of these kind of meetings and activities help to build one common region that will be an equal part of the European Union’.  This conference not only enabled regional cooperation as a key for stability and peace in the region, but also contributed to the strengthening and raised visibility of RWL SEE.

Key results from the conference included:

• The commitment of the Croatian Minister for War Veterans to introduce legislation within a year to address the situation of women survivors of wartime sexual violence and torture, promising to tackle this long neglected subject in a way to meet the needs of these women and to avoid traumatising them further
• Networking between women from the region
• A decision on the topic of the next conference: Corruption and Organized Crime, and the impact that this has on the lives of women in the region.