Ensuring equal access to justice and transitional justice for women leads to sustainable peace and reconciliation, much needed in the post-conflict settings. We promote gender inclusive and accountable justice systems and, transitional justice with special focus on establishing international justice for women raped during the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Croatia.

Having in mind that women continue to be discriminated in access to justice and especially transitional justice, we work with all actors, national, regional and international to do much more in this direction, because that is one of the pillars of achieving sustainable peace in the Balkans.

Access to justice is a basic human right prescribed by numerous UN human rights instruments, also in the chapter of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, it primarily needs to be implemented on a state level, hence, states have the responsibility and obligation to secure that this right is included in constitutions and guarantee access to justice as a fundamental right. Everyone should have access to court institutions and protection from any sort of violence, or injury.

While acknowledging many advances in the international criminal justice, we are deeply concerned with many setbacks. This particularly relates with crimes of sexual violence in conflict times, which mostly remains a hidden tragedy. Justice is served when crimes are named precisely, and criminal perpetrators are punished so that the world knows the unique nature of the harm that is inflicted when sexual violence is committed in conflicts. We strongly call for greater commitment and willingness by international and state authorities to address it properly.

We advocate and lobby with the international community, primarily the UN, to address the question of international justice to conflict related survivors of violence (CRSV) in Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo and Croatia in times of war between 1991-1999, because this crime against humanity must not remain hidden but on contrary must be put to light for the victims to feel justice while the criminals to not remain unpunished. RWLSEE demanded the UN Secretary General take up on this issue in a letters sent and in the meeting of the RWLSEE Chair with the UN Deputy Secretary General in charge of this issues (in 2019, demanding international justice to be established to women survivors of sexual violence during war times in our region. It will continue this mission until justices is established.

Transitional Justice is directly linked to peace and reconciliation in the region of South Eastern Europe, it also is built on mutual respect for each other, mutual dialogue and cooperation, hence, the RWLSEE will remain committed to work for it so that our voice is heard in order to implement the UNSC Resolution 1325 and other consequent ones.

We will work hardly to eradicate stigma surrounding CRSV, which is not organic and it does not grow organically from the survivor, but it is imposed by the community, family and legal system. Survivors must be protected legally and socially and not adapt to the legal system, we consider that it is the responsibility of the legal system to adapt and to make sure that the survivors are empowered through their participation in the justice process and social reintegration. We also promote applying facilitation/mediation as a tool to enhance women’s equal access to justice and promote women justice mediators as agents of changes in favor of just societies.

Having in mind that women continue to be discriminated in access to justice and especially transitional justice, we work with all actors, national, regional and international to do much more in this direction, because that is one of the pillars of achieving sustainable peace in the Balkans.

Access to justice is a basic human right prescribed by numerous UN human rights instruments, also in the chapter of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, it primarily needs to be implemented on a state level, hence, states have the responsibility and obligation to secure that this right is included in constitutions and guarantee access to justice as a fundamental right. Everyone should have access to court institutions and protection from any sort of violence, or injury.

While acknowledging many advances in the international criminal justice, we are deeply concerned with many setbacks. This particularly relates with crimes of sexual violence in conflict times, which mostly remains a hidden tragedy. Justice is served when crimes are named precisely, and criminal perpetrators are punished so that the world knows the unique nature of the harm that is inflicted when sexual violence is committed in conflicts. We strongly call for greater commitment and willingness by international and state authorities to address it properly.

We advocate and lobby with the international community, primarily the UN, to address the question of international justice to conflict related survivors of violence (CRSV) in Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo and Croatia in times of war between 1991-1999, because this crime against humanity must not remain hidden but on contrary must be put to light for the victims to feel justice while the criminals to not remain unpunished. RWLSEE demanded the UN Secretary General take up on this issue in a letters sent and in the meeting of the RWLSEE Chair with the UN Deputy Secretary General in charge of this issues (in 2019, demanding international justice to be established to women survivors of sexual violence during war times in our region. It will continue this mission until justices is established.

Transitional Justice is directly linked to peace and reconciliation in the region of South Eastern Europe, it also is built on mutual respect for each other, mutual dialogue and cooperation, hence, the RWLSEE will remain committed to work for it so that our voice is heard in order to implement the UNSC Resolution 1325 and other consequent ones.

We will work hardly to eradicate stigma surrounding CRSV, which is not organic and it does not grow organically from the survivor, but it is imposed by the community, family and legal system. Survivors must be protected legally and socially and not adapt to the legal system, we consider that it is the responsibility of the legal system to adapt and to make sure that the survivors are empowered through their participation in the justice process and social reintegration. We also promote applying facilitation/mediation as a tool to enhance women’s equal access to justice and promote women justice mediators as agents of changes in favor of just societies.

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