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Gender Equality |
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Discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina takes place not just on the familiar grounds of ethnicity and political opinion, but also on the basis of gender. The economic and political changes until 1991, coupled with the recent war have had a significant negative impact on the status of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Overall, women's political representation has declined; their employment prospects have worsened; and more women are exposed to domestic violence than before the war. In addition, although women are represented in the judiciary and other professional fields, their representation at senior levels is far from commensurate with their representation in the population.
OHR has two primary roles with respect to the promotion of gender equality: a coordination role, and a legislative review function. Coordination: Numerous agencies, including the OSCE and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights are undertaking extensive programmatic work in the area of promoting gender equality. It is the role of OHR to ensure that agencies which are active are meeting, sharing information, and strategizing in a manner that most effectively utilizes the available resources. The OHR has thus established the Gender Co-ordinating Group, whose members are other international organisations as well as some NGOs. The Group organizes joint activities on specific topics. Legislative Review: The OHR is also involved in legislative review to ensure that legislation which may impact women differently from men is reviewed by gender experts. An example of this is the Repulika Srpska Criminal Code, which is being reviewed for differential impacts. In particular, an important concern is to ensure that the legislative framework adequately protects victims of domestic violence. However, much work remains to be done. Special Initiatives: In addition to the broad functions of co-ordination and legislative review, OHR is involved on specific issues of particular concern. An example is the issue of trafficking in women. The absence of an effective border control combined with both the general lack of the rule of law and large prostitution market create perfect conditions for the development trafficking in women. Many of these women are brought from the neighbouring countries using threats or fake promises. Once discovered by local authorities they were simply deported until the High Representative decision in October 1999 which stipulated that every deportation must be first approved by the International Police Task Force. This decision as well as the future establishment of safe-houses by other organizations will assist the true victims of these crimes as well as offer a possibility of prosecuting the perpetrators. |
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