MENI
11/22/2011

The Committee on Gender Equality “Increasing Women Participation in Politics” Conference


If the establishment of gender equality continues at this rate, we can expect the equal representation of women and men in political life in only fifty years time, concluded the participants at today’s “Increasing Women Participation in Politics” Conference, organized by the Committee on Gender Equality of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Chair of the Committee on Gender Equality, Mr. Niko Lozančić, reminded everyone that this Conference, organized in co-operation with the BiH Agency for Gender Equality, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), represents the implementation of commitments arising from the Recommendation of the Council of Europe to achieve 40 % women’s participation in decision-making.

The Conclusions adopted in the Conference will assist the Committee on Gender Equality to determine its direction in the upcoming period. The Conclusions advocate for the following: legislation harmonization across all levels of BiH authority with the Law on Gender Equality in BiH; the establishment of mechanisms for the increase of women’s representation in legislative and executive power through electoral legislation reform; legislation to regulate the establishment of executive power; and the need to adopt a new Law on Political Parties that would require the parties to define in Statute the obligation to equal gender representation in partys’ bodies and on electoral lists.

Participants at the Conference also concluded that it was necessary to insist on the adequate inclusion of women in delegations participating in negotiations on the political destiny of BiH. The BiH Communications Regulatory Agency was asked to define terms and exert control through the Rules on media representation of political subjects during election campaign in order to ensure equal representation of men and women candidates. During the election of candidates for the BiH Council of Ministers, the BiH Central Election Commission (BiH CEC) was invited to remind the parties of the bonds determined in law, and to draw the attention of the Brčko District Assembly to the establishment of institutional mechanisms for gender equality.

During the Conference, the floor was given, among others, to Ms. Ismeta Dervoz, Deputy Chair of the Committee on Gender Equality, Ms. Samra Filipović-Hadžiabdić, Director of BiH Agency for Gender Equality, Ms. Sonja Lokar, Executive Director of European Network for Gender Issues, Ms. Ajla van Heel, OSCE/ODIHR Adviser on Gender Issues, as well as political representatives, Ms. Nermina Zaimović Uzunović, Ms. Vesna Krstović Spremo and Ms. Katica Čerkez. (end)

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