Dr. Lagumdzija: Bosnia and Herzegovina condemns all forms of violence against persons – victims of sexual violence and emphasizes that all perpetrators of violence should be brought to justice



Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Zlatko Lagumdzija participated in the international conference entitled "Prevention of sexual violence in armed conflicts - strengthening the role of regional security forces in peace support operations " that was held on 28 March, 2014 in the House of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo .

The conference was also attended by Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland William Hague, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Vesna Pusic, UNHCR goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie who promotes this initiative together with Secretary Hague, Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Public Diplomacy Kolinda Grabar - Kitarovic, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway Vibeke Lilloe and high level representatives of relevant ministries of regional countries, as well as representatives of international and non-governmental organizations in B&H .

During his address at the opening of the Conference, Dr. Lagumdzija stressed that Bosnia and Herzegovina is fully committed to active partnership with Secretary Hague in the context of the initiative for Prevention of sexual violence in conflict that our country has fully supported since its adoption and expressed appreciation to the Government of the United Kingdom for implementation of various projects in B&H aimed at preventing sexual violence in conflict.

Dr. Lagumdzija stressed that BiH citizens are aware of the need for preventing sexual violence in conflict because our country has gone through difficult experiences in the past and he noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina condemns all forms of crimes against persons who are victims of violence, emphasizing that it is important that all perpetrators of violence should be brought to justice .

Speaking about the victims of sexual violence, Dr. Lagumdzija said that we should not talk only about the number of victims because the fact that something similar happened to just a one woman in B&H during the war is horrifying enough.

"Today I will not talk about numbers. It is about a woman who is still abandoned, stigmatized and, unfortunately, on the edge of existence . Public perception about sexual violence in our society generally leads to stigmatization and social exclusion of women who have suffered from this kind of torture. This is another big challenge we must face as an organized society , "said Dr. Lagumdzija .

Dr. Lagumdzija said that the prevailing legal frameworks give priority to women victims of sexual violence for employment, but it is different in practice. With regard to that, he pointed out the need for launching a line of self-employment for these women . Financial stability will strengthen their confidence, enabling them to reintegrate into society and thus help to cope with the trauma through which they passed.

Dr. Lagumdzija also emphasized the need for greater participation of women in peacekeeping missions, noting that their presence on the ground will encourage women victims of sexual violence to report crimes. He pointed to the fact that BiH has adopted a policy of one-third of the nominated candidates for the peacekeeping missions must be women .

 At the end of his address Dr. Lagumdzija expressed his hope that the upcoming summit  „Ending sexual violence in conflict " to be held in London in June this year will provide another opportunity for coping with the prevailing culture of impunity for these types of crimes and contribute to the termination of the use of sexual violence as a weapons of war and he stressed that Bosnia and Herzegovina in further activities related to the prevention of sexual violence will make an active contribution by sharing their experience, energy, knowledge and enthusiasm in order to ensure that these terrible atrocities never happen again.