Parliamentary Assembly

Draft resolution

1For over a decade, the States of the former Yugoslavia have been facing the dual challenge of progress towards a market economy and the consolidation of democracy. Today, those that are not already members of the European Union have aspirations to join in the not too distant future.

2The Parliamentary Assembly believes that discrimination against women is a violation of human rights and hinders a country’s democratic and economic development. Moreover, in the current economic crisis, there is a risk of regression in women’s rights insofar as governments focus their efforts on other priorities.

3The Assembly welcomes the introduction of a gender policy in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, which has allowed the introduction of new legislation and of institutional machinery for the furtherance of gender equality, the provision of support to women’s rights organisations by enhancing their legitimacy and influence and the inclusion of the “gender” parameter in the work of national statistical institutes, thereby providing certain indicators regarding the state of society.

4Serious progress has been made with the introduction of legislative frameworks to align legislation with international and European standards, but gender equality is still far from being a reality. Indeed, governments tend to deal with economic and political situations without including the gender aspect, when the approach to it should be comprehensive and cross-cutting. The implementation of the laws passed remains problematic: the lack of effective oversight of the implementation of legislation and of proper financial and technical resources means that effective application of new laws, which often comply with European standards, remains slow and inconsistent.

5The Assembly is aware that traditional stereotypes regarding respective male and female roles remain present in society, and that school curricula still convey these stereotypes. One of the principal difficulties continues to be changing attitudes, which needs time but also technical and financial resources and firm political will.

6Violence against women is a widespread scourge in the region. Here, as in other countries, such practices are still considered acceptable among certain sectors of the population and are only partially reported and recorded.

7The Assembly welcomes the progress made in integrating women into the economy and politics, especially the introduction of quotas in political parties and on electoral lists, which has led, for instance in Serbia, to better representation of women in national parliaments.

8It supports the considerable work done by numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to raise women’s awareness of their rights and to alert politicians to the issue. However, it underlines that active efforts by the public authorities are vital, particularly the involvement of the Ministry of Education in combating stereotypes and domestic violence, for example through school and university education.

9The countries in the region should therefore step up their efforts to raise awareness among all economic and social players about the need to empower women so that they realise their full potential in political, economic and social participation in overall development at the national and also regional levels. Steps should be taken to speed up the implementation of existing legislation that is consistent with European standards.

10In the light of the above, the Assembly calls on the States in the region to take measures at the earliest opportunity to:

10.1intensify efforts towards women’s participation in political life, at the national and local levels, and their participation in public life;

10.2promote actions and campaigns to raise awareness of combating violence against women and domestic violence, ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210) and deal with the question of violence against women in a comprehensive and cross-cutting way;

10.3actively combat sexual harassment, especially in the workplace;

10.4deploy measures to combat discrimination against women and multiple forms of discrimination with a view to their becoming real economic and social players;

10.5make the population aware of women’s rights, in particular by organising information campaigns and by gender mainstreaming in school and university curricula;

10.6pursue and intensify efforts to promote gender equality by working to narrow the male-female wage gap and by encouraging women to attain positions at the highest levels and in all areas;

10.7allocate the necessary human and financial resources for implementing the national gender equality action plans and ensuring a regular assessment of their efficiency, in particular by providing financial support for NGOs operating in this field;

10.8give rural women access to the labour market, especially by fostering their access to a basic level of education, land ownership, training, modern farming methods, finance and facilities.