NGOs must coordinate efforts to protect the rights of war rape survivors

According to UN statistics, around 50,000 women and girls, as well as an unknown number of men, were raped during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reports the Patria News Agency.  

It has been almost 20 years since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and the question remains what has happened to this category of the population, have they realized their rights and received the protection they are entitled to?

And do the funds intended for them reach those who need them, the end-users, and to what extent? Medica Zenica has gathered more than 30 non-governmental organizations working with these vulnerable categories of the population for the first time in BiH.

During two days, November 2nd and 3rd, representatives of these organizations will discuss their resources in providing support and protection to survivors of war crimes, sexual violence, and other criminal offenses, and how to best coordinate their work in protecting the rights of survivors. 

A press conference will be held on November 3rd, at 11:30 AM, at the premises of Medica Zenica, Krivače 40, Zenica. Sabiha Husić, director of Medica Zenica, and Nada Golubović, president of the Management Board of Udružene žene, will address the journalists.

The goal of this meeting is to inform the NGO community about the achievements to date in the work of already established institutional support networks, as well as to present the process of establishing new networks. Special attention will be paid to presenting the achievements and available resources by all participating NGOs, and to topics on how to improve cooperation between the non-governmental and governmental sectors, and what steps should be taken to ensure that available resources reach the end-users.

The meeting is organized as part of the Project “Comprehensive Approach to a Dignified Life for Survivors of War Rape and Sexual Violence in BiH“. This project is focused on protecting and fulfilling the objectives of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, to which BiH is a signatory. The ultimate goal is to help these categories of the population realize their rights, which include, among others, housing solutions, healthcare, and the prosecution of perpetrators of these crimes.