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Women, Peace and Security Initiatives: Serbia & Montenegro
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In-Country

Gender Equality Seminar in Danilovgrad: More Active Participation of Women in Public Affairs
Women Forum of Montenegro
February 3, 2005
Under the patronage of the Women Forum of Montenegro, and with the financial support of the UNDP Office in Podgorica, a seminar and presentation of the national action plan for gender equality in Montenegro was held in Danilovgrad. The Action Plan envelops activities in the fields of women and education, violence against women, institutional mechanisms for gender equality. The National Action Plan is based on the conventions and declarations adopted by the United Nations. The head coordinator of the programme, Andrijana Radoman, said that the women should be secured full rights in their families, in the workplace and society in general, and that the Action Plan will determine the activities with measurable results to create the conditions to solve the existing problems. NAP will be implemented in three phases, until the end of July 2005.

Disabilities and Violence against Women
Belgrade Women’s Center Project
2001- 2004
This 4 year initiative is a project by Iz Kruga (Out of Circle). They organize workshops (with women with disabilities) and public panels on topics about women’s health and health sequences of violence on women. For more information about their work, please contact Iz kruga (Out of Circle), 11000 Beograd, Masarikova 5/XII/1204, Serbia and Montenegro. Tel. 381 11 3061 477, Tel/Fax. 381 11 3618 648. E-mail: izkruga@eunet.yu, Website: www.izkruga.org.yu

Women’s Rights are Human Rights
June 11, 2003
The Women Safety House, an Montenegrian NGO, organized a protest against violence agaisnt women. To see the photos of the March click here. for more information visit the Women Safety House.

Open Your Eyes Campaign
January, 2002
The Antisex Trafficking Action is a nongovernmental organization which mission is to combat trafficking of women as a form of violence against women. Towards this end, it launched a comprehensive awareness-raising campaign to raise awareness about the trafficking situation, including preventative education for youth; provide victim assistance to persons rescued from trafficking rings; contribute to legislative reforms and law enforcement practices that would protect victims and discourage/impede future trafficking activities, and increase the knowledge base on trafficking related issues. For more information visit the AntiSex Trafficking Action.

Violence Against Women-Responsability of the State Campaign
November 25 – December 10, 2001
The Autonomous Women’s Center organized the Violence Against Women – Responsability of the State Campaign during the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women from November 25th to December 10th, 2001. Among other activities, 20 000 pamphlets were distributed in 22 cities in Serbia, a Take back the night demonstration was organized, and letters for the 6 Governmental Departments with concrete suggestion about what institutional mechanisms they can implement to establishing gender equality were received. For more information visit the Autonomous Women’s Center.

“Vote in order to make choices”
2001
The campaign was carried out through in 42 Serbian towns with the support of local women’s networks. It was organized in two segments: the media segment “Women’s Voices on Decision Making Places” and the public activities segment with delivering questionnaire “Women’s Voices as Gender Requests”. “Women’s Voices on Decision Making Places” was the focal point of all the round tables on the local radio and television stations with the participation of the representatives of the local authorities and political parties. The purpose was to involve more women at all levels of power in local institutions and organizations. “Women’s Votes as Gender Requests” called upon women to use their civil rights and vote but also to start expressing their needs more freely while choosing those political options enabling them to be represented in the adequate way in their rights. For more information visit the Group for Promotion of Women's Political Rights.

Your Vote, Vote of Difference
September, 2000
The Group for Promotion of Women's Political Rights launched, in cooperation with local networks, the pre-election door-to-door campaign Your Vote, Vote of Difference, in 30 cities in Serbia as an independent part of the joint NGO campaign for democratic and free elections Exit 2000. The message was “Voting is the way to change things and women can responsibly use their civil rights”. The door-to-door campaign was realized also in Hungarian language in the North of Vojvodina and in Belgrade and Kragujevac in Rroma language in Rroma settlements. For more information visit the Group for Promotion of Women’s Political Rights.

I Don’t Want War I Want Peace Action
1999
The Montenegrin Women’s Lobby and Women in Black organized an action under the slogan ‘I Don’t Want War, I Want Peace”. Women in Black distributed t-shirts, leaflets, and badges with peaceful messages in Belgrade, and The Montenegrin Women’s Lobby distributed further in Podgorica, Ulcinj, Bijelo Polje and Niksic. The purpose was to reduce the political tension, and to improve the inter-ethnic and national relations, and to accept a dialogue process as a problem solving of all contestable issues. For more information contact the Montenegrin Women’s Lobby.

Peace Caravan
December, 1998
A member of the Montenegrin Women’s Lobby participated in a Peace Caravan in Kosovo, with about 300 men and women anti-militarists from Italy. Their traveling for Kosovo was full of fear and unpleasantness, because there were Serbian police and Albanian military all around. In Pristina, on December 10th,, a peace performance could not be realized because of the authorities’ refusal. For more information contact the Montenegrin Women’s Lobby.

Candles for all those killed in the war
Winter 1991/1992
Throughout winter of 1991/1992 the Center for Antiwar Action organized a series of candles vigil for all the victims of the war. To show his appreciation and support for this action Mr. Syrus Vance, the former U.S. Secretary of State and UN mediator in the Balkans took part in this action. For more information visit the Center for Antiwar Action.

Yellow Ribbon Campaign
July 15, 1992
A peace protest against ethnic cleansing. Many people put yellow bands on their sleeves in remembrance of the way Jews were treated during the Third Reich and the similarity with the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. For more information visit the Center of Antiwar Action.

Black Ribbon for Sarajevo
June 7, 1992
Over 50 000 people participated in this protest carrying a black ribbon through the main streets of Belgrade. For more information visit the Center of Antiwar Action.

Negotiations in lieu of war
July 25, 1991
The Center for Antiwar Action organized on July 25, 1991, a march for peace around the Yugoslav Assembly. For more information visit the Center for Antiwar Action.

International

"Women in Black" Protest Against Violence
August 20, 2003
The organization "Women in Black" called on all the citizens of Belgrade and Serbia to join them in the one-hour public protest on August 20, 2003, in the Belgrade's Republic Square. The protest was provoked by the violence perpetrated by the Albanian extremists, which culminated recently in the abominable murder of two Serbian boys in the Kosovo village of Gorazdevac. Women condemned the crime, and stated that violent acts can not be justified with some previous crimes, just as the condemnation of the violence against civilianst cannot be used as a cause to forget other crimes or render them irrelevant. For more information visit Women in Black.

International Conference in Truth and Reconciliation for the Former Yugoslavia
October 11-12th, 2002
The Victimology Society of Serbia in Belgrade organized an International Conference entitled "Which model of truth and reconciliation is the most appropriate for the former Yugoslavia?” in cooperation with and with the financial support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The main objective of the conference was the exchange of experiences concerning truth and reconciliation in different parts of the world, including different parts of the former Yugoslavia, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia in particular, as well as the launching of a broader public discussion on these issues on the level of the local community in Serbia. The Conference fully achieved its fundamental aim, which was launching a public discussion on the local level as to which model of truth and reconciliation is needed in the former Yugoslavia. To read the report click here. For a paper on Truth, Reconciliation and Victims in Serbia by Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic click here. For more information contact the Victimology Society of Serbia (vnikolic@EUnet.yu)

International Conference: Role of witnesses and victims in war crimes proceedings
6 -7 December, 2002.
The Center for Antiwar Action (CAA), jointly with the Outreach Programme of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the Judicial Training Center of Serbia organizing the International Conference “Role of witnesses and victims in war crimes proceedings”, which was held in Belgrade, on 6-7 December, 2002. The purpose of the Conference was to highlight the important role of victims and witnesses in war crimes proceedings before national courts and before the ICTY. For more information visit the Center for Antiwar Action.

“Reconstruction of Ex-Yugoslavia: a Dialogue between Ethnic Groups” Workshop
May, 2000
The workshop "Reconstruction of Ex-Yugoslavia: a dialogue between ethnic groups" was sponsored by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, from Germany, and carried out in cooperation with the European Academy Bozen/Bolzano, Italy (South Tyrol). The aim of the project was collecting ideas from the people of Ex-Yugoslavia concerning their future, the reconstruction of the region and the dialogue between the various ethnic and social groups. The project cover three main issues: regional co-operation, decentralization, federalization and local self government, and education. For more information visit the Balkan Development Networking.