In cooperation with WPN, the Women’s Platform for Development of Serbia organised the Forum for Gender Policies in Rule of Law and Antidiscrimination Areas.
Opening the Forum, member of WPN Dubravka Filipovski welcomed the participants, saying how pleased she was to see the goals defined by the Palić Platform from 2014 implemented in perfect alignment with the work of WPN. “The goal of today’s Forum is to initiate a dialogue to discuss the achievements in the areas of rule of law and antidiscrimination. By launching initiatives within our powers, we can contribute to improving these areas,” said Ms. Filipovski.
Aleksandra Vladislavljević from the Women’s Platform for Development of Serbia highlighted that the Women’s Platform was a document resulting from the Palić Process, which began in the year 2000 and gathered women from different sectors. With joint efforts, these women defined the priorities in the process of achieving gender equality. Ms. Vladislavljević reminded the participants that in 2014, the Palić Conference ended with the adoption of the Women’s Platform for Development of Serbia (2014-2020), which aimed to open a standing dialogue and indicate opportunities and needs that were not visible at the time.
Antigona Andonov, Head of Office of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, said that the Commissioner was very pleased to see the Palić Platform adopted. “The Women’s Platform for Development of Serbia is a starting point for many strategic documents. And the Commissioner for
the Protection of Equality is very pleased to be the ally of all the signatories of the Platform,” Ms. Andonov said.
Sanja Nikolin from the Women’s Platform for Development of Serbia listed the priorities defined by the platform in the areas of rule of law and antidiscrimination, and presented the progress results according to the indicators of the Women’s Platform for Development of Serbia. The results particularly highlighted the progress in the area of gender mainstreaming in public policies.
After the discussion, the participants adopted the conclusions about the establishing of WPN and the creation of the Gender Equality Coordination Body. It was concluded that it was necessary for the Coordination Body to commit to submitting reports in the foreseen deadline, as well as to bring back the focus on the proposal of the Gender Equality Law and the proposal of the Law on Protection of Violence. The necessity to harmonise the National Strategy against Violence with the Council of Europe Convention was underlined. It was also highlighted that it was crucial to implement the existing laws and to organise regular trainings of civil servants in the areas of antidiscrimination and gender equality at all levels.
Forum for Gender Policies in Rule of Law and Antidiscrimination Areas
