Bosnia Update: May 2010

Meeting with the Mayor of Sarajevo Dr. Behmen, his two deputies, minster of culture, and Mrs. Tatjana Ljujic Mijatovic, the only woman member of the Bosnian presidency during the war whose efforts to advance reconciliation in the country where profiled in Ambassador Hunt's book, "This Was not Our War: Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace."Inclusive Security Chair Ambassador Swanee Hunt and Deputy Director for Training and Consultations Miki Jacevic traveled to Bosnia and Hercegovina in mid-February, 2010 to continue efforts to increase the role that women play in politics there.

Continuing our collaboration with the National Gender Agency and its Director (and Women Waging Peace Network member) Samra Filipovic Hadziabdic, Inclusive Security hosted a multi-day workshop for 16 representatives of different political parties from both Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina from varying levels of government. These women politicians, many of whom had been in National or Entity Parliaments or have served at various levels of executive power, represented diverse political parties, ethnic and religious groups, and geographic constituencies. (Read more about the workshop and its successes.)

Ambassador Swanee Hunt presents to students and faculty at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology.In addition to the successful workshop, Ambassador Hunt lectured at four local universities, including at the education department of the University of Sarajevo for more than 100 students. 

Inclusive Security also met with key international and national leaders, including:

  • President Haris Silajdzic,
  • Deputy Minister of Defense Marina Pandes,
  • High Representative of the International Community Valentin Inzko,
  • Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian,
  • US Ambassador Charles English 

In those meetings, Ambassador Hunt advocated for the creation of a women’s leadership institute in Sarajevo that would serve as a hub to advance in practical ways women’s participation in ensuring Bosnia’s stability and prosperity.

Inclusive Security also recently hosted a delegation of Bosnian women for its 11th annual Colloquium this past January. They made recommendations to the US and Bosnian governments and representatives of the international community in the region on how to successfully moderate extremism, as nationalist leaders look to use extremism to help them in the approaching October elections. Both the National Action Plan and recommendations from January included a requirement for increased women’s political participation, especially through their increased engagement with political parties.

This was Ambassador Hunt’s 35th visit to the country since she originally became involved in efforts to stop the Bosnian war in the mid-1990s; she later authored a book, Not Our War, chronicling stories of 26 women from different ethnic, religious, economic and educational backgrounds who, despite strong disagreement on many issues, led efforts to heal the country after the war.

For more information on Inclusive Security's work in Bosnia and Hercegovina, please contact Erin Hutchens.

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