Second Gender Equality and the Western Balkans Judicial Forum
2-3 June 2023
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The second Gender Equality and the Western Balkans judicial forum, organised by the AIRE Centre with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom, aims to tackle the question of how the judiciary can address various types of gender inequalities in the Western Balkans. This high-profile event will bring together key judicial actors from region and beyond, including representatives from European Court of Human Rights, representatives from important regional judicial and other state institutions, academics, and NGOs.
One of the major themes of this year’s Forum will be effective judicial response to the femicide and other gender-based violence cases in the region, as judges and other experts will discuss best practices concerning investigation, prosecution and punishment of these acts. Furthermore, the Forum will also provide an opportunity to explore both national legal frameworks, as well as international standards of gender equality, as stipulated by key legal documents, such as European convention on human rights, United Nations Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
“Societally imposed gender norms are heavily intertwined with every fibre of women’s public and private life in Western Balkans. Gender-based violence, unequal access to education, discrimination in the workplace, low political participation, and ownership inequality are just some of the detrimental symptoms and consequences of deeply rooted inequality women of this region face in their everyday lives. Western Balkans has indeed made crucial initial steps in addressing these issues, by adopting international treaties and domestic legislative frameworks that prohibit gender-based discrimination and violence, but effective implementation is lacking, and the role of the judiciary is crucial in this respect.”, said Biljana Braithwaite, Western Balkans Programme Director at the AIRE Centre.
We are proud to announce that this year keynote speakers will be Síofra O’Leary, President of the European Court of Human Rights and Alicia Herbert OBE, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Director of Education, Gender and Equalities and the United Kingdom’s Special Envoy for Gender Equality. We have put together an engaging program that includes a range of panels, presentations, and discussions. You can find the full agenda listed below.
Info
Date and time:
2nd of June, 2023; 09:30 AM — 3rd of June, 2023, 01:00 PM
Venue:
Belgrade
Pre-registration:
Invitations only
Online:
Online participation is not available, post-event videos will be available on AIRE Centre YouTube channel
Press information:
Press statements are scheduled for 09:00 on 2nd of June 2023
Agenda
02 June 2023
08.00 – 09.30
Registration
09.30 – 10.10
10:00 – 10:30
Welcome and Introduction to the Forum
Master of Ceremonies: Ognen Janeski
Biljana Braithwaite, the AIRE Centre’s Western Balkans Programme Director
Brankica Janković, Commissioner for Protection of Equality of Serbia
Alicia Herbert OBE, Director of Education, Gender and Equalities and the UK’s Special Envoy for Gender Equality, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom
10.10 – 10.30
Keynote Speech
Síofra O’Leary, President of the European Court of Human Rights
10.30 – 11.40
Panel Discussion 1: Institutional responses to femicide and gender-based violence – operational obligations under Articles 2, 3, 8 and 14 ECHR
Moderator: Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, Judge on the Supreme Court of North Macedonia and former Judge of the ECtHR (North Macedonia)
Ivana Jelić, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Montenegro)
Ioannis Ktistakis, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Greece)
Robert Spano, Former President of the European Court of Human Rights (Iceland) and Partner at Gibson Dunn
11.40 – 12.00
Coffee Break
12.00 – 13.15
Panel Discussion 2: Procedural obligations to investigate, prosecute and punish femicide and gender-based violence under Articles 2, 3, 8 and 14 ECHR
Moderator: Ledi Bianku, Judge on the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Albania)
Erik Wennerström, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Sweden)
Saadet Yüksel, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Turkey)
Kateřina Šimáčková, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Czech Republic)
11:50 – 12:00
Lunch
14.30 – 15.00
The documentary film “Šejla”
Velibor Čović, Director
The story of Šejla, a girl who asked for protection and didn’t get it. Instead of applause in the theatre, on whose boards she played, there was silence. The institutions didn’t react adequately. She was killed on her doorstep. Her murder raised several thousand people to their feet, who sent a clear message from the squares of Montenegrin cities: Enough is enough. This film is about Šejla, a nineteen-year-old victim of femicide and one of the examples of the dysfunctionality, slowness and untimely action of the system in order to protect against violence. The film is dedicated to all women victims of violence.
15.20 – 15.20
Presentation on the Regional study of femicide
Kosana Beker, Program Director, FemPlatz
15.20 – 15.40
Coffee Break
15.40 – 16.50
Panel Discussion 3: Penal Policy in respect of femicide and gender-based violence
Moderator: Kosana Beker, Program Director, FemPlatz
Selvete Gërxhaliu Krasniqi, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo
Maja Raičević, Director of the Women’s Rights Centre
16.50 – 17.00
Day 1 Concluding remarks
Biljana Braithwaite, Western Balkans Programme Director, the AIRE Centre
Speakers
Biljana Braithwaite, the AIRE Centre’s Western Balkans Programme Director
Síofra O’Leary, President of the European Court of Human Rights
Alicia Herbert OBE, Director of Education, Gender and Equalities and the UK’s Special Envoy for Gender Equality, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom
Brankica Janković, Commissioner for Protection of Equality in Serbia
Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, Judge on the Supreme Court of North Macedonia and former Judge of the ECtHR (North Macedonia)
Ivana Jelić, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Montenegro)
Ioannis Ktistakis, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Greece)
Robert Spano, Former President of the European Court of Human Rights (Iceland) and Partner at Gibson Dunn
Ledi Bianku, Judge on the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Albania)
Erik Wennerström, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Sweden)
Saadet Yüksel, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Turkey)
Kateřina Šimáčková, Judge on the European Court of Human Rights (Czech Republic)
Selvete Gërxhaliu Krasniqi, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo
Velibor Čović, Director of the documentary film “Šejla”
Kosana Beker, Program Director, FemPlatz
Maja Raičević, Director of the Women’s Rights Centre
Sabina Đapo, Project manager of the Equality and Fight Against GBV and Femicides in the Western Balkans project
Ivana Krstić, Professor at the Faculty of Law, Belgrade University