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Vanja Matic works for NATO Headquarters Sarajevo. Her job is to promote United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
For Matic it's a personal mission, linked to her own past and that of her country.
"We take absolutely no pride in the fact that the Bosnian conflict actually, amongst other
conflicts in the 90s, has inspired the adoption of the resolution 1325."
The Bosnian War lasted three and a half years. Over 100,000 people lost their lives, including
over 10,000 women and children. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 women and girls
were ***. "Unfortunately it has been proven in our conflict
that *** and systematic *** were used as a tactic and a weapon of war."
Matic was 15 when the war broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For months she lived in a
military camp in fear of being assaulted. She escaped unharmed, but the experience made
her a passionate campaigner for gender awareness and equality.
"This is an issue that still remains for our country to be resolved. So I do take special
pride in the fact that NATO has stepped up and that we have started working on these
issues and that we have -- or I have -- tremendous support from our leadership."
Today, Matic is explaining Resolution 1325 to new recruits of the Bosnian Army. The resolution
calls for the prevention of gender-based violence and the protection of women and girls during
conflict, as well as the participation of women in conflict prevention, peace-building
and reconstruction. Apart from educating the military, Matic tries
to raise awareness of the women, peace and security agenda within Bosnian society at
large. "It should inspire young women to join the
police force, to join armed forces because this is one of the requirements of 1325 -- increase
the number of women in decision-making posts. Expand the role of women in peacekeeping missions."
Bosnia and Herzegovina's government recently agreed to a specific goal related to Resolution
1325 within its programme of defence cooperation with NATO. This followed high-level discussions
with Mari Skåre, the NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for Women, Peace and
Security, who visited the country in April this year.
"In our collaboration with Bosnia, we have identified the need to raise gender awareness
within the military structures and also to enhance the education and training on these
issues." Similar goals have now also been agreed with
other countries in the region. During her visit, Mari Skåre also wanted
to learn more about the issue of *** violence. She met with one victims' group, which has
turned a form of therapy -- knitting -- into an economic opportunity.
"Their stories made a deep impression on me." "I really admire your strength as survivors.
Your voice is necessary if we are to prevent this from happening again."
The issue of *** violence in conflict is now receiving much stronger attention from
NATO Allies and the international community. "Very recently, in the context of the United
Nations, all Allies supported a declaration focused on preventing and responding to ***
violence and, in particular, ensuring that there is no impunity for these crimes.
*** violence in conflict is a crime that unfortunately has been going on for centuries
and I hope that this will be the century where we will put a stop to this."
This is a NATOChannel report.