Debating the Gender Equality Law Model

06022015 1On 4 February, Vojvodina Parliament was the venue of the Gender Equality Law model debate proposed by the Serbian Ombudsman. The event, hosted by the national Ombudsman and the Vojodina Women's Parliamentary Network (WPN), brought together national and provincial MPs, representatives of local self-governments, the national and provincial ombud institutions, the OSCE Mission to Serbia, gender equality mechanisms from Vojvodina, women's civic organizations, experts and other interest groups.

Danica Todorov, the Gender Equality Deputy Ombudswoman to the Provincial Protector of Citizens - Ombudsman (PPCO), was one of the most noted debaters with over a decade's experience in the institutional provisions towards implementation of gender equality. Besides elaborating on a whole list of the PPCO amendments to the model, she pointed out that the debate about the new model of the Law is important because it sheds light on the progress in the field over the last couple of years and the (in)applicability of some of the provisions of this Law in practice due to various reasons, all in the shade of a lack of political will to provide for its implementation. The worst consequence of such a state is that the national institutional gender equality body affiliated to a national ministry has been terminated and replaced by a coordination body of a lesser status.  

Some of the speakers at the event were also the President of the Vojvodina WPN and MP Maja Sedlarevic, and Sasa Jankovic, the Serbian Ombudsman as its hosts, as well as Michael Uyehara, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.