Sarajevo, 8 March 2010 – Today, under a global United Nations theme "Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all!", the world marks the 99^th International Women's Day, celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women everywhere. Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina today honor women as an indispensable part of the peace building and social stabilization process, especially emphasizing the role of female police officers in an effective enforcement of law.

"International Women's Day provides a great opportunity for each one of us to reflect on our responsibility for working towards the eradication of gender inequality. Sustainable peace and security cannot be achieved without the full participation of women,” said Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission.

After conflict, re-establishing a viable, gender-sensitive police service as quickly as possible is essential to allow women to both recover from the effects of extreme violence, and to move forward with the business of rebuilding their lives and those of their families. But, policing is generally seen as a ‘man’s job’, which is sorely evident from the fact that, in most countries, women are poorly represented amongst the police personnel. However, the European Union Police Mission is working to change that mindset.

“As of its first days, the EUPM has been advocating for the equal participation of women and men, which has resulted in the increased involvement of women police officers in our mission, but also in the encouragement of women of Bosnia and Herzegovina to choose a career in law enforcement,” said Aleksandra Miletić-Šantić, EUPM’s Gender and Human Rights Adviser/National Legal Adviser.

According to the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Australia with 29.9 percent of women in its police service, and South Africa with 29 percent, are the world leaders in this respect. The EU minimum is 10 percent, while the Balkan average is 14 percent.

“Women and men have different experiences, priorities and needs with regard to the security, which is highly conditioned by their gender or sex, which makes logical the aspiration to integrate gender component in the reform or modernization of the security sector,” said Miletić-Šantić.

Increasing the presence of women in law enforcement is seen as an important element of a gender-sensitive police reform for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is expected to support more effective community relations, as more legitimacy is granted to a police whose composition more adequately reflects the population it serves. It can also potentially moderate extremes in the use of force, and above all, can result in a police that responds with greater alacrity and commitment to preventing abuse of women’s rights.

“Unfortunately, the persistence of constitutions and laws that blatantly discriminate against women still undermines the development of countries around the world,” said Ashton. “This is a global challenge of the highest order, to deliver gender equality and empower women, within Europe and beyond. That is why the EU will continue to put pro-active work in this field at the heart of our policies, both internal and external. "