This conference was unique in many ways. For the first time Bosnia and Herzegovina, through the MHRR, co-hosted an event that gathered over 100 participants from the region, and wider, who represented different segments of society - survivors of conflict related sexual violence, activists for women’s rights, representative of CSOs that provide services and support to survivors, representatives of relevant government institutions, international organizations and academic institutions. The conference sought to provide a forum for practitioners and activists to meet and learn from each other, discuss, clarify and codify their common goals and experiences, and acknowledge the problems and obstacles they’ve faced in implementing their activities. The conference also served as a forum to begin to shape and define the framework for advancement of the work on conflict related sexual violence.
The conference was organized as part of an ongoing UNFPA project through which technical and financial support is provided to the MHRR for development of a Programme for improvement of the status of survivors of conflict related sexual violence and other forms of torture in BiH. This project, implemented by UNFPA and the MHRR, is funded by UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict and runs in the period 2010 – 2012.