Children born as a result of war-time sexual violence LEGALLY RECOGNIZED

The Government of the Brčko District of BiH has adopted the Law on the Protection of Civilian Victims of War, the Law in which, for the first time in history, children who were born as a result of war-time sexual violence and rape are recognized. This is really a big step forward in the fight for human rights, and a precedent both for Bosnia and Herzegovina and for other conflict and post-conflict countries.

Our personal experiences and the fact that we did not have equal opportunities within the BiH legal system proved to be strong enough for the Brčko District Government to decide on such a bold step forward.

The Association “Forgotten children of war” thanks the Brčko District Government for passing this Law, and we believe that this same Law must be adopted at the level of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as at the level of the Republic of Srpska.

In addition to the great importance of the Law for children, we will point out that this is also a very important and beautiful moment for our mothers. Our mothers fought all their lives, faced their problems, and at the same time fought for their children to be recognized. Congratulations to the mothers!

Finally, we would like to thank the non-governmental organizations that have invested a lot of effort for the last 27 years in the fight for the rights of women survivors. We would also like to thank you for your support to our work during the creation of this law, but we really have to express our special gratitude to TRIAL in Bosnia and Herzegovina / TRIAL International organization, which from the very beginning provided legal and professional support during the activist and advocacy activities of our Association.

This is just the beginning; we look forward to the implementation process and hope to continue to enjoy your support in further processes. Thank you!