The national conference dedicated to the position of women in the executive bodies of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the position of women in representative bodies and parliamentary parties was opened by Zorana Mihajlovic, Minister of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection, H.E. Christer Asp, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Serbia, and Stana Bozovic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy.
On the occasion, National Assembly Secretary General Jana Ljubicic spoke of the women’s caucus at the National Assembly, highlighting, at the beginning of her address, one of the main principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia which guarantees gender equality and bans discrimination of any kind. In light of it, Secretary General Jana Ljubicic outlined the steps undertaken by the National Assembly within its legislative function to meet the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, as well as international obligations and accepted conventions and standards. She especially focused on the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality established in the National Assembly’s current legislature, as well as the Commission Monitoring the Execution of the National Action Plan for the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 - Women, Peace and Security in the Republic of Serbia (2010-2015) and the establishment of the Women’s Parliamentary Network, the membership of all of which is predominantly female. In her address, Ljubicic also spoke of the amendments to the Law on the Election of MPs which had made it possible for the current National Assembly legislature to comprise 82 women – the most to date since the introduction of the multi-party system in Serbia. In the current National Assembly legislature, out of the five deputy speakers, two are women, the Secretary General is a woman, as are two assistant secretaries general, stressed Ljubicic. 18 of the 20 committees have female members, seven of the committees have women chairpersons, and the National Assembly’s standing delegations to international institutions boast a considerable number of women members. “In the end, it is safe to conclude that the role and representation of women at the National Assembly and its working bodies is on the rise, which greatly contributes to increased accountability and quality of the work done by the National Assembly and its working bodies within their scope", concluded Secretary General Jana Ljubicic.
In addition to the National Assembly Secretary General, MPs Marija Obradovic, Dijana Vukomanovic, Dubravka Filipovski, Natasa Vuckovic and Sanda Raskovic Ivic also addressed the national conference and spoke of the Women's Parliamentary Network, women in leadership positions in political parties, the effects of the rising numbers of women at the Parliament, organisation and networking among women in political parties and the Parliament and the challenges women in politics face when balancing work and private life.