OSCE Mission in Kosovo head encourages women to vote
Four years of OSCE work to enhance women’s participation in local decision-making were marked at a conference in Prishtinë/Priština on 9 October 2013.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo has helped to establish and train women’s caucuses in some thirty municipalities. The caucuses have identified the most pressing needs of women in urban and rural areas, promoted adequate municipal funding for their initiatives and developed municipal regulations on gender equality.
“The efforts of the women’s caucuses and our support to them in the last four years have aimed to increase women’s participation in municipal decision-making and combat gender-based discrimination,” said the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger.
“Now in the pre-election period, I encourage you all, regardless of your political affiliation or alliance, to reach out to women and urge them to vote in the upcoming elections,” he added.
Participants in the conference took stock of the women’s caucuses’ achievements this year and began planning their activities in 2014, which will focus on promoting economic empowerment, gender equality and co-operation between municipal women’s caucuses and central institutions.
Some 100 members of municipal and Assembly of Kosovo women’s caucuses, the Agency for Gender Equality and the Ombudsperson institution took part in the conference.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is mandated with human and community rights protection and promotion, democratization and public safety sector development. The Mission support to women’s caucuses will continue in 2014.