Association of Women Victims of War
Encyclopedia
Association of Women Victims of War (Bosnian: Udruzenje Žene-Žrtve Rata) is a non-governmental organisation based in Sarajevo
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
, that campaigns for the rights of women victims of rape and similar crimes during the Bosnian war
1992-1995.
The Association gathers evidence and information about war criminals and rapists hiding in the Republika Srpska
entity of Bosnia with a view to securing their prosecution. It has provided key testimony in rape and sexual abuse trials linked to the conflict and has helped obtain justice and financial and psychological assistance for many of its thousand-plus members.
The organisation's founder and president Bakira Hasečić
is a Bosniak woman from Višegrad
, in the Drina valley of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina
. She was herself a victim of the notorious war criminal Milan Lukić
during the rape campaign that was a significant component of the ethnic cleansing of Višegrad in 1992. Under Bakira Hasečić's leadership the Association has become one of the most prominent human rights advocacy organisations in Bosnia, working with organisations such as Amnesty International
and Human Rights Watch
. The Association has been prominent in campaigning for national and international courts to prosecute the crime of rape as a weapon of war.
The Association's work has been featured in documentary programmes produced by the BBC and Al-Jazeera.
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, that campaigns for the rights of women victims of rape and similar crimes during the Bosnian war
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
1992-1995.
The Association gathers evidence and information about war criminals and rapists hiding in the Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
entity of Bosnia with a view to securing their prosecution. It has provided key testimony in rape and sexual abuse trials linked to the conflict and has helped obtain justice and financial and psychological assistance for many of its thousand-plus members.
The organisation's founder and president Bakira Hasečić
Bakira Hasečić
Bakira Hasečić is a Bosniak woman from Višegrad, a town in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1992 during the ethnic cleansing of Višegrad that took place in the early days of the Bosnian war she was raped in the Višegrad police station by Bosnian Serb soldiers, members of the Army of Republika...
is a Bosniak woman from Višegrad
Višegrad
Višegrad is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is part of the Republika Srpska entity. It is on the river Drina, located on the road from Goražde and Ustiprača towards Užice, Serbia.-History:...
, in the Drina valley of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. She was herself a victim of the notorious war criminal Milan Lukić
Milan Lukic
Milan Lukić is a former head of the paramilitary group known as White Eagles who was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in July 2009 of crimes against humanity and violations of war customs committed in the Višegrad municipality of Bosnia and...
during the rape campaign that was a significant component of the ethnic cleansing of Višegrad in 1992. Under Bakira Hasečić's leadership the Association has become one of the most prominent human rights advocacy organisations in Bosnia, working with organisations such as Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
. The Association has been prominent in campaigning for national and international courts to prosecute the crime of rape as a weapon of war.
The Association's work has been featured in documentary programmes produced by the BBC and Al-Jazeera.
External links
- Association of Women Victims of War / Udruzenje Žene-Žrtve Rata website http://www.zena-zrtva-rata.ba/news.php
- Investigation: "Visegrad rape victimes say their cries go unheard, by Nidžara Ahmetašević, Nerma Jelačić and Selma Boračić (Višegrad and Sarajevo), BIRN http://genocideinvisegrad.wordpress.com/2008/11/29/investigation-visegrad-rape-victimes-say-their-crie-go-unherd/
See also
- Milan LukićMilan LukicMilan Lukić is a former head of the paramilitary group known as White Eagles who was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in July 2009 of crimes against humanity and violations of war customs committed in the Višegrad municipality of Bosnia and...
- Vilina VlasVilina VlasVilina Vlas is a health spa that served as one of the main detention facilities where Bosniak prisoners were beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted during the Bosnian War, it is located about seven kilometers south-east of Višegrad, on the way to Gorazde....
- Bakira HasečićBakira HasečićBakira Hasečić is a Bosniak woman from Višegrad, a town in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1992 during the ethnic cleansing of Višegrad that took place in the early days of the Bosnian war she was raped in the Višegrad police station by Bosnian Serb soldiers, members of the Army of Republika...