On January 15, 2025, a working meeting was organized in Sarajevo with representatives of political party caucuses operating in the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament. The purpose of the meeting was to submit an amendment to the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of FBiH, which regulates femicide – gender-based killing as a specific criminal offense. The working meeting was held as part of the campaign "We Will Not Die in Silence" and the project "FOR Better Protection of Women from Violence in FBiH," implemented by the organizations Glas Žene Bihać, Ženska Vizija Tuzla, Tim Volim Život Cazin, Izvor Sanski Most, and the Citizens' Initiative Mostar.
Following an exceptionally constructive and supportive discussion on the necessity of legal intervention and the inclusion of femicide as a specific criminal offense in the FBiH Criminal Code, it was concluded that an amendment proposing femicide with a new article titled GRIEVOUS MURDER OF A WOMAN be immediately submitted.
The amendment was signed and supported by the following caucuses:
Caucus of the Party of Democratic Action
Caucus of the Democratic Front
Caucus of Povjerenje (Trust) (Narod i Pravda, SPU BiH)
Caucus of Naša Stranka
Caucus of the People's European Alliance BiH
Caucus of the Party for BiH
Caucus of the Social Democratic Party
Independent Representative Kenan Uzunović
Support at the meeting was also expressed by:
Dragan Mioković, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament
Edina Gabela, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament
Alma Kratina, Chair of the Commission for Gender Equality
Marijana Hrvić-Šikuljak, Member of the Commission for Gender Equality
Belmin Zukan, Chair of the Legislative and Legal Commission
Duška Jurišić, Deputy Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of BiH
Other representatives
“I am happy that, after so much serious work alongside non-governmental organizations, the time has come to finally unmask those in Parliament. It is now time to determine who supports the introduction of gender-based violence, i.e., this criminal offense, into the FBiH legislation. Violence against women and girls is a serious societal problem, and this is one way to create a comprehensive legal framework, together with the new Law on Protection Against Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women in FBiH,” said Alma Kratina, Chair of the Commission for Gender Equality.
“This marks a significant step forward in protecting victims from violence. Certain representatives will submit an amendment to further enhance the proposed changes and additions to the Criminal Code. We hope to secure sufficient support for its adoption in both chambers of the Federal Parliament. By doing so, we aim to send a strong message to potential perpetrators that they will face severe penalties in cases of femicide,” emphasized Belmin Zukan, Chair of the Legislative and Legal Commission.
It is important to emphasize that the introduction of gender-based killing of women would fulfill the obligations under the Istanbul Convention, which defines gender-based violence against women as violence directed at a woman because she is a woman or that disproportionately affects women. To recall, over 7,000 citizens have supported this initiative by signing a petition across BiH in the recent period.
