Minister Grabar-Kitarović received UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women Rachel Mayanja

The UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser is visiting Croatia on the occasion of the Council of Europe’s regional seminar on active involvement of men in combating family violence, held 9 and 10 May 2007 in Zagreb.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović expressed satisfaction over Croatia’s hosting the Council of Europe’s seminar and described Croatia’s active participation in the CoE campaign to combat violence against women, including family violence, as extremely important. Dubravka Šimonović chaired the CoE special group on violence against women, whose task is to propose to all CoE members the measures necessary for an efficient fight against the universal problem of violence against women, said Minister Grabar-Kitarović.

During the meeting with Special Adviser Mayanja, Minister Grabar-Kitarović presented a series of legal and implemental regulations reached in Croatia in the past years with the aim of combating family violence, with a special emphasis on the Law on the Protection against Family Violence, passed in 2003, and the National Strategy on the Protection against Family Violence, reached in 2004. The Minister also stressed the importance Croatia places on gender equality, pointing out that gender equality is highlighted as one of the highest values in the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović also informed Special Adviser Mayanja about Croatia’s legal and strategic framework that regulates gender equality, noting in particular the 2003 Law on Gender Equality, which supposes the protection against discrimination and defines the preconditions for the creation of equal opportunities policies for men and women in all areas of social life.