Madam Chair,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me extend my gratitude to you, Madam Chair and the other members of the Bureau as well as to the Secretariat of the Division for the Advancement of Women on the preparation of this CSW session. Croatia has aligned itself with the EU Statement and at this point I would like to make some additional remarks on issues that are of particular interest to us regarding the priority theme under consideration.
Croatia welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on in-depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women and valuable recommendations contained therein.
Problems related to the status of the girl child are wide ranging. The practices like child labour, forced marriages, honour killings, sexual violence and trafficking are persistent and require our immediate and adequate response.
In order to achieve a tangible improvement of the status of the girl child, increased awareness and cooperation at the global level is needed. However, it is evident that addressing the root causes of violence against women and girls and practices that perpetuate discrimination towards them requires also the allocation of significant funding.
Madam Chair,
Croatia actively participates in the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence, within the framework of which, will host a regional seminar on Men's Active Participation in Combating Domestic Violence. We feel that the active engagement of men and boys is crucial to bring about the change in attitudes towards violence. In that regard, we look forward to the outcome of the first review of the implementation of the Commission's agreed conclusions on the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality.
Due to the events of the beginning of the last decade, Croatia has had much experience in conflict resolution and post-conflict management, which we try to share in the context of our membership in the Peacebuilding Commission. We also place particular importance on the implementation of the Security Council resolution 1325(2000) safeguarding women's rights in conflict situations and strengthening women's roles in post conflict peace building.
Our active participation in peacekeeping operations made us aware of the vulnerability of women and children in conflict situations. For a number of years, Croatia has been organizing international peacekeeping training and pays particular attention to the human rights component of the training program. Croatian future international peacekeepers are being thoroughly educated on child protection, suppression of trafficking and Croatia's zero tolerance policy towards sexual violence in conflict and post conflict situations.
We consider the eradication of corporal punishment of children to be of tremendous value, in order to prevent transgenerational transmission of violence. Even though it is explicitly forbidden by the provisions of our Family Law and the Law on the Protection from Domestic Violence, this phenomenon is, unfortunately, still widespread.
Madam, Chair,
Equal access to quality education is one of the crucial preconditions for the establishment of women's full participation in development. We find it particularly concerning that the gender stereotypes in textbooks and curricula lead to segregation in educational choices and vocational training. This practice ultimately results in under-representation of women in higher paid and decision-making positions in the labour market.
We pay particular importance to the education of all professionals dealing with children and are currently developing programs for employees in preschool, primary and secondary school institutions as well as in higher education institutions on various issues.
When dealing with children, our competent institutions are obliged to conduct in accordance with the best interest of the child. The provisions of our National Plan for the Suppression of Trafficking in Children envisage that individual support and protection programs are tailored to the specific needs of the child, at the same time protecting child's identity and personal data.
Madam Chair,
Allow me to assure you that Croatia will continue to actively participate in the constructive debates of this session.
Thank you.
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