ZAGREB, Oct 26 (Hina) - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić said in her opening remarks at the conference "Women, Peace and Security" in Zagreb on Friday that the status and role of women was an indicator and measure of success of any peace mission and any society.
The theme of the conference is the role of women in security affairs, including their participation in peace operations as servicewomen and in activities aimed helping women in war-affected areas.
Pusić said that any peace mission could be evaluated on the basis of the status or treatment of women in the country where the mission was sent.
"By ensuring women's involvement, not only do we change their position but we also invest in the stability of that society and the sustainability of peace," the minister said.
"The crucial thing which people understand and accept is that the countries of the American-Adriatic Charter .. will not allow women in Afghanistan to be treated the way they were before the deployment of the ISAF mission, which is still happening today," Pusić said.
"It is a defence of certain values and levels of civilisation where we do not agree to compromises. We do not accept that it is possible to shoot at 14-year-old girls because they want to go to school, we do not accept that 15,000 women are prevented from going to school or work just because they are women," she noted.