Chair and honourable members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to join this session.
On behalf of UN Women, I'm speaking as a country representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Allow me to begin on a personal note. I started my career in Bosnia and Herzegovina through a Canadian-funded program for young professionals. The experience of seeing both the human cost of conflict and the leadership of women in rebuilding communities continues to shape how I understand security and stability today.
More than three decades after the breakup of Yugoslavia, peace in the western Balkans has held, but it's not yet consolidated. Across the region, unresolved political, social and justice issues continue to weaken democratic resilience and long-term stability. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 30 years after the Dayton Peace Agreement, this is reflected in the lasting legacies of war. Displacement, trauma, contested narratives and conflict-related sexual violence continue to shape trust in institutions and intercommunity relations. Stability is not only about preventing conflict. It depends on institutional accountability, protection from violence, economic inclusion, civic space and meaningful participation in public life. Without these, trust erodes and peace remains fragile.
This is why sustained international engagement matters. Canada has been a key partner. Through the UN peacebuilding fund and dedicated women, peace and security investments, Canada is supporting women's leadership, community peacebuilding and responses to emerging risks, such as gendered hate speech.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, transitional justice remains a critical gap. Survivors of conflict-related sexual violence continue to face stigma and barriers to services and reparations. In a recent meeting I had with survivors, they shared a clear message for the international community: “Do not forget us.” From a security perspective, violence against women is not a secondary issue. During the war, it was used as a weapon. Today, it persists as domestic violence, economic exclusion, online abuse and political intimidation. These are not isolated incidents. They reflect structural inequalities, unequal power relations and gaps in accountability. When such violence persists, it undermines trust in institutions and weakens social cohesion. This is why addressing violence against women must be understood as a core component of security.
This is especially visible in political life. Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina hold only 19.7% of parliamentary seats, while 60% of women in politics report experiencing violence, particularly online violence. This deters participation, narrows democratic space and weakens institutional legitimacy, especially ahead of the upcoming general elections in October.
At the same time, women in civil society, and especially survivors, are central to sustaining peace and security. The women of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not wait to be included. They organized, advocated and bore witness, helping to lay the foundations for the global women, peace and security agenda. Today, they continue to rebuild trust and maintain dialogue across divides, yet they remain underfunded and unrepresented in decision-making. Targeted peacebuilding investments help close this gap. Supporting these actors strengthens social cohesion and acts as a frontline mechanism for conflict prevention.
Across the western Balkans, the pattern is similar: unfinished reconciliation, contested narratives, unresolved political questions and low trust in institutions, combined with the continued exclusion of women from political and security decision-making. The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue remains central to regional stability, and women's advisory platforms—supported by the EU and UN Women—will help ensure that women's expertise is systematically included after years of advocacy.
Looking ahead, the next phase of women, peace and security engagement must go beyond commitments and invest in conditions for meaningful participation, including predictable financing, protected civic space, survivor-centred justice, intergenerational dialogue and stronger links between policy commitments and budgets.
For Canada, the implication is clear: Continued support for women, peace and security in the western Balkans is not only principled but a strategic investment in conflict prevention, reconciliation and democratic resilience.
I thank you and look forward to your questions.