The Centre for Peace, Non-Violence and Human Rights – Osijek, the Centre for Peace Studies, CESI, Documenta, GONG, Civil Committee for Human Rights, Iskorak and Zelena Akcija associations presented their own proposals for changes in Croatian Constitution.

Human rights organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially organisations focused on women’s human rights, protest the inclusion of Women to Women BiH non-governmental organization in the list of alleged terrorist organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted to the UN Security Council, as reported yesterday, March 11, by Dnevni Avaz daily.

The United Nations declared March 8 the International Women’s Day in 1975, itself the International Women’s Year, to mark the already long history (more on the history on Wikipedia) of celebration and protests.

In these parts, the tradition of activism and demands for women’s rights was replaced during the socialist system by tradition of organized partying in restaurants, bouquets of flowers and long boring conferences by the official women associations (to the effect that Wikipedia article, probably correctly, notes that it was some sort of combination of Mother’s Day and St. Valentine’s Day.

On the occasion of March 8, the International Women's Day, the Croatian Women Network orgnized a protest walk in Zagreb, under the motto "Unfulfilled Women's Rights - the Debt the State owes to Women", to warn about the bad status of women in society. A procession of about 50 women, primarily activists, gathered at the Stone Gate and Neva Tölle, Coordinator of Autonomous Women House, gave a short speech on the bad status of women, after which they proceeded to the Ban Jelačić Square.

(Foto: A. Panjeta/Sarajevo-x.com)The CURE Foundation organized, on the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day, a protest march in Sarajevo, to raise the awareness about status of women’s rights in BiH. Foundation representatives noted that the aims was to raise the awareness of women that they are equal members of the society who want equal, not special rights.

Douglas ElliottProminent Canadian barrister Douglas Elliott, in his office of Chair of the Advisory Committee of the international academic conference “Justice in the Balkans: Equality for Sexual Minorities”, wrote to Slavica Đukić Dejanović, the Speaker of Serbian Parliament, asking to accellerate the procedure for election of Equality Commissioner for Serbia, in view of the fact that the last deadline for election expired on March 1, 2010.

Pravo na Grad shipping container in VaršavskaThe Head of the City Office of Civil Construction Davor Jelavić denied yesterday his statement of February 23, when he claimed that no new official approval would be necessary to allow takeover of Varšavska Street to create construction site for the building of access ramp to the “Cvjetni Project” undeground garage, developed by the Hoto Group, and signed a new decision that was presented to the tenants of the street.