On 1 and 2 April 2022, the AIRE Centre hosted the first Regional Gender Equality Forum for the Western Balkans.

The Forum took place in Montenegro and brought together the President and Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, judges and former judges of the European Court of Human Rights and representatives from across the region including presidents and judges of supreme and constitutional courts, ombudspersons, representatives
of judicial training institutes, academics and representatives from the NGO sector.

Presentations and panel discussions at the Forum distilled the key principles and requirements developed by the European Court of Human Rights in respect of gender equality and discrimination on the ground of sex. For example, panellists discussed the key substantive and procedural obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights to protect women from domestic and gender-based violence. Participants from across the region then convened in smaller, thematic working groups to reflect on the key challenges to implementing and protecting the rights of women in the domestic context.

The AIRE Centre, in collaboration with Judge Ivana Jelić, prepared a new guide on the relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Gender Equality and Discrimination on the Grounds of Sex, which is available in English here.