Japan-Bosnia and Herzegovina Relations
Meeting between Foreign Minister Kamikawa and representatives of UN and NGOs on WPS in Bosnia and Herzegovina
July 19, 2024
On July 19, commencing at 9:20 a.m. local time (4:20 p.m. JST) for approximately 50 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with representatives of UN and NGOs in Bosnia and Herzegovina during her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The overview is as follows.
- Minister Kamikawa stated that peace and stability in the Western Balkans is important for Europe as a whole and also affects East Asia. Under this circumstance, Japan, as a member of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's efforts for its economic development and its accession to the EU, towards Bosnia and Herzegovina's peace implementation. While stating that she herself promotes WPS as one of major pillars of Japanese diplomacy, she also asked for participants' views on challenges and current initiatives from a women's perspective and the perspective of the peace and development cooperation.
- In response, the representatives of UN and NGOs welcomed Minister Kamikawa's visit and explained the situation of women's participation in efforts to implement peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the current state of education that passes on the experience of the war to the next generation. In particular, the first-hand accounts of those who have themselves been victims of war crimes and are now working to help women who have suffered such losses made a particularly strong impression on the participants. Many participants also expressed their support for the promotion of WPS as one of the main foreign policies and their appreciation for Japan's support in this area.
- Minister Kamikawa then raised three perspectives, which are (i) how to create a single narrative for the education of the next generation, as ethnic divisions can be seen in textbooks in bookshops in Sarajevo, (ii) how to strengthen cooperation with international judicial bodies on WPS, and (iii) how to promote WPS towards 2025, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the WPS Resolution and the UN Future Summit taking place in September this year. Minister Kamikawa and the representatives shared the view to continue to work together in order to promote WPS in Bosnia and Herzegovina and globally.