Reports

Street actions
Throughout this period we organized actions regarding: important dates – crimes committed in our name, against increased clericalization in Serbia, as well as fascist tendencies. Also, in this period we marked important international dates, and we organized actions of global solidarity.

October 7^th – Novi Sad – Anti-fascist march: The following non-governmental organizations were involved in bringing activists to the Novi Sad Anti-fascist march together with Women in Black: Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights, Youth Initiative for Human Rights and the Humanitarian Law Center.
Here are some of the speakers at the main city square, prior to the beginning of the march: Pavel Domonji from Novi Sad (Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia), Aleksandar Popov from Novi Sad (Center for regionalism), Janja Beč, sociologist, Marija Perković from Vrbas, activist of the Women in Black Network. Among the thousands of citizens at the march, there were fifty women-activists from the Women in Black Network from all over Serbia.

October 8^th – Women’s solidarity with our sisters in peace Anna Politkovskaya and Aung San Suu Kyi: this was a protest in the anniversary of the assassination (October 8^th 2006) of the Russian journalist and critic of the repressive regime of Vladmir Putin, with a demand to punish those who commissioned and carried out this crime; on the same day, we expressed our solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese opposition leader, with a demand to the military authorities in her country to release her unconditionally.

October 22^nd – Novi Pazar – “Preserve the Peace in Sandžak”: this was a joint action, organized by Women in Black from Belgrade and Urban-In from Novi Pazar, with the support of numerous non-governmental organizations. The action had two components, we marked the 15^th anniversary of the crime in Sjeverin (on October 22^nd 1992, 16 passengers were abducted from a bus just because they were Bosniacs), and there was a protest rally at the main city square against political violence in Sandzak caused by religious divisions within the Islamic community and the manipulation on the part of the government.
Here are the speakers at the rally: Nataša Kandić (Humanitarian Law Center), Biljana Kovačević-Vučo (Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights), Staša Zajovic (Women in Black, Belgrade), Dzeneta Agović (Impuls, Tutin), Zibija Dervišhalitović Šarenkapić (Damad, Novi Pazar), Aida Ćorović (Urban-in, Novi Pazar), Maja Stojanović (Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Niš). Around fifty women-activists from the Women in Black Network from throughout Serbia took part in the rally. There was also a peace march in the streets of Novi Pazar.

October 31^st – “We are safe when we can choose” – The performance that marked the anniversary of the UNSC Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security” took place in front of the Serbian Parliament and gathered several dozens of women activists from the Women in Black Network from all over Serbia. The creator and coordinator of the activities surrounding the performance was Nađa Duhaček, WiB activist.
We have also handed over the Women in Black Resolution “Women, Peace, Security” and the UNSC Resolution 1325 with the same title, to the MP’s of the Liberal Democratic Party at the Serbian National Parliament.

November 9th – street action „I’m going to pull your ears if you become a fascist” (explanation: pulling ears is a common punishment for children when they misbehave): this action marked the International Day against Racism, Xenophobia and Anti-Semitism, and took place at the Trg Republike (main square) in Belgrade. During this activity leaflets and materials were handed out, they were entitled: “I’m going to pull your ears if you become a fascist.” The action was carried out together with the group Queeria and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights from Belgrade.

November 16^th – “Stop the Wall”: Action for international solidarity with the peace movements in Palestine and Israel against the wall of apartheid in the occupied West Bank.

December 10^th – “Stop Clericalization”: Press conference at the Media Center where the brochure “What every citizen must know about the Serbian Orthodox Church” was presented, as well as the results of opinion polls on the citizens’ attitudes concerning SOC. The International Day of Human Rights was also the day we chose for the street performance of the choir “Proba” entitled “We’re not going back.” Activists of the following groups also took part in the performance Škart, Center for Peace and Democracy Development, Youth Initiative for Human Rights. Clero-fascist organizations interfered during the entire performance.

December 11^th – Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina): Women in Black activists took part in a protest march which the Women from Srebrenica organize every month.

Dealing with the Past – Feminist Approach
The continuation of an educational project which has been going on since 2005 and contains a number of segments:
Punishment of war crimes – the path to just peace: monitoring of trials at the Special Court – War Crimes Chamber in Belgrade.
Trial for the crime in Suva Reka: officers of the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) of Serbia killed 48 Albanian civilians on March 26^th 1999, in Suva Reka (Kosovo). This process began on October 2^nd 2006, and in the fall of 2007 activists of the Women in Black attended the following sessions:
- September 10^th – three Women in Black activists attended;
- November 5^th – one activist from the Women in Black attended;
- December 3^rd – 7^th, four Women in Black activists from Belgrade attended.
As they monitor the trial, activists of the Women in Black Network offer support to the families of the victims, they meet them after the court sessions, they write reports, etc.

Visiting places where crimes were committed in our name: one of the models of transitional justice adopted by the Women in Black, which encompasses public demands for punishing war crimes that were committed in our name, acts that restore value in the dignity of victims of war crimes, encouragement and development of a feminist ethics of care and feminist ethics of responsibility:

September 19^th – visit to the Memorial Center for victims of genocide in Srebrenica, Potocare (Bosnia and Herzegovina), together with Marieme Helie-Lucas (from the networks Women Living Under Muslim Laws/WLUML and Secularism is a Women’s Issue/SIAWI), we also spent some time with members of the Organization of the Women from Srebrenica.

December 11^th – Tuzla, meeting of the activists of the Women in Black, Belgrade with members of the Organization of the Women from Srebrenica at their Center. This meeting is a continuation of ongoing support and cooperation between these two organizations.

To see, to learn, to change: screenings of documentary and feature films on war crimes, women’s resistance to war and crimes committed in former Yugoslavia, as well as other parts of the world.
Film screenings and discussions on dealing with the past with a feminist approach took places in many towns where activist groups, part of the Women in Black Network, carry out their activities:
- Vlasotince, September 9^th – God Sleeps in Rwanda, documentary film produced by A Women Movies Release, USA, directed Kimberlee Acquaro and Stasy Sherman, screening and discussion were organized by SOS telephone activists;
-Kruševac, August 20^th – Always Disobedient, film on Women in Black activities, created by Jelena Marković and Jasmina Tesanović;
- Leskovac, August 10^th – Compilation of Jasmila Žbanić films;
-Leskovac, August 17^th - Always disobedient, organized by Women for Peace;
- Leskovac, August 20^th – God Sleeps in Rwanda, organized by Women for Peace;
- Belgrade, November 14^th – Vukovar: Last Cut, documentary film, directed by Janko Baljak about the siege and surrender of Vukovar, about the crimes in Ovčara and about the trial at the Special Court – Chamber for War Crimes in Belgrade.

Between 10 and 20 women attend these movie screenings, mostly activists of local organizations, democratically oriented political parties, civil society activists, citizens.

Additionally, in the period covered by this report, we carried out a number of activities, international in character (lectures, workshops, conferences) on this topic, which will discussed later in this report.

Warning Signs of Fundamentalisms – Feminist Responses
Women in Black have organized numerous activities against retrograde clero-nationalist fundamentalist movements and tendencies, since their beginning (1991). This project, concerned with education and activism, is a continuation of Women in Black activities in this area.
This educational project began in 2006. Within the period covered by this report, we carried out the following activities:
Warning Signs of Fundamentalisms – Feminist responses – regional seminar took place in Totovo selo, Vojvodna – October 5^th, 6^th and 7^th – 31 activist attended, from 13 towns (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Vrbas, Bečej, Bačka Topola, Trešnjevac, Subotica, Kikinda, Zaječar, Leskovac, Vlasotince, Zagreb, Pljevlja).
This seminar, the same as the previous five, contained four workshops and four lectures on political abuse of religion, ethnicity, cultural heritage, with an emphasis on fundamentalist violence against women, as well as democratic and feminist alternatives; two feature and two documentary films were shown, and a promotion of a Women in Black publication was organized, as well as an exhibition entitled 'Kuvarice' – a deconstruction of kitchen space and content.


FUNDAMENTALISMS TODAY – DEMOCRATIC AND FEMINIST RESPONSES

This project came about as a result of collaboration, mutual support and solidarity between two autonomous feminist organizations – Women in Black and Woman and Society from Sarajevo.
The project was carried out in September, in cooperation with numerous local NGO’s from the towns where this project concerned with activism and education took place:

- Peščanik, Kruševac; Urban In, Novi Pazar; Impuls, Tutin; University in Sarajevo – Center for Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies, Sarajevo; Zenica Notebooks (Journal for Social Phenomenology and Cultural Dialogue) at the newly opened National Museum, Zenica.

Activities within the project:
- Promotion of the essay collection: FUNDAMENTALISMS TODAY – DEMOCRATIC AND FEMINIST RESPONSES, collection of essays by Marieme Helie-Lucas, published in 2007, 123 pages, published bilingually in Serbian and Bosnian.

Lectures, round tables, public discussion on this topic took place in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina:
- Belgrade, September 16^th
- Kruševac – September 17^th
- Novi Pazar - September 18^th
- Tutin - September 18^th
- Sarajevo - September 20^th
- Zenica - September 21^st

Speakers at the lectures and promotions:
- Marieme Helie-Lucas, founder of the global anti-fundamentalist network “Women Living Under Muslim Laws” (WLUML);
- Esad Bajtal, MA, sociologist from Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Nada Ler-Sofronić, PhD, feminist theoretician, activist of the Center Woman and Society, co-editor of the essay collection FUNDAMENTALISMS TODAY – DEMOCRATIC AND FEMINIST RESPONSES, Sarajevo;
- Latinka Perović, PhD, historian and essayist, associate of the Institute for Contemporary History, Belgrade;
- Zilha Šiljak, PhD, Muslim feminist theologian, Sarajevo;
- Staša Zajović, founder and activist of the Women in Black, philologist, co-editor of the essay collection FUNDAMENTALISMS TODAY – DEMOCRATIC AND FEMINIST RESPONSES, Belgrade;
- Aida Ćorović, founder and coordinator of NGO Urban-in, Novi Pazar;
- Dženeta Agović, founder and coordinator of NGO Impuls, Tutin;
- Biljana Kovačević-Vučo, lawyer, president of NGO Yucom (Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights), Belgrade and others.

We change ourselves in order to change the world: screenings of feature and documentary films on all forms of fundamentalisms and women’s alternatives to fundamentalisms. The screenings, followed by discussions on this topic, take place in various towns throughout Serbia, within activist groups that are part of the Women in Black Network.

Leskovac – Women for Peace, in cooperation with Women in Black, Belgrade have organized the following screenings and discussions:
September 7^th – Trip to Kabul, produced by Women in Black, Milan, Italy
November 5^th – Water, directed by Deepa Mehta, India/Canada
November 24^th - the Magdalene Sisters, directed by Peter Mullan, Great Britain
December 1^st - Bandit Queen, directed by Shekar Kapur, India

- Vlasotince – December 12^th - the Magdalene Sisters, in cooperation with SOS Telephone and WiB, Belgrade;
- Kruševac - November 9^th - the Magdalene Sisters, in cooperation with 'Peščanika' and WiB, Belgrade;
- Belgrade – November 11^th – “Kuvarice,” documentary film on the deconstruction of patriarchal tradition and cultural heritage in Serbia – women’s embroidery – into activism for women’s rights. The speakers on this politically engaged artistic project were its authors Dragan Protić-Prota from Škart, Lenka Zelenović, and WiB activists. The screening and discussion took place at the Women in Black offices.

On average, between ten and fifteen women attended each of the screenings.

Women, Peace, Security – Resolution 1325
Since their beginning, Women in Black have advocated various forms of demilitarization, both on an institutional, as well as a culturally-spiritual level; through education (conferences, seminars, workshops), street actions law-making initiatives, publishing endeavors. Over the last couple of years, we have devoted special attention to the promotion of UNSC Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security,” as well as to creating a feminist-antimilitarist concept of security.

Campaigns – R 1325
Research “Women, Security, Reproductive Rights and Transitional Justice” was carried out between June and October 2007 all over Serbia; the research & survey team held numerous meetings to discuss way data would be processed – the research project had a total of 894 respondents from all parts of Serbia. The data and analysis were presented on October 31^st 2007. It offered an insight into the attitudes of socially and politically engaged women in Serbia concerning a gendered approach to security, as well as the extent to which women are informed about the basic concepts and facts that are relevant for women’s security, reproductive rights and transitional justice.
It is worth mentioning that the research & survey also team held numerous lectures and presentations of Women in Black activities, especially concerning R 1325.

Women, Peace, Security: a Women in Black resolution was first submitted on the fifth anniversary of the UNSC R1325 with the same title (October 31^st 2005). In addition to the demands for implementation of R 1325, a group of women-MP’s from civic oriented political parties also handed in our resolution. It contains the basic demands from R 1325, as well as additional demands that are specific to our political community.

October 31^st 2006 – Another petition was submitted to the Serbian Parliament, even though the Parliament never considered the “Women, Peace, Security” Resolution, which confirms that the current government in Serbia is not democratic.

October 31^st 2007 – We have renewed our demand from 2006 to the Serbian Parliament through with the assistance of MP’s from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), as well as a petition to adopt a UN Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. A meeting was organized on the same day, between Vesna Pešić, Nataša Mićić and activists of the Women in Black Network, where joint activities that will lead to achieving legitimate demands of the Women in Black, were agreed upon.

October 31^st –Media Center - Press conference – Maja Pešić, Nevena Kostić i Marina Nikolić, coordinators of the research project, presented Women in Black activities concerning the feminist approach to security, results of the research project “Women, Security, Reproductive Rights, Transitional Justice.” Biljana Kovačević Vučo presented the demands from the Platform on human rights defenders, which was a joint effort of the Women in Black, Yucom and the Anti-trafficking Center (ATC), supported by the Women in Black Network from Serbia, as well as dozens of NGO’s from all over Serbia. Staša Zajović promoted the Women in Black publication From the Traditional to the Feminist Concept of Security – Resolution 1325.

Networks, Coalitions and Alliances
Women in Black are initiators and/or active participants of numerous regional networks, coalitions and alliances. During this period, we carried out the following activities:
Women in Black Network in Serbia: in addition to regular contacts, consultations, joint activities mentioned in the previous segments of this report, we will only give an overview of Network meetings and joint educational activities (workshops, lectures, round table discussions):
October 31^st – Meeting of the Women in Black Network in Serbia – 23 activists from 10 towns attended (Belgrade, Kruševac, Vlasotince, Leskovac, Zaječar, Velika Plana, Kraljevo, Vrbas, Kikinda, Pljevlja).
October 8^th – Kruševac - Lecture and discussion on the current political situation in Serbia with Vesna Pešić, LDP MP and civil society activist from Belgrade. This was organized by 'Peščanik' from Kruševac and Women in Black from Belgrade, 45 women attended.

October 16^th – Kruševac – Lecture entitled ‘Cultural Policy in Serbia Today’ by Borka Pavićević, playwright and coordinator of the Center for Cultural Decontamination from Belgrade. This was organized by 'Peščanik' from Kruševac and Women in Black from Belgrade, 50 women attended.

October 27^th and 28^th - Leskovac and Vlasotince – Visit and meetings, Women in Black - Belgrade activists and activist groups Women for Peace – Leskovac and SOS Telephone – Vlasotince.

December 3^rd – Kruševac – A lecture „On civil society“ was organized by Women in Black and Peščanik from Kruševac, with the following participants: Biljana Kovačević-Vučo from Yucom, Boban Stojanović, Queeria, Beograd and Staša Zajović, activist of the Women in Black, around 50 women attended this interactive lecture.

December 13^th – Velika Plana – The workshop “Women’s peace politics” was organized by Women in Action from Velika Plana. It was facilitated by WiB activists Staša Zajović (Belgrade) and Snežane Đorđević (Kruševac). The participants in the workshop were 16 activists.

December 15^th and 16^th – We change ourselves in order to change the world – educational seminar for peace, human rights, feminism; this educational activists’ meeting was organized by Women in Black from Belgrade for young activists from Vlasotince and Velika Plana, high school students who have been through training for peer education. The following activities took place during the seminar:
- Human Rights Class and visit to the Union University, Saša Gajin;
- Always Disobedient – screening of a documentary film about the Women in Black, followed by a discussion on WiB activities together with WiB activists;
- On Hate Speech with Milana Antonijevića from Yucom as lecturer;
- An interactive lecture on fascism and minorities by Boban Stojanović from Queeria/Women in Black;
- Lecture/workshop on Feminism, facilitated by Adriana Zaharijević.
There were 24 activists who attended the seminar: 11 from Vlasotinca, 4 from Velika Plana, 1 from Leskovac and 6 from Belgrade. Additionally, many other visits by Women in Black and to them were carried out by numerous activists from the Network.

Women’s Peace Coalition: made up of activists from the Women in Black Network in Serbia and the Kosova Women’s Network held its second annual conference entitled “Through Women’s Solidarity to a Just Peace” in Struga (Macedonia) from August 31^st to September 3^rd 2007. There were 30 activists from the WiB Network from all over Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Vrbas, Leskovac, Vlasotince, Preševo, Kruševac, Velika Plana, Zaječar, Kraljevo, Niš) and 30 activists from the Kosova Women’s Network (Prishtina, Skenderaj/Srbica, Prilužje, Peć, Prizren, Has, Djakovica, Klina), as well as 10 guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina, USA, Austria. Activists from the Women in Black Network presented their knowledge and experience concerning dealing with the past and transitional justice from a feminist perspective, during plenary sessions and workshops on the following issues: transitional justice – feminist approach; models of transitional justice through Women in Black experiences; feminist ethics of care; visiting places where crimes have been committed in our name; politics of forgiveness; the role of civil society in transitional justice: obstacles and challenges. Although these were the main topics of the conference, activists from the Women in Black Network contributed actively to the following topics as well: solidarity – positive experiences and obstacles; women and security.
At the same time, activists of the Kosova Women’s Network presented their experiences concerning these issues, as well as the gender aspect of security. Also numerous joint activities and future cooperation were discussed and agreed upon.
Horizontal Networking: within activists’ exchanges and visits of activists from Kosovo and Serbia - the Women in Black Network organized a visit to Kruševac and Novi Pazar for activists of the Kosova Women’s Network, which lasted several days (September 17^th - 19^th).

The Coalition for a Secular State: was initiated in 2006 by Women in Black. Between October and mid-December 2007, a number of activities was carried out, we highlight the following:
From October 9^th the Coalition for a Secular State has held eight plenary sessions, attended by a better part of the activists – members on the Coalitions; numerous working group meetings took place in order to produce the brochure What every citizen (woman and man) should know about the Serbian Orthodox Church; in order to make the banners for the performance; three rehearsals were held for the performance, etc.
Between 10 and 20 activists attended each meeting and they were from the following groups: Center for Peace and Democracy Development, Belgrade Human Rights Center, Social Democratic Union (SDU), Škart/Proba, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Queeria, Republika – the journal, LDP, CUPS and WiB.
All the plenary meetings and meetings of working groups as well as rehearsals took place at Women in Black offices.
Manifest on Secularism: which the Coalition initiated in October was supported by 53 organizations from more than 20 towns all over Serbia, but also from Montenegro and Croatia. More than 80 distinguished public persons supported the Manifest, mostly from Serbia, but also from Montenegro and Croatia.
Media coverage of the Coalition: December 7^th – Press conference at the Media center, where the following people spoke: Vesna Rakić Vodinelić, Vera Marković, Boban Stojanović, Tanja Matić, Staša Zajović, Marija Perković. Numerous print and electronic media reported on the activities of the Coalition.
Performance – December 10^th at 18.30 at Trg Republike – the Performance of the Coalition took place with strong police protection and obstructed by members of the clero-fascist group “Obraz” (Cheek) which tried to create a larger incident.

Coalition for tolerance against hate crimes: created in August 2007 at the initiative of Yucom. Other active participating organizations from Belgrade: Lawyers for Democracy, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Women in Black, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Center for Cultural Decontamination. The Coalition aims to have hate crimes listed as specific crimes in the penal code in order to eliminate discrimination against those are different and considered to be the other. The Coalition for Tolerance has held numerous meetings, while the press conference took place on November 9^th at which activities and plans were presented.

Coalition G8: its main aims are punishment for war crimes and transitional justice, it is made up of nongovernmental organizations for human rights and peace from Belgrade and it has addressed the public as well as institutions in charge with demands for the extradition of war criminals to the Hague Tribunal, against repression of human rights defenders, etc.

Security Network: an informal NGO network that was initiated by the Centre for Civil-Military Relations from Belgrade, which gathers civil society organizations as well as experts who are interested in security issues; Women in Black participated in two meetings of this network that took place on September 18^th and December 18^th.

Solidarity with Peščanik: a B92 radio show which is continuously exposed to attacks from clero-fascist organizations and individuals:
December 3^rd – Aranđelovac – Together with other citizens, Women in Black activists organized a trip in order to attend a promotion of the new edition of „Peščanik.” We went there in order to express our solidarity with the authors of „Peščanik,” Svetlana Lukić and Svetlana Vuković. The promotion never took place, because members of the clero-nationalist political party Nova Srbija (New Serbia) prevented it.
December 10^th – “I’m not afraid” – An evening organized by Queeria, Women in Black and the Center for Peace and Democracy Development, at the Center for Cultural Decontamination, was an action of solidarity with the radio show „Peščanik.“ A round table discussion took place with the following speakers: Boban Stojanović, Queeria; Vera Marković, Social-democratic Union; Biljana Kovačević Vučo, Yucom; Borka Pavićević, Center for Cultural Decontamination, Staša Zajović and Marija Perković, Women in Black activists and Teofil Pančić, journalist.

Antimilitarism:
Antimilitarism permeates all the Women in Black activities, it is intertwined with all the educational programs, so in this section, we only mention additional antimilitarist activities:
- Stop the sale and export of weapons: public demands to the institutions that are in charge, most of all Serbian Ministry for Defense, to stop selling and exporting weapons to the military regime of Myanmar, and to punish those who are responsible.
- Solidarity with the inhabitants/citizens of Paraćin: with their demands to establish civilian control over the disposal of ammunition, since detonations that have been going on for 14 months at the military training ground near Paraćin are endangering their right to life and to a healthy and safe environment.
- Action of solidarity with Prisoners of Peace, within the WRI - War Resister's International, we have sent 28 letters to prisoners of peace and conscientious objectors who remain in prison because of their nonviolent and antimilitarist activity in the following countries: Eritrea, Finland, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Korea, USA.

International politics

Participation at international conferences (official and alternative), contacts with international institutions, activists’ visits and exchanges, etc.

Participation at international conferences (official and alternative) – we will name only conferences where we had presentations, lectures, coordination:

International Conference of the Women in Black network – August 16^th – 20^th. The conference took place in Valencia (Spain) with approximately 400 activists from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. There were 18 activists from the Women in Black Network from Serbia, 16 from Serbia and two from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Activists from the Women in Black Network from Serbia presented theoretical and practical experiences concerning the feminist approach to transitional justice, as well as feminist-antimilitarist approach to security and demilitarization of consciousness through deconstruction of masculinity, at plenary sessions and during workshops.

September 17^th – meeting with Hina Jilani, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders, during her visit to Belgrade.

Legal, political and historical consequences of the Hague rulings – September 29^th – 30^th – Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This conference was organized by the Truth, Justice, Reconciliation Foundation from Tuzla.

October 20^th – 30^th – Activists’ visit to Georgia and Abkhazia: Women in Black activists Zorica Trifunović and Lidija Pajović visited women’s organizations from four cities, three in Georgia (Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Zugdidi) and one in Abkhazia (Sukhumi). The visit is a continuation of exchanges between Women in Black and women’s groups from these two countries, facilitated by Heinrich Boell Stiftung from Germany.

October 23 ^rd– 26^th – Women in Black activist Nevzeta Josifović attended the 2^nd “Women in struggle” (“Mujeres en lucha”) International Conference in Rome, Italy. The conference was organized by SIMA (Solidarieta Italiana con le Madri di Plaza de Mayo).

October 29^thRegional Consultation with Human Rights Organizations on Instruments and Initiatives for Truth-seeking and Truth-telling on War Crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia, in Belgrade, organized by the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), Belgrade; Research and Documentation Center (RDC), Sarajevo; and Documenta from Zagreb.

November 23^rd – 24^th - Staša Zajović gave lectures and facilitated workshops on the feminist approach to transitional justice, at the Center for Women’s and Peace Education – Anima in Kotor, Montenegro.

November 27^th – 29^th – Women from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Transition off Social Conflicts – regional conference organized by Women to Women in Sarajevo. Staša Zajović, Women in Black and Sonja Biserko, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia facilitated a number of workshops and lectures on civil society, transitional justice and security, with special emphasis on the gender aspect of security.

November 30^th – meeting with MP’s from the Green Party in Germany, Jurgen Trittin and Marieluise Beck.

December 12^th ­– meeting with MP’s from PDS (political party) at WiB offices in Belgrade.

December 14^th – ‘Reparations – a legal and moral obligation toward victims’, international seminar organized in Belgrade by the Humanitarian Law Center.

This was a period when dozens of researchers from all over Europe and USA visited us and inquired about our activities.

Publishing

During the time covered in this report, and in order to promote activities and ideas of the Women in Black, we have published the following:

· Women For Peace, English edition, 389 pages; this is the 11^th collection of essays with the same title, which Women in Black have been publishing since 1993; it contains seven chapters that cover theoretical knowledge and activist experiences of the Women in Black.
· Women For Peace, Serbian edition, 379 pages; this is the eleventh edition, we also have published two editions in Italian and four in Spanish. These contain seven chapters that cover theoretical knowledge and activist experiences of the Women in Black.
· Transitional Justice – A Feminist Approach – Experiences of the Women in Black, Serbian edition, 100 pages, written by Staša Zajović. Contains three parts: 1) Institutional mechanisms of Transitional Justice, 2) Transitional Justice – civil society initiatives, 3) Transitional Justice – experiences of the Women in Black.
· Transitional Justice – A Feminist Approach – Experiences of the Women in Black, English edition, 104 pages, written by Staša Zajović.
· Contribution of Women in Black, Serbia to the Women in Black -International Network Conference, which took place in Valencia in August 2007; this brochure has 57 pages in Serbian and 60 pages in English, it contains 11 contributions from women who participated in plenary sessions and workshops.
· Fundamentalisms Today – Feminist and Democratic Responses, 123 pages, in Serbian/Bosnian, collection of essays written by Marieme Helie- Lucas, published Women in Black, Belgrade and Woman and Society, Sarajevo.
· From the Traditional to the Feminist Concept of Security – Resolution 1325, 96 pages, two chapters: 1) From the traditional concept of security to a gender dimension, 2) Toward a feminist concept of security – experiences of the Women in Black.
· What every citizen (woman and man) should know about the Serbian Orthodox Church, published by the Coalition for a Secular State, 40 pages, presents statements by high officials of the Serbian Orthodox Church on relevant social issues: women, war and war crimes, relationship toward the state, etc. It also points to clero-fascist and clero-nationalist tendencies of this Church.
· Peace Agenda for Women for 2008, 178 pages, dedicated to transitional justice – the feminist approach.
· Calendar for 2008, entitled ‘Kuvarice – Deconstruction of kitchen space and content.’
· Secularism and Women, 81 page, contains 3 chapters: 1) Secularism: concept, values, international documents, 2) Warning signs of fundamentalisms – feminist responses, 3) Stop clericalization: civic initiatives.

In addition, we have published leaflets and brochures on Women in Black activities, as well as on the issues we are dealing with.

Internal workshops, lectures, film screenings...
In addition to the usual meetings, encounters, activist exchanges, we have also organized the following in Women in Black offices:

- October 24^th – Iron Jawed Angels is a film about the suffragettes’ struggle for women’s right to vote in the US during WWI. Adriana Zaharijevic gave a lecture entitled “Feminism and pacifism” afterwards.
- December 12^th – Border Town is a film about femicide, mass murder of women in Juarez, Mexico. Katie, a volunteer of Women in Black from the US, spoke about her experiences in Juarez where she spent four months studying and working with illegal emigrants.

Within 16 days of activism against violence against women:
- November 28^th – All five is the first documentary film about a woman in the sex industry in Croatia, it is directed by Nenad Puhovski. Jelena Djordjevic gave a lecture entitled “Prostitution from a Feminist Perspective.”

This is a short overview of Women in Black activities from August to December 2007. If you are interested in more detailed information on any of these activities, feel free to contact us directly or through our e-mail.

(Report prepared by Stasa Zajovic)
Belgrade, January 8^th 2008