Ajna Jusić, Alen Muhić and Lejla Damon, born as a result of sexual violence during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are winners of the Human Rights Award of the University of Oslo, which they will receive on December 5 in that Norwegian city.
Since 1984, this prestigious award, given through the Lisl and Leo Eitinger Foundation, has recognized outstanding personal efforts and active advocacy for human rights around the world. The three winners represent the organization “Forgotten Children of War”, through which they fight for the rights, dignity and legal protection of children born as a result of war and raising global awareness of their specific challenges.
Alen Muhić from Goražda points out that this award is confirmation that their struggle for rights, dignity and identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina is recognized.
– The University of Oslo proposed us as winners of the award in front of the Liesl and Leo Ettinger Foundation, which has been fighting for human rights since 1984. This is exactly what we do in the 21st century, only our stories are a little different. We honestly did not expect the award because it is a prestigious award, and it is certain that it is of great importance, especially for us in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where stories always remain untold. Our association is the first in BiH and the only one of its kind in the world. It was founded in Sarajevo in 2016 and has 11 members, although the number of people born as a result of sexual violence during the past war is significantly higher – Muhić said.
He points out that awards like this emphasize their struggle for the right to identity and dignity and are one of the key steps towards equality and freeing war children from stigmatization.
His and his colleagues’ courage and commitment strengthen the international community in understanding the difficult situations faced by war children, not only in BiH but also in conflicts around the world.
– What is very important to us is to recognize the children who came as a result of the wartime act of rape in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were also recognized by the law adopted two years ago as civilian victims of war in the subcategory of war rape, but they still do not exercise any rights. The legal battle for the recognition of this category started from the Brčko district, where those born as a result of sexual violence also exercise certain rights. The most difficult thing will be to fight for the recognition of this population in the Republika Srpska entity – concludes Muhić.
And while they are still on the margins in their country, Europe recognizes and gives importance to this category because the voice of the “Forgotten Children of the War” has so far been heard in Bern, Switzerland, Birmingham, England, and exhibitions have been organized in the Italian cities of Ravenna and Bologna.
The crown of all will be the Human Rights Award in Oslo.
-federalna.ba/Fena
Source: mreza-mira.net
