At the sitting held on 8 March, the Gender Equality Committee members considered the Activity Report of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy Gender Equality Directorate for period January-December 2010.

The sitting was chaired by Gordana Paunovic-Milosavljevic, Committee Chairperson, who at the beginning of the proceedings pointed out that the Committee’s first sitting this year was scheduled for the 100^th anniversary of the International Women’s Day and congratulated the Committee members and all women in Serbia on the holiday.

The Gender Equality Directorate’s last year’s Activity Report was presented by its Director Natalija Micunovic. She said that the Directorate focused on drafting by-laws related to the Gender Equality Law, preparing an Action Plan for the realisation of the National Strategy for the Improvement of the Position of Women and monitoring the implementation of international documents in the field. They also concentrated on improving regional cooperation, as well as cooperation with state authorities, local self-government and international organisations and donors.

In the debate, the Directorate’s work last year received positive marks and the cooperation between the Committee and the Directorate was deemed very successful. The Committee members listed some issues which should receive more attention in the upcoming period such as the position of women in rural areas and monitoring of the implementation of the Gender Equality Law on the local self-government level.

The Committee unanimously adopted the Activity Report of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy Gender Equality Directorate for period January-December 2010.

The Gender Equality Committee’s 2010 Activity Report was debated in the continuation of the sitting. The Committee members opined that the Committee had worked intensively and considered numerous important issues in its purview at the nine sittings it held and the three roundtables and one public hearing it organised. The Committee’s Activity Report was adopted unanimously.

The Committee also unanimously adopted the Committee’s 2011 Work Plan with the proposals and suggestions made at the sitting.

At the end of the sitting the committee adopted a Conclusion urging all political parties which had not fulfilled their obligation stipulated in article 35, paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Gender Equality Law within the legal deadline (1 December 2010), to do so as soon as possible.