The Council of Europe project "Women's access to justice in the Western Balkans" has concluded with a conference in Strasbourg on 13–14 October 2026. Participants from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership gathered together to reflect on results, share knowledge and discuss future co-operation on gender-responsive justice.
Alexandre Stutzmann, EU Ambassador to the Council of Europe, and Hallvard Gorseth, Council of Europe Director of Equal Rights and Dignity, opened the conference. The event brought together judges, prosecutors, judicial training institutions, local and international experts, as well as representatives from the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) and the European Court of Human Rights.
Key takeaways from the conference
Discussions on barriers and promising practices highlighted the systemic obstacles women face when seeking justice, while spotlighting encouraging developments at local and regional level, including positive approaches to data collection that can support evidence-based policy and monitoring.
Council of Europe standards — including GREVIO monitoring under the Istanbul Convention, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the work of the Department for the Execution of Judgments — were reaffirmed as key benchmarks against which progress in gender-responsive justice is measured.
The project's mentoring programme for judges and prosecutors was recognised as a distinctive and impactful contribution, significantly strengthening the capacities needed to apply a gender-responsive approach in judicial practice. In the words of one mentor, “We need to try to put ourselves in the shoes of women seeking justice. Mentoring can be transformative in helping us understand them and deliver better-informed justice”.
“World café” format discussions and plenary exchanges identified concrete opportunities for further joint action, with rapporteurs presenting shared takeaways as a foundation for future co-operation across the Western Balkans, Europe and beyond.
The conference concluded with a reaffirmation of the commitment to sustaining progress on gender-responsive justice, with the shared goal of ensuring equal access to justice for women and men across the region.
About the project
"Women's access to justice in the Western Balkans" is implemented by the Council of Europe and co-funded by the European Union, within the framework of the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye III. This project supports the implementation of Council of Europe standards on gender equality and on combating violence against women across the region. For more information, visit the project page.
