The Mentoring Programme for legal professionals, an initiative of the EU and Council of Europe regional action “Women’s access to justice in the Western Balkans”, proved to be a unique tool for equipping justice professionals including judges and prosecutors with necessary resources to champion gender equality and incorporate international and European human rights standards into their daily practice. This was one of the main conclusions of the third Steering Committee meeting of the action which gathered partners and other stakeholders to analyse the lessons learned and main achievements in the efforts to improve women's access to justice in the Western Balkans.

During the discussions a recurring theme emerged: how to best mobilise legal professionals to take a more active role in countering the structural barriers women face when accessing justice. Legal professionals are key players in dismantling obstacles such as ingrained gender biases, limited access of women to legal aid, and gaps in gender-sensitive legal training. These issues are human rights concerns, directly impacting women's ability to access justice equitably. With the legal professional’s active engagement, they can bridge the gap between the legislative and policy frameworks and the actual women’s experience through the justice chain.

Participants further discussed strategies to encourage the legal community in the Western Balkans to integrate Council of Europe human rights frameworks, including the Istanbul Convention, into domestic practice.

The action’sSteering Committee meeting was held in the framework of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. It builds on practical resources for legal professionals developed under previous Council of Europe  initiatives on the topic of strengthening women’s access to justice.