    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [June 29, 1996]
    [Pages 998-999]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Bosnian Women's Initiative Fund
    June 29, 1996

        Today, I am pleased to announce an initial contribution of $5
    million to establish the Bosnian women's initiative fund. A peaceful,
    prosperous Bosnia will require the full participation of its women.
        Many Bosnian women now find themselves sole providers for their
    families. They have lost

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    their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers. Despite the hardship they
    have suffered, these women have displayed incredible strength,
    endurance, and resourcefulness, qualities that are essential to
    rebuilding their country.
        To do this successfully they need resources. They need training.
    This initiative means loans for income-generating projects that women
    can do from home. It means loans to women-owned businesses or to
    companies where large numbers of women work. It means training in
    business management, marketing and accounting, farming techniques for
    those returning to agricultural communities, and in skills vital to
    rebuilding their country, like engineering, architecture, plumbing, and
    construction.
        The fund will be managed by the United Nations High Commissioner for
    Refugees (UNHCR) with international and national nongovernmental
    organization as implementing partners.
        Even as I am making this announcement, over 500 Bosnian women
    leaders are meeting in Sarajevo. They have traveled from every part of
    the region, crossing ethnic lines, to work together on plans to rebuild
    their country. These plans will be incorporated into this initiative,
    for it is the Bosnian women themselves who hold the key to their future.
        By providing new programs focused on women's reintegration into the
    Bosnian economy, we will enable them to support their families, to work
    as full partners in society, and to promote prosperity. I believe that
    the enhancement of Bosnian women's economic and political participating
    will help foster stability in the region.
        I urge our fellow members of the G-7 and other countries to join the
    United States in supporting this initiative and contributing funding for
    it.