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Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The human rights record of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been criticised over a number of years by intergovernmental organisations including the United Nations Human Rights Council, the European Court of Human Rights and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, as well as international and domestic non-governmental organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been criticised for ethnic and religious discrimination in its treatment of ethnic and religious minorities such as the Romani people and the Jewish people. The government has also been criticised for its treatment of Internally Displaced Persons following the Bosnian War and its failure to provide asylum seekers with resources such as food, shelter and medical assistance. According to BH Novinari, the Bosnian Journalists’ Association, freedom of the media is an issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with journalists facing attacks, threats and pressure from government. Human rights non-government organisations have also reported interference in their work from the government. The Bosnian government has been criticised by the European Union for its slow response to domestically prosecute war crimes from the Bosnian War following the closure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in December 2017.

-      History

Ethnic conflict is prominent in Bosnian society. The three main ethnic groups are the Bosniaks, who are predominantly Muslim, the Croats, who are Roman Catholic, and the Republike Srpska who are Serbian Orthodox.

-      Ethnic and Religious Discrimination

In 2019 the World Bank published a report that found that discrimination against the Roma people is a significant problem in Western Balkan countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. The report found that Roma people, who comprise 1.7% of the Bosnian population, have more difficulty accessing basic services such as healthcare, education, employment and housing than the non-Roma population.

International non-government organisation Human Rights Watch identified in its Annual Report for 2020 that discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities remains a significant human rights issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian constitution prohibits ethnic minorities such as the Jewish people and the Roma people, which are the two largest minority groups in the country, from running for presidency.

The complexities of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina  are a result of the Dayton Peace Accords, which were signed in 1995 at the conclusion of the Bosnian War.

Due to the significant role that ethnic nationalism and ethnic identity politics play in Bosnian society, the Bosnian Constitution stipulates that the Presidency of the government must consist of three directly elected members. One presidential member is elected each by the Bosniaks, the Croats and the Serbs. A presidential candidate must identify with only one of these ethnic identities and is ineligible if they are a member of any additional ethnic groups, which prevents ethnic minorities, such as the Roma and Jewish people, from running for presidency, as well as anyone who belongs to more than one of the three main ethnic groups. Additionally, Bosniaks, Croats and and Serbs can only vote for one candidate, of their own ethnic group.

These ethnicity-based restrictions on eligibility to run for elected office are controversial, and have been criticised by international bodies such as the European Court of Human Rights. In the 2009 case of Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Bosnian Constitution was discriminatory and a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights. Dervo Sedjić, a Roma man, and Jakob Finci, a Jewish man, lodged complaints to the European Court of Human Rights that they were ineligible to run for Presidency and the House of Peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina due to their membership of ethnic minority groups, despite the fact that both men were Bosnian citizens.

-      War Crimes

In December 2017, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the United Nations’ court created to prosecute war crimes that took place in the Bosnian War, closed. Domestic courts have since been responsible for prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity that took place during the War. The United Nations Human Rights Council’s Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Compilation on Bosnia and Herzegovina reported concerns that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s domestic courts had been slow to complete prosecution of war crime cases.

-      Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons

As of 2020, 96 421 Bosnians continue to be classified as Internally Displaced Persons from the Bosnian War, which ended in 1995. Fifty-eight percent of Bosnians who left the country as refugees during the War are yet to return. The government-funded Regional Housing Programme has built 1000 homes to rehouse Internally Displaced Persons and Returnees.

Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticised the Bosnian government’s management of the recent influx of asylum seekers. Criticisms include the governments slow processing of asylum applications and failure to provide basic food, shelter and medical care for asylum seekers.

-      Women’s Rights

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina reports that violence against women is a widespread problem in Bosnian society. The Mission also reports that women are under-represented and marginalised in the private and public sectors.

-      International Responses

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe is a prominent intergovernmental organisation that operates a mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They work to restore peace and harmony in the region and promote human rights for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the Roma and Jewish people.