Report on the Status of HR in BH

The onset of negotiations on stabilization and association with the European Union certainly represents the most important political event that marked the year 2005. Negotiations that should represent the onset of the process of major and substantial changes officially started late November, and it should mean both meeting requirements for the accession to the European Union and improvements in the status of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in living standards, improvements in democratic freedoms and betterment in the status of human rights. The Copenhagen Criteria, which define criteria of the European Union for candidate countries, place the respect of human rights as one of important criteria which creates presumptions to promote the status of human rights in the country through the negotiation process both with regard to the legislation and application of high standards, which are thrust upon by the membership candidacy, in practice.

The marking of the tenth anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which established peace in BiH, continued during the entire year. It was a chance to open a discussion on the successes of that Agreement but also to scrutinize functioning of the state established under the Dayton Agreement as well as the reflection of such Constitution on human rights. Dominant position during the discussion was that Bosnia and Herzegovina is established as an expensive, non-functional and inefficient state, which should be reformed as to strengthen central authorities, regions and local self-rule. At the same time it was stated that the Dayton Constitution neglected a citizen – individual to the benefit of three constituent peopled by which citizens of BiH are reduced to being members of the Serb, Bosniak and Croat ethnic group. Therefore the Dayton Constitution must go through changes that would mean affirmation of citizens, their equality irrespective of in which part of the country they live and irrespective which nation or national minority they belong to. However agreement among ruling parties was not reached during 2005 thus no constitutional changes took place. One should mention here that, apart from representatives of civil society in BiH, both European Union, US administration, Venice Commission as well as a number of international institutes (think-thank) are committed to constitutional changes.

Inter-national relations are still loaded by attempts of ruling nationalist parties to preserve ethnic homogenization including preservation of territorial division on ethnic principles. There is still fear from the others and nothing is being done to boost tolerance and the respect to differences and the rights of members of other ethnic groups and national minorities. Leading persons in three dominant religious communities plays huge role in that. Constitutional solutions contribute to this situation since they are based exclusively on the ethnic principle that feeds nationalism. In the domain of human rights, this situation primarily leads to widespread discrimination on ethnic basis, which has negative reflection on the return of refugees and displaced persons. Discrimination on ethnic basis practically deters employment, adequate education, appropriate health and social care as well as the right to retirement.

The fact that the most responsible doers of war crimes, Karadžić and Mladić, remain unavailable to justice further encumbers the status of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is still behind in the implementation of reforms which should establish rule of law and equality of all citizens before law. Tardiness in the establishment of rule of law breeds numerous infringements of human rights, feeling of uncertainty among citizens and mistrust towards authorities.

At the end of November 2005, the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), operated with statistical data of the UNHCR, and stated that 50 percent of refugees and displaced persons returned to their homes since signing the Dayton Peace Accord, emphasizing that a real figure can be determined only after census.

The same source was reported as saying that 186,000 people registered to obtain a status of displaced persons within the process of re-registration conducted in 2005, and that, according to their estimate, there are million Bosnians and Herzegovinians in 137 countries of the world of whom the major part resolved the issue of their status through permanent residence permits, through obtained citizenship, etc.

Let’s remind ourselves that all previous assessments showed that about 2.2 million people, which is somewhat higher than half a pre-war BiH population, have changed their addresses of residence during the war. It means that, in accordance with the assertions of the Ministry, i.e. data of the UNHCR, ten years after the Dayton, more than 1 million people returned to their homes.

The UNHCR, at the moment of making this report, had data collected as of 30 September 2005, stated that altogether 5,599 persons, of which 1,099 from abroad, returned to their homes. Other returnees were in the category of internally displaced persons and refugees.

On the basis of the reports of its monitors, and on the basis of the results of the “fact-finding missions on the status of human rights” conducted in municipalities throughout BiH, on the basis of the data obtained from the Unions and Associations of Refugees and Displaced Persons, on the basis of the data obtained from the local communities, i.e. from the representatives of the governmental and non-governmental sectors, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot confirm the above-mentioned allegations. All collected data speak in favor of the assessment of the Union of Associations of Refugees and Displaced Persons in BiH, the President of which, Mirhunisa Zukic, claims that only one third of the total number of displaced persons and refugees returned to their homes. While assessing the process of return, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BiH, has dealt with the results of real return, respecting the right of each individual to select the place of residence.

It is absolutely impossible to establish the number of returnees. The mission of the Helsinki Committee, for example, could not obtain the total number of the population in Višegrad. The President of the Municipal Council says that there are in between 7,500 and 8,000 people, while the Mayor gave assessment that there are in between 15,000 and 18,000 people living in Višegrad today.

Having investigated how it was possible to come to the unrealistic figure of million and even more returnees, we found out that in the methodology used for monitoring the process of return, very often a simple summing up of those whose property had been returned and members of their family was done. It is easily to ascertain in the field that most frequently one or two elderly members returned to the repossessed apartment or house, staying there for a limited period of time – until they sell or exchange the property. In a large number of cases, the owners use their reconstructed houses as week-end houses, and there are also many who have certificate of registration at the pre-war addresses, and live and work in another Bosnian-and-Herzegovinian municipality, or abroad. For example, the UNHCR does not have data on how many of the above-mentioned 1,099 returnees from abroad live at their addresses. In addition, there is no any institution which keeps record on how many people from Bosnia and Herzegovina left their homes for the second time during 2005. Every day long queues in front of foreign embassies testify about that as well as newspaper articles on „organized“ transfer of people to France, Germany, or overseas.

The Federation Ombudsmen in their reports state that no one keeps precise record of the number of exchange or sale of the real estate. However, they give alarming data according to which about 2,500 apartments were sold and about 550 contracts on exchange of the apartments were concluded only in the municipality of Zenica; In the municipality of Kupres, 288 contracts on the sale of apartments were concluded, i.e. about 90% of the total number of housing fund and about 150 contracts on the sale of property; in Mostar, the sale of apartments exceeded the figure of 3,000 housing units, etc.

It can be easily seen that the population of returnees, particularly minority returnees, is mainly composed of elderly persons. There is an alarming example from Rogatica where the first returnee’s child was born in 2005, 10 years after the Dayton Agreement. Before the war, 13,209 citizens, who had lived there and declared as Muslims, became refugees.

There is less and less interest for real return, less and less interest of citizens to find an opportunity to go to the environments where they will be the majority, or somewhere outside BiH. It leads us to horrifying fact that ethnical cleansing is in the final stage in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The non-governmental organization, the “European Movement” from Banja Luka established that only two municipalities in BiH, i.e. Tuzla and Sarajevo Center, have more than ten percent of members of other peoples. Before the war, only 20 percent of the municipalities had a structure of population in which one people was represented by more than 50 percent of the total number of population. Today, the state is definitely divided on several one ethnicity territories. It can be illustrated with several examples:

More than 30,000 people displaced from other parts of BiH even today live in the Canton of Sarajevo. According to the assessment there are more than 3,000 those who obtained the status of displaced person in Sarajevo although they had never left the city – they can not return to their pre-war homes. People accommodated in the collective centers are in the most difficult situation. There are almost 4,500 such people in the Federation. Such centers are officially closed in the Republika Srpska, however, people who have no place to go still live in some of these run-down places.

On the other hand, the reconstructed houses in which no one lives can be seen in the field. In the local community Jeleč, municipality of Foča, there are presently 70 mainly elderly persons living in 36 households. There are not even as many during the winter months, and figures show that since 2000, when the first returnees returned, 120 houses were reconstructed, and that the number of people is less than the number of housing units. Even the school was reconstructed, but it does not operate because there is no one to attend it.

It has been officially said that the process of return of property was completed in 2004. It was assessed as successful. The governmental bodies competent for the implementation of this part of the Annex 7 even received the certificates for successful completion of the job, however, the local authorities in many environments have continued even during 2005 to obstruct it in many ways, failing to enforce the passed decisions on the right to repossession of the property. A large number of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are still deprived of their right to enjoy their own property.

The non-implementation of decisions is not the only form of obstruction of return and discrimination against the returnees. Local power-wielders, instructed by the nationalistic power structures, are more frequently in the function of impeding the returnees to exercise any of their fundamental rights. One of the most common forms of obstruction can be illustrated with the example of the Croatian returnees to the municipality of Derventa, who have been waiting already for six years for the low-voltage electric network to be reconstructed and connected to their homes. There are 150 households waiting for it. In the area of Ustiprača, 20 percent of returnees’ houses are also in darkness, the same as in the municipalities of Zvornik, Višegrad, Sanski Most, Glamoč and elsewhere throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. The situation is similar with water supply, roads, and in particular it is difficult to exercise the rights to health and social protection, or education. Disharmonized systems in the field of health care, pension funds, the existence of different school curricula, difference in the entity and cantonal legislation, the large number of subordinate decisions and legislation bring returnees in all the parts of the country into a discriminatory position.

However, the major obstacle to the sustainable return can be seen in the impossibility to exercise the right to work. The largest number of returnees is in the category of poor people. Everywhere, without exception, there is discrimination in employments of returnees in the municipalities, public institutions and public enterprises. The Constitutional amendment which provides for proportional ethnic representation in all public governmental bodies, including the courts, is not respected. Such ethnic representation in the aforementioned amendment is based on the 1991 census. In Bosanski Novi, there are about 6,000 Bosniaks today, mainly returnees, and only three of them work in the administrative bodies, one in the court and two in the education. In the municipality of Bosanska Krupa, where relatively good return of citizens of Serb ethnicity is recorded, only four non-Bosniaks are employed in public sector. In the field of education, in the municipality of Foča, only one Bosniak is employed, working as attendant in one multi-ethnic school „Sveti Sava“ at Tjentište.

Although the security of the returnees and their property has improved in 2005, we still record a large number of assaults on national and religious facilities and monuments, and there were some cases of physical assaults and the cases of destruction of property. The police are more efficient in their work, but there is still unbalanced number of employees from the ranks of minorities.

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BiH this time also expresses its concern because the authorities still fail to undertake measures in order to resolve many-year focal points and potential inter-ethnic conflicts in some cases, such as Kotorsko near Doboj where local authorities passed decisions to allow construction of houses for displaced Serbs on the appropriated private property. Already for years, Bosniaks have been claiming back their private land, and 126 Serb families ask for places to live in. In Sanski Most too, many-year pending court disputes relating to appropriation of the land of the citizens of Serb ethnicity have not yet been resolved. The authorities claim that „there is no law” under which illegally placed crosses at the Stolac Old Town and at the monument of victims of Blajburg at Radmilja can be destroyed, etc.

In addition to the ruling coalition parties, the great part of responsibility certainly rests with international community for bad results in return, status of returnees and changed demographic picture which has, after the Dayton Agreement, based the implementation of the Annex VII on compromises with domestic authorities, which they did not truly want. For the passed two years, the international community has been trying to present the process of return as being in the final stage or almost completed. Surely, all those who want to return will not be able to realize it in the next year, i.e. 2006, designated as the last year for return in the Strategy for Return. There are not nearly as many donors, while relying on domestic governmental bodies did not produce any greater results so far. Generally, everything finished on the rhetoric, i.e. that the issue of return is the issue of all issues and that the future and survival of Bosnia and Herzegovina depends on the results of the implementation of the Annex VII.

The funds of 13.6 million convertible marks are earmarked for the purpose of resolving the problems of refugees and displaced persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006, stated recently Ivica Marinović, Deputy Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of BiH and President of the State Commission for Refugees and Displaced Persons. „In order to meet all requirements for the reconstruction, it is necessary to have about 450 million euros“, stated Mario Nenadić, Assistant Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Let’s remind ourselves that the year 2006 is designated under the Strategy for Return as the year in which the process of return should be completed.

Inter-national relations remain encumbered by attempts of ruling nationalistic parties, primarily the SDA, HDZ and SDS, to maintain ethnic homogeneity. By nourishing fears from the others, insisting on the thesis that other two ethnic groups endanger status of their own nation, these parties manage to keep themselves in power.

Even though the BiH Constitutional Court passed the decision on the equality of the Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks as constituent peoples across BiH there is still strongly expressed a wish to establish domination of one ethnic group over the others in areas where it has demographic and political supremacy. Conservation of aggressive nationalism is helped by the fact that criminal laws do not foresee any sanctions against these deeds. Prosecutor’s offices do not react on these occurrences or on those of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia, which encourages extreme nationalism.

Fragile inter-national relations are additionally encumbered by the occurrences of ethnically motivated violence and even terrorism. Cases as this are being recorded during the year 2005:

There are numerous cases of defilation of religious objects and tombstones and writing of slogans, which incite hate:

The said as well as many other similar events help to sustain inter-national tensions and fear and prevent normalization of situation in the country. It is concerning that the police very rarely reveals perpetrators of these crimes. Even if the perpetrators become known courts either set them free or punish symbolically which encourages perpetrators.

The Law on Protection of National Minorities entered into force in 2003 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This law is based on the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities which was ratified by Bosnia and Herzegovina. BiH has not yet ratified the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages.

Although the Law on Protection of National Minorities was adopted more than two years ago, it is not being applied both because the necessary by-laws were not passed and because of the lack of political will.

Specifically, the Law enlisted 17 national minorities that live in BiH, however, there are no reliable data on their number since the last census was conducted in 1991, and in the meantime significant demographic changes took place due to the war and ethnic cleansing.

The Roma population is the largest minority in BiH, and according to the assessment the number varies from 80,000 to 85,000 presently living in BiH, while the activists of the Romani associations claim that there are in between 80,000 and 120,000 Roma people.

The position of national minorities is unfavorable, and they are in the vast number of case the victims of ethnical discrimination. Certainly, the position of Roma is the most difficult when speaking of national minorities. Their position is particularly difficult when it comes to employment, economical status and housing needs. Only 1.5% of Roma at working-age has employment as compared with about 50% of them who had employment before the war. The only Roma, Redžo Seferović, who had been working in the state service, was fired. In the area of Zenica – Doboj Canton, in the Federation of BiH, only six Roma are employed. In Visoko, one Roma is employed, while two Roma policemen are employed in Sarajevo and Tuzla Cantons each. In the chemical plant in Tuzla, two engineers of Roma nationality work. There are municipalities in which there are no Roma people employed.

The significant number of Roma people has not yet exercised their right to return to the houses and apartments in which they had lived before the war. In addition, the living conditions of Roma are extremely bad and do not meet the minimum standards. Most frequently they live in humid houses, without sanitary knots, running water and electricity.

The vast majority of national minorities is not entitled to free health protection, because that right belongs to employed persons, members of their families and pensioners.

As for the education, only 15% of Roma children complete compulsory eight-year education, and it should be noted that the girls in average interrupt schooling in the fifth grade of elementary school. There is high illiteracy rate of Roma.

The minority languages are not being used in the communication with authorities, including courts. There is no example of minority languages being taught in the schools. There are no printed media in Roma language, and there are only two radio stations that broadcast shows in this language from time to time.

We can point out as positive thing the establishment of the Council of Roma as a consultative body, but it has not yet achieved any noticeable results.

According to the information obtained from the Jewish communities, there are about 1,000 Jews living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) expresses its concern due to the fact that anti-Semitic books can be bought in BiH bookshops, including Mein Kampf and Zionist Protocols being interpreted as a threat against Jewish community. In the Islamic Youth Journal, SAFF, in the midst of January, an anti-Semitic text was published, offensively speaking of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and six million Jewish victims in the concentration camps during the Second World War.

The human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina are closely correlated with national affiliation, and we can not speak of the rights of national minorities as of the protected rights.

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina established the proposal of the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Law on Intelligence and Security Agency of BiH (OSA) at the end of November. By these amendments, which fit into the measures for suppression of terrorism, the powers and competences of this Agency have been enlarged. They foresee that OSA shall be authorized, “in extreme cases when it is necessary to protect human lives, property and other security interests of BiH, to arrest persons, take them in, and to identify their identity. “The amendments foresee that interrogation of a person brought in can last as long as it is necessary for collection of information of importance for the stated case but no longer than 6 hours, after which OSA is obliged to inform the Court of BiH on the conducted proceedings and hand over the person to the competent institution. According to the statement given by Dragan Mektić, Deputy Minister for Security, these amendments were passed in order to prevent conducts of terrorist acts.

This Proposal is a serious and unacceptable precedent directly affecting the field of human rights, giving the rights to the intelligence services which they should not have in accordance with the recognized international standards.

Under urgent procedure, the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH adopted the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Law on BiH Citizenship on 16 November. Under Article 8, paragraph 5 and 8 of the Adopted Law, the persons whose citizenship is being taken away are deprived of a possibility of appeal which is in contravention with the Article 14 of the International Pact on Civic and Political Rights as well as Article 6 of the European Convention on Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom and provisions of the Protocol 7 of the European Convention.

According to the statement given by Miodrag Pandurević, Assistant Minister of Civil Affairs, decisions on granted BiH citizenship will be subject to revision under the provided changes and amendments, which will, according to his assessment, include in between 1,200 and 1,500 naturalized persons.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only European country which has not yet returned persons extradited to the US authorities, imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay. The BiH authorities, primarily the Council of Ministers, have not undertaken necessary steps to protect the rights of the so-called Algerian Group that had been extradited in January 2002. The wife of one of the prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay has gone on hunger strike on 5th December because of such attitude of the authorities.

Enactment of the law which regulates the basis of the public broadcasting system and on the public broadcasting service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and non-functioning of the self-regulation instruments expressed through disrespect of the Press Code, are the two most significant features of media sphere during 2005.

The House of Peoples of BiH passed the Law on Public Radio-Television System of BiH on 5 October. Prior to that, the Constitutional Court of BiH passed a decision according to which the Law has not been to the detriment of the vital interests of Croatian people. The public broadcasting system in BiH, as regulated by the Law, is composed of Radio-Television of BiH (BHRT) in the territory of the entire state, Radio-Television of the Federation of BiH (RTFBiH), Radio-Television of the Republika Srpska (RTRS) and of the Corporation of the public RTV services in BiH. The Law defines that the Corporation has organisational units in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar.

The enactment of the Law means that major conditions from the Feasibility Study of the European Commission were met, which was also one of the prerequisites for the decision of the European Commission to recommend that negotiations on the process of stabilisation and accession commence. However, the laws should guarantee that all citizens of BiH shall through the public broadcasting system easier exercise one of the basic rights - right to timely, true and accurate information in future.

The issues that followed the passage and enactment of these two documents presented the encumbrance of the process of implementation. The Law on Public RTV Service was passed without votes of the Croatian representatives of the House of Representatives and without Croatian delegates of the House of Peoples. The same scenario happened with the Law on Public RTV Service of BiH. The Croatian representatives in the parliamentarian bodies insisted on establishment of three channels in three national languages. The member of the BiH Presidency, from the rank of Croatian people, Ivo Miro Jović, assessed the laws, prior to their adoption, as "racist", and several other political parties with Croatian denomination called citizens not to pay RTV fee. During the year, representatives of other two peoples also invited citizens not to pay the fee being unsatisfied with the production of programmes.

„Some quisling media obviously are tasked with obstructing the implementation of reforms by presenting untruth or distorted truth.. This is about Federation TV and “Slobodna Bosna”, as it has been assessed by the leader of the BOSS Party, Mirnes Ajanović, in April 2005, while the élite politicians with Serb denomination openly call media in Republika Srpska, first of all RTRS, to start “behaving like a supporter” like media in the Federation.

There is still expressed unhidden desire to have power over media or at least to exert influence on their editorial policy. In April, Dragan Davidović, Director of the Public RTV Service stated that RTV of RS was fully independent in making its editorial policy, and that because of that it was permanently under pressure of mafia and criminal groups, which, at any cost, wanted to put them under their control. Pressures are not exerted only by the parties. So, this year also, reisu – l – ulema Mustafa Cerić, the leader of the Islamic Religious Community, did not restrain himself from giving dangerous assessments of media. He used a religious gathering to say that the FTV brings “Bosnian Muslims into connection with an alleged international terrorist network”, and spreads “fear among Muslims” and instigates “those who have not finished killings to do it”. Without denying the right to anybody to criticise the work of media, the Helsinki Committee deems that the vocabulary and wording used by Cerić on that occasion present dangerous accusation and does not contribute to the establishment of tolerance and understanding, and puts journalists into a position of an open target for all forms of attacks.

The assessment of the Helsinki Committee is that the public broadcasting system with four legal entities is too complex and expensive, and it is difficult for such a system to be efficient. The organisational structure in this case also adhered to the bad Dayton solutions, giving advantage to the rights of a collective rather than to an individual – citizen. Hence, we should not be surprised about the expressed opinion that the three production centres in Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Mostar present embryo of future mono-ethnic centres – Serb, Bosniak and Herzegovinian, although the Law (Article 26) guarantees all the national, language and other rights. Politicians, guided by everlasting desire of their party leaders to have “their media” and “their journalists”, and all this under the cover of equality or being endangered, succeeded in a way in realising the idea in regard to division of media area into three parts. Profession was least taken into consideration in the process of passing and enacting the laws, and present situation in BHRT and RTFBiH can be best illustrated by the fact that at the end of the year the employees were forced to ask for their rights by means of strike and symbolic suspension of broadcasting the programme.

There were also open and sometimes aggressive pressures over media in 2005. To mention only some of them:

There is an increasing number of hidden and subtle pressures over media on the scene. The aim is to directly affect on the editorial and programming policy, as well as orientation of media, to keep the quantity and quality of information under control. Lack of advertising presents one of the most efficient instruments for making economic pressure over media in BiH. For example, “Front Slobode” from Tuzla ceased publication after 62 years, and one of the reasons for that is that the government of the Tuzla Canton found provisions by which advertisements and tenders can not be advertised in this newspaper. That the politics dictate marketing can be confirmed by the fact that there are few firms from the territory of this canton that advertised in “Front Slobode”.

During 2005, the status of journalists has become even worse, and according to the knowledge and assessment of the Helsinki Committee, they are, due to unresolved status, in such a situation that their rights arising from labour rights are being seriously violated. There are cases of delay of salaries for several months to media employees, and contributions for pension and health insurance are not being paid. Ilegal work is present in a large number of media. That phenomenon is outside the interest of and response from authorities. There is particularly present exploitation of young journalists who gladly accept “chance” to express themselves in media. The first enquiries as to the salary throw them out on a street. Željko Mitrović, the owner of TV Pink BiH, following the „reduction“ of the number of employees, delivered notices of dismissal to 18 employees at the beginning of the year, and when they reacted and asked for earned money, he stated: „I can not understand, even less accept that the employees organise trade union in a private firm. Tito’s regime shall not be applied“.

The Press Council and media monitors of the Helsinki Committee warn of the expressed disrespect of the Press Code. It is most frequently manifested through disrespect of privacy and lack of providing an opportunity to reply. The news that finish tragically, with murders, suicides, sufferings in different accidents are often illustrated with photographs, and with, most frequently unnecessary, full identification of a victim.

There is still noticeable lack of sensitivity for gender issues in media, and there are still marginalised groups of people, such as the members of ethnic minorities, persons with special needs, gender and sexual minorities. The public is not sufficiently acquainted with everyday discrimination experienced by these categories of population, and consequently, the attitude of the public towards them is based on prejudices, stereotypes and lack of knowledge. The rights of the child are also being seriously violated through media, and for that reason the Press Council in April 2005, on the basis of its statute, harmonised amended text and incorporated it into the existing Article 11 of Press Code relating to the protection of children and juveniles: „When dealing with the issue of children and juveniles, the journalists are obliged to act with utter thoughtfulness, respecting good customs and the Convention of the Rights of the Child, first having in mind the interest of the child. The journalists must not take photographs of children at age of less than 15 years nor interview them in regard to the child’s family if parents are not present or without a permit given by parents or guardians. The journalists are obliged to protect the identity of the child in proceedings in which public is excluded. Newspapers and periodicals can disclose the identity of children younger than 15 years carefully and with responsibility in cases in which they were victims of criminal offences. Under no circumstances, newspapers and periodicals are allowed to identify children at age of less than 15 years if they are involved in criminal cases as witnesses or as accused“.

There are also violations in regard to instigating and inciting religious or ethnic hatred, untrue and unfair reporting, and avoiding making clear difference between comments, assumptions and facts. Particularly dangerous are still present cases of language of hatred based on advocating the intolerance, chauvinism, and even anti-Semitism.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) there are legislative regulations guaranteeing rights to aliens in BiH in accordance with the international standards, including the right to asylum. They are established by the Constitution, the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum (Law) from 2003 and the Book of Rules on Asylum from 2004.

The very preamble of the Constitution of BiH states that it is inspired by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, international pacts on civil and political rights, on economic, social and cultural rights, as well as by other human rights instruments. Annex I to the Constitution lists additional agreements on human rights which shall apply in Bosnia and Herzegovina, relating to, among other things, the issues of asylum and asylum seekers.

Pursuant to Article 35, item 3 of the Law, an alien, who has been granted residence in BiH for humanitarian reasons, shall be entitled to work, and shall have ensured education, health and social care under the same conditions as the citizens of BiH. According to the BiH legislation, their lives cannot be arbitrarily taken, they may not be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

“Aliens shall not be returned or expelled in any manner whatsoever to the frontier of territories, where their life or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, whether or not they have formally been granted asylum. The prohibition of return or expulsion also applies to persons in respect of whom there are grounds for believing that they would be in danger of being subjected to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Nor may aliens be sent to a country where they are not protected from being sent to such a territory”, is provided by Article 34 of the Law.

Until 1 July 2004, the applications for asylum were submitted to the UNHCR. Ever since that date it has been within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Security, which by 21 November 2005 received 135 applications for asylum for 218 persons (one application can relate to several persons). By the end of November 2005, 83 requests for 125 persons were denied. None of the requests was approved.

There has not been established yet a specialized institution in BiH for sheltering asylum seekers. By the end of 2005, Rakovica should have become an asylum center exclusively, but it has not happened. According to the data from the end of November of the current year, 133 persons, 70 of male gender and 63 of female gender are accommodated there. 61 of them are asylum seekers, 60 have the status of temporary admitted persons and 12 of them are persons with a refugee status. The status of the majority of the temporary admitted persons has been continuing for seven years already. By the decision of the Council of Ministers, their temporary admittance has been extended till 30 June 2006. They come from various countries: Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Moldova and Ethiopia.

They live in inadequate conditions, in wooden prefabricated shacks. Despite the efforts of the dwellers and employed staff, the facilities look neglected. The equipment is inadequate and old. Each shack has one common kitchen and one bathroom for both men and women.

Food lacks variety and is insufficient, particularly for single persons who, like the others in the Center, prepare their meals themselves. According to the standards established, each individual receives monthly a monotonous and modest ration in terms of quantity, the value of which is less than 17 euros, plus 7,5 euros for their own needs. Children and nursing mothers receive 5 to 7 liters of milk per month. Each dweller receives a loaf of bred daily.

The dwellers are provided with primary health care. The contract is concluded with the Health center Ilidža. The chronic patients are provided with transportation to the health institution and medication partly. Still they must buy those medicines that are not listed as free of charge. Provision of the secondary health care is carried out in cooperation with the UNHCR. In general, the asylum seekers obtain and exercise the right to hospitalization with difficulty.

There are no cultural events in the camp, except occasional workshops for women and indoor football tournaments. All ten employees in the camp work on the basis of temporary service contracts concluded with the Ministry of Security. None of them has a permanent employment, nor health and social insurance.

The majority of asylum seekers are the Romanies from Kosovo. Registers of births, marriages and deaths have been transferred to Serbia, and after June 1999 the UNMIK issued new documents to the citizens of Kosovo. The problem of documents of the country of origin is present in this case and seemingly unsolvable, because the BiH Ministry of Security has no cooperation at all with the UN Administration in Kosovo. Those who have been in the camp for seven years already with the status of temporary admitted persons express their dissatisfaction and depression. They are overwhelmed with insecurity in respect of return to their former homes. Namely, if they want to get a donation for renewal of their houses in Kosovo, they can do it only if they cancel their registration with BiH and sign that they return voluntarily to their country of origin and register their permanent residence there. However, majority of them is not ready to take this step due to economic and safety-wise insecurity in Kosovo.

The UNHCR staff states that there are TAP persons (temporary admitted persons) in BiH. Some of them have had that status for seven years already. Most of them are the persons from Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) with which BiH has signed an Agreement on Dual Citizenship, according to which the SCG citizens, who have had an approved residence in BiH for more than three years, are entitled to apply for the citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Such persons, according to the allegations of the UNHCR, are faced with discrimination by the BiH institutions, because their applications for citizenship are being denied.

In case of children, infringements of the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be registered, i.e. there are cases of failure to act in the best interest of the child. On the occasion of the visit to the camp in Rakovica, the Helsinki Committee noticed inadequacy of the living conditions. Although they have access to educational institutions and the majority of the children attend school and have transportation to the schooling facility provided, the children from the Rakovica camp live in prefabricated facilities, with common bathrooms, where exercise of the right to privacy of the child and harmonious development of child's personality is severely hindered.

Playroom for the preschool-age children is organized in a container of less than 10 m², damp and dirty, without water and toilette. A social worker also resides and works, mainly with women, in such a container.

It is not a rare case that persons, caught in transit at the border without required documents are brought into the camp, escorted by the police. During the night, or a day or two later, they leave the camp and go in the unknown direction. In such cases, a violation is committed in terms of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum, because nothing is known about their destiny, and it can only be assumed that such persons continue to stay illegally in the territory of BiH or become victims of trafficking in human beings.

The Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum precisely specifies the expulsion measures and the reasons for the pronouncement of an expulsion measure. The Law also regulates the manner of execution of the decision on expulsion. The Helsinki Committee notices that, in fact, there is no coordination of the competent bodies from the moment the decision on expulsion is rendered and final decision on the appeal submitted until the moment when a certain person must leave the country. It other words, in case of persons who were denied asylum or persons who received the decision on expulsion, nobody monitors in most cases their further destiny and movement.

The Ministry of Security has no data on the number of illegal immigrants in BiH. There is no center for such persons at all. Thanking to the funds of the European Union, such a center should be built next year in Istočno Sarajevo (Eastern Sarajevo).

The State of Bosnia and Herzegovina embodied into the legislation of the country a whole set of international documents pertaining to human rights and freedoms, among which is the Declaration on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. The Beijing Declaration and the Action Platform were signed. The Law on Gender Equality was passed (June 2003) at the state level. Instruments for its implementation were anticipated. Gender centres are established at the state level and at the level of the Entities. Legislative assemblies of the state, Entities, Cantons and the Brčko District established Gender Equality Commissions.

Notwithstanding signed documents and passed laws human rights of women are insufficiently respected.

According to the assessment of demographists 51 % of the total number of population represents female population. Around 40 % of working age population is unemployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, out of which 46.8 % are female workforce. One should mention here that these are percentages registered with employment bureaus. 20 % of BiH population lives below the poverty line and 30 % is on the verge. This economic and social picture in Bosnia and Herzegovina most severely affects the most vulnerable groups – women, children and the old.

Access of women to employment possibilities, particularly if they are over 35 years of age, is extremely difficult. New owners of privately- owned companies often put forward requirements not related to training and work abilities. Age of applicants, their look, readiness to renounce having children are some of the criteria required by employers.

The field of health and social care does not fall within the competence of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it is a competence of the Entities, Cantons and the Brčko District.

Approximately 59 % of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not covered by health insurance. Even if they are entitled to health insurance the level of technical and personnel equipment in health institutions is uneven or does not cover the most important health needs of women. There are numerous examples thereof. Drvar Municipality does not have maternity clinic and childbearing women are forced to travel up to 100 km to get adequate medical assistance.

Domestic violence or violence against wives and children in Bosnia and Herzegovina shows an upward trend and represents a direct consequence of poverty and economic and social status of family and post-war trauma. Women as victims of violence, most often are subject to violence by members of their close family – husband, father, son, and it is not so rare that they are victims of violence and their environment. This could be corroborated by several examples:

A research is done by the School of Political Science and in line with information from and analysis made by the police it states that the registered number of cases of family violence where the police intervened in 2004 is 2,869 cases in 15 BiH cities. 1,233 cases were processed and ruled by court. Analysing 20 % cases brought up a data that physical violence was in question in 40 %, and psychical violence in 28% of cases.

Nongovernmental organizations were the first ones in BiH, which to the response to this problem established 5 institutions – „Safe Houses “ as well as SOS telephone for victims of violence.

These non-governmental organizations still do not get appropriate financial support from the state for the work of Safe Houses. Admittance of users to the Safe House is done in coordination and with assistance of police authorities, social services and other subjects who are directly involved in solving domestic violence.

The existing Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and the Gender Equality Law were insufficient way out of the problem and the Law on the Protection from Domestic Violence in the Federation of BiH was passed in April 2005 and its ultimate goal is prevention but also repressive actions in solving domestic violence problem, protection of victims and punishment of violence-prone persons.

One cannot neglect the fact that standardization regarding the level of pronounced sentences in court trials was not ensured across Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus sanctions are not even-levelled, which decreases the effect of all enacted laws.

When it comes to human trafficking and particularly human trafficking in women, Bosnia and Herzegovina represents a transit country from east to west. Most regularly registered emigrants are Albanians, Iraqis, Kurds, Chinese, Ukrainians, Moldavians and Romanians as established by fifty-odd prosecutors and representatives of the police force on seminars on human trafficking.

Particularly worrying is a warning given by nongovernmental sector, founders of „Safe Houses “, that they accommodate girls-citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina more and more often, which shows that our country is not only a transit country but more and more often a country of origin of victims of human trafficking.

It is very difficult to get data on the number of victims in human trafficking since there is no unique database at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina but as illustration 30 girls mostly from BiH and Montenegro were accommodated in Safe House of NGO Lara – Bijeljina at the beginning of 2005. The report of the Internal Organization for Migrations (IOM) says that from 1999 till the beginning of this year 817 victims of human trafficking were registered of which 12 % were juvenile girls.

More and more often families report disappearance of girls presuming that they might have gone abroad and married there. Particularly striking was an event near Modriča, when the disappearance of 13 girls was reported one of whom returned back with no kidney, spleen and one more organ, while others have not been found since. Similar cases happened in other areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Decision on the Procedures and Manner of Coordinating Activities to Prevent Human Trafficking and Illegal Immigration in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the establishment of the office of the State Coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina led to the enactment of the updated State Action Plan to Fight Human Trafficking for the period 2005 – 2007. This Plan defined new goals in fighting human trafficking in next three-year period and new program papers for operative actions were developed for each new year during this period. This should represent an adequate reaction of state structures to this form of organized crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As for participation of women in politics nongovernmental sector considers it inadequate and unsatisfactory.

At general elections in 2002 14.3 % women were elected to the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, 21.4 % to the House of Representatives of the BiH Federation Parliament, 16.9 % to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, 21.9 % to Cantonal Assemblies in the BiH Federation, 21.7 % to Municipal Councils.

Major imbalance is in representation of women in executive authorities. In the BiH Council of Ministers women are represented with 28.57 %, and in the BiH Federation Government with 6.25 %.

Almost identical example is when you consider the number of women at presidential offices of working bodies in the Parliamentary Assemblies where women representation is 22.77 %.

The Helsinki Committee is, above all, dedicated to the fact that the field of health and social care should be uniquely solved at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to reach balance and equal approach in the quality and scope of the exercise of these rights for all women and vulnerable groups.

Furthermore we believe that the harmonization of local legislation with European standards in the field of human rights when it comes to the exercise of the right of women should be considered seriously and more attention should be paid to gender equality issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is incorporated into the legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Constitution of BIH – Annex 6, amendment to the Annex) and thereby it took over an obligation to carry out all the necessary activities with the aim to implement this Convention. In September 2000, our state signed and took over the obligation arising from the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The rights of the children in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not present the priority issue in practice, either of political or legislative actors, as well as other subjects who, under their policies and activities, should have an obligation and responsibility to protect the realization of the human rights and freedoms of the youngest population. It is assessed that children make 1/3 of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees under the auspices of the UNICEF developed the Plan of Action for the children of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2002 – 2010 which include the areas of particular significance for strengthening the position of children, as well as priorities for their protection. It should be noted that this is the first document related to the children and intended for the children.

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees established the Council for Children as a working-consultative body, aimed at strengthening and promoting children’s rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in line with it to present the problems, to prepare recommendations, reports, analysis, etc. for the Council of Ministers, as well as for all other competent bodies and institutions that are in charge of these issues. The state Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education (June 2003) is the most concrete contribution by the legislative assembly of BiH, which, among else, provides for the principles in education: the right of the child to education, the significance of children’s rights, promotion of respect for human rights, freedom of movement, as well as all other issues in regard to the work of educational institutions. All other issues relating to the protection of human rights and children’s human rights are not under their competence.

Specifically, protection of children and their rights are under the competence of the Entities, i.e. cantons, and the Brčko District, thus, all legislation and subordinate acts are passed by these legislative assemblies. Such system of government directly affects on the scope and quality of children’s protection and rights, i.e. on their discriminatory position in access to health and social protection, education and access to media outlets.

In the economic and social position of citizens and apparent poverty of the society in which 20% of the population live below the general line of poverty, the children are exposed to special risks. 60% of children in BiH are not covered by health insurance. It is appalling that around 50% of disabled persons do not have health protection, and it is believed that around 5% of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina relates to the disabled children, who, in a large number, are not covered by health protection. According to the data of the UNICEF, out of 1,000 born children, 8 children do not live to the 5^th birthday, and of a particular concern is a fact that many parents do not register either the birth or death of their children. Around 15% are not vaccinated i.e. re-vaccinated against infectious diseases, 45% do not have running water in the houses in which they live, 5,6% of them are not included into the primary education[1], and it is recorded that children at the age of 10, and even younger, are subject to economic exploitation.

Children who are still with their parents in collective refugee and asylum centers, in which the accommodation capacities and living conditions are below human dignity, are in an extremely difficult situation. The transportation to the school is not provided to the children, particularly in rural environments. They often go on foot, even for more than 7 kilometers (village Branjevo – municipality of Zvornik – 350 pupils), which certainly affects on the security of the youngest ones.

The introduction of nine-year primary education is not followed by technical equipping of the schools, there is a shortage of teaching tools, the classrooms are unadapted, and a large number of schools do not have sufficient financial resources to cover material costs, particularly for heating. In bigger urban centers there are ongoing activities related to inception of video surveillance aimed at preventing criminal offenses and preventing the children from being maltreated by some delinquent groups (maltreatment in regard to the extortion of the money, taking away of mobile phones, and recruitment for illegal sale of narcotics). In some environments, special protective measures are being introduced, such as building of high wire fences.

It is alarming situation in which the school age children are being divided by ethnicity and that there is a practice of open segregation and apartheid. Forty seven schools in BIH work upon the principle of “two schools under the same roof“. They work on the basis of two separate curricula, with an explanation that the aim is to preserve the right to own culture, language. The competent authorities and the coalition political partners, SDA and HDZ, support this practice in local communities, thus being direct accomplices in disrespect of domestic legislation and in violating the numerous international documents pertaining to the human rights.

A burning issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina is certainly the issue of the violence against children. The children are subject to all forms of violence – from economic, physical, and mental to sexual. Violence against children is present primarily in the family, but also on the streets and in the schools.

There is an increase of the domestic physical violence, where, according to some data and assessment obtained from the established shelters for victims of domestic violence, each fourth family, i.e. children from each fourth family are victims of some form of domestic violence.

In accordance with the report of the Department for the Protection of Human Rights at the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest number of cases of violence in BiH is recorded against female children at age of 7 to 16 years. It is considered that in BiH there is a lack of resources to be directed to services dealing with prohibition and prevention of violence.

It is of a particular concern the increase of sexual violence against the children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with pedophilia, as well as sexual abuse of children. There are everyday newspaper headings testifying about it, within the black chronicle – „a juvenile neighbor raped two boys“, „father sentenced to prison who sexually abused minor daughter for four years, and beating his son with his fists and wooden sticks” and similar. Attached are several examples:

Moreover, it has been recorded that the minors make contacts via internet and provide sexual services for 6 KM (around 3 EURO), in order to collect money to buy drugs. There is a well known case where the President of one Roma association warns that Roma girls at age from 10 to 15 years are sold at the price of up to 50,000 KM (around 25,000 EURO).

The major part of these cases are processed and sanctioned, but due to different standards applicable in the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the pronounced penalty measures for the same act depend on the place of a trial, thus the accused is sentenced to different sentences to prison, which is inadmissible when proceedings relating to children and their rights are in question.

A group of domestic non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the UNICEF and the Save the Children organization made a report on the cases of trafficking in children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the obtained data, in between 110 and 160 children were identified as subjects of trafficking for the purpose of sexual abuse in the period from 1999 and 2003. The majority of victims are older than 14, and few of them are at age of only 10 years, and almost all cases refer to girls.

Unfortunately, despite the alarming data published in the aforementioned report, there is no major response to it, and we do not have any information of whether this report has been more seriously discussed at any of the official governmental bodies in BiH.

Media, as powerful means of communication with the public, particularly printed, have rather sensationalistic approach to reporting, with an aim to enlarge the press run, without taking into consideration the obligation of media to protect the privacy and identity of the child.

UNICEF’s brochure „the Media and the Children’s Rights” has been made to assist the journalists writing about the children to work with responsibility and to provide security for the children, but it is not sufficiently used in practice.

The Helsinki Committee deems that the authorities should start thinking of introducing the Fund for Children of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to provide the children with almost the same conditions for exercising their rights, primarily in the fields of health and social insurance, and child’s allowance.

[1] Initial report of the Council of Ministers of BiH on the application of the International Pact on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina , for the period 1993 - 2003