Address of Srđan Dizdarević, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in B&H
at the Solemn Observance of the Tenth Anniversary of the Helsinki Committee

Sarajevo, 12^th of February 2005

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends, Excellencies,

Exactly ten years ago, 55 founders of the Helsinki Committee gathered in one of the spaces of the National Theatre, and adopted a decision to establish the first non-governmental organization in our country, with a mission to protect and promote human rights and freedoms. We took this decision in the midst of the besieged city of Sarajevo, guided by our belief that such an organization that would gather the citizens on such a basis, would indeed be more than necessary in Bosnia and Herzegovina, once it starts healing its war wounds and establishing a democratic society in which each and every individual would and should enjoy all the rights provided for in international conventions.

In the past decade, we tried to provide protection and support to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of their national, ethnic, religious or political affiliation or gender, relying exclusively on the international standards that had been accepted by Bosnia and Herzegovina when taking the commitment to honor them. Unfortunately, we had to react in numerous cases of violation of human rights,  and we tried to assist the authorities of the country in meeting their obligations, and in making a step forward that was so very much needed if we were to see the values long ago accepted by civilized world prevail in our country.

All this time, we have been guided by the criteria of impartiality and objectivity.

To date, about 33,000 citizens of BH have asked for assistance and received it from the Helsinki Committee. We have organized eight Schools of Human Rights for youth, dozens of seminars, round tables, public debates, all with a view to improve the human rights situation and empower the citizens in their fight for their rights. The Helsinki Committee has become visible in public by its determination to stigmatize any instance of violation of human rights, and by its readiness to openly name without any calculation the negative phenomena and those implicated in them.

From day to day we ourselves confronted with human suffering and injustice, meeting people whose dignity has been shaken by arbitrary and unlawful acts, but we are also satisfied that we are in a position to be able restore people's faith and hope that justice will be done and righteousness prevail.

Without being overly pretentious, we from the Helsinki Committee could now say that this adventure was worth embarking on, and that the invested energies and dedicated efforts have paid off.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are now reaching the stage of maturity, and our primary challenge at the moment is to contribute to having Bosnia and Herzegovina become closer to entering the European Union. We will focus our activities on creating those preconditions in the area of human rights that will enable our country to satisfy the criteria of the respectable European family, that we indeed rightfully belong to. However, our primary goal is to make the life of our fellow citizens a better and a happier one.

We are about to adopt our organization’s strategy for the next mid-term period, in which we will lay emphasis on the strengthening of the rule of law, compliance with the international standards, education and dissemination of information on human rights, and provision of special protection to the vulnerable groups of citizens, children, women, victims of human trafficking, families of missing persons, people with disabilities, victims of domestic violence, disabled veterans and civilian victims of war, elderly people and pensioners, gender minorities and members of national, ethnic and religious minority groups. 

We intend to be more present among the young and among the population that lives far away from major cities, to mobilize the media so that they take a more active attitude toward human rights, and to expand the provision of legal aid services and make these services more effective.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Allow me to use this opportunity to express the most sincere gratitude to all those who took part in the work of the Helsinki Committee in the previous period, and to all those who supported us in our activities. I would particularly like to thank the founders of the Helsinki Committee, who had vision and courage to support the establishment of our organization. I would also like to thank all the members of the Helsinki Committee, and all the NGO activists who in their particular ways contributed to the protection of human rights and freedoms. I thank those representatives of the government authorities who have demonstrated openness for our suggestions and proposals, and readiness to enter into dialogue. I am grateful to the teachers and university professors, and to all those who contributed to educating and informing the citizens about the human rights and ways to protect them. Finally, I would like to thank all those that helped us to organize this Solemn Observance event, particularly the staff and the Director of the National Theatre.

I thank all of you who are present here today, for coming and sharing with us the joy of our tenth anniversary.