Throughout 2003, HCHR BH  monitored closely the human rights situation in different municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina . Lead by HCHR BH´s president Srdjan Dizdarevic, delegates from the Committee visited different cantons and municipalities in both entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina they visited Cazin, Velika Kladusa, Bosanski Petrovac, Sanski Most, Bihac, Jajce, and Bugojno. They had meetings with mayors, NGO members, trade unionists, teachers, students and people seeking employment.

 

During their visits, the delegates learned that the human rights situation differs in the two entities. For example, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the crucial Annex 7 of the Dayton Agreement is up to 97 % fulfilled. This means that property return claims are almost completely realised in these municipalities. In Republika Srpska, on the other hand, the right to repossess personal property has not been anywhere near as efficiently realised . In the municipalities of Foca/Srbinje and Visegrad, for instance, only 10% of those who were displaced by the war have been able to return to their homes. In addition comes all the instances of so-called “unstable return;” i.e. people returning to their homes, but living under such poor conditions that international standards remain far from being met. 

The statement expresses severe concern about the human rights implications of such huge inequalities within and discrepancies between the two entities. 

 

As for the violations of other human rights, among them the right to labour, social protection, various kinds of pensions and disability and health insurances, the situation is rather more similar in both entities. The reasons why these rights cannot be fully realised mostly relate to irregular privatisation processes, yet to be sufficiently regulated by the government. Combined with slow and ineffective enforcement of existing legislation, this opens up for opportunistic economic entrepeneurship or outright law evasion. The statement documents several cases of workers not receiving their salaries for months. Employers also often fail to provide their employees with proper social protection and health insurance. The shortcomings amount to blatant breaches of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

 

The statement concludes that the processes of transition and privatisation put people of Bosnia and Herzegovina under a lot of pain and pressure, and that local and national authorities alike are taking too long to find viable solutions. Without a single social programme working according to its intentions and no real effort being made to establish a sensitive relationship between authorities and the underprivileged sections of the people, the process is bound to get worse, says the statement, leading to financial depression and collective despair, in turn leading to various kinds of crime and violence.

 

Despite this rather pessimistic view, the statement also draws attention to the few improvements of the human rights situation that have been made. In the federal municipalities, the property return programmes have been an undisputable success. In addition, there is general agreement that thanks to a radical increase in police presence, and also improved professionalism and efficiency on the part of the police, people in Bosnia and Herzegovina now feel a lot safer than they did only a few years ago. Bosnia and Herzegovina is still a place where violent crime might still erupt, and the high profile held by the police in recent years has no doubt helped to prevent that.