PRESS - Srdjan DizdarevicHelsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, eleventh year in a row, reported about a state of Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the PRESS Conference, held today, in the Human Rights House of Sarajevo, at the presence more that 20 media agencies, Srdjan Dizdarevic, president of the Helsinki Committee (right), shortly presented mayor sequences of their findings on HR situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005.

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. European Union

He believes that the onset of negotiations on stabilization and association with the European Union certainly represents the most important political event that marked the year 2005. Dizdarevic believes that the negotiations 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.

10 years after Dayton

Dizdarevic said that the marking of the tenth anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which established peace in BH, continued during the entire year, and that 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 BH are reduced to being members of the Serb, Bosniak and Croat ethnic group.

Inter-national relations

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. 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. – admitted Dizdarevic.

War crimes and the rule of law

The fact that the most responsible doers of war crimes, Karadzic and Mladic, remain unavailable to justice further encumbers the status of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that 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. – concluded Dizdarevic.

The full text of the Report is available (in Bosnian and English) on the web page of the BH Helsinki Committee: http://www.bh-hchr.org.