Bosnia and Herzegovina's human rights NGO sector submits its UPR report

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s human rights NGO sector submits its UPR report

The Human Rights House of Sarajevo, on behalf of the Informal Coalition of Non-governmental Organizations for UPR of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has submitted its joint NGO Report for UPR to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. The Report represents the official standpoint of the NGO sector on the implementation of UN human rights standards in B&H.

The Informal NGO Coalition for UPR, facilitated by the Human Rights House of Sarajevo, was established in March 2009 by more than 30 non-governmental organizations. After several meetings with the authorities, the non-governmental sector and the media, the members of the coalition have conducted a joint NGO Report for UPR. The report is the NGO sector’s contribution to a more objective presentation of the human rights situation in B&H. Stated human rights issues in the Report and given recommendations to authorities, aim to strengthen civil society and improve the human rights situation in the country.

The joint NGO Report for UPR focused on thirteen different issues:

Discrimination;
Status of National Minorities;
Status of Human Rights Defenders;
Torture, Inhumane and Degradating Treatment;
Sexual Minorities;
Sex and Gender Based Violence;
Persons With Disabilities;
Right to Adequate Education;
Children’s Rights;
Social Rights;
Freedom of Expression;
Freedom of Association;
Corruption and Human Rights in B&H.

So far, the Human Rights House of Sarajevo has implemented a set of activities which included active involvement of human rights activists and experts, as well as the non-governmental sector throughout the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the UPR process.

The Human Rights House of Sarajevo has formed an informal coalition of non-governmental organizations for the UPR process, held a series of meetings with the NGOs who decided to take part in the creation of the joint UPR report, and also held several national consultation meetings with the Ministry of Human Rights of B&H. The Human Rights House of Sarajevo also organized a UPR seminar for journalists and a press conference, and had a broad public debate with the NGO sector in B&H on the draft of the joint report. The debate was visited by more than 50 representatives of non-governmental organizations from throughout B&H.

One of the next activities of the Human Rights House of Sarajevo in the UPR process is a continuous monitoring of the work of B&H authorities, especially regarding the recommendations made to the B&H Government that the B&H Government accepts, on its up coming UPR hearing in February 2010.

The Human Rights House of Sarajevo expresses its gratitude to Embassy of Switzerland in Sarajevo, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Human Rights House Foundation and the Human Rights House Network for providing financial, technical / editorial and moral support in the implementation of the project “UPR – Occasion to Strenghten Civil Society and Improve Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

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