In August this year, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) will overview the situation in BiH regarding racial discrimination in this country. All States parties, including BIH, are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented.

– Poor implementation of ICERD

Non-governmental sector of BiH has gathered around the Human Rights House of Sarajevo and formed NGO Coalition for CERD in order to deliver a list of issues regarding racial discrimination in BiH to the up-coming UN’s CERD session. They have expressed their regret since BH authorities have failed to effectively monitor implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina regularly, consistently and within the prescribed deadlines.

The issue of poor implementation of the Convention in BiH is even more serious, since the concept of racial discrimination also encompasses ethnic and religious discrimination, segregation and intolerance.  And according to assessments by human rights NGOs, such discrimination has been the main generator of human rights violations in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past years.

Even, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) stressed the same point to the BH Government, four years ago. But nor the CERD’s remark made four years ago, nor the December judgment last year of the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg on Sejdic-Finci case, were enough for BH Government to remove this discriminatory provision from the supreme legal act of the state of BH.

Some progress was made however, last year, when BH Government adopted the law that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, language, religion, ethnicity, national or social origin, national minority, etc. But one should bear in mind that this law is contrary to the Constitution of BiH, which itself, promotes discriminatory behavior.

– Current way of financing Ombudsmen institution inadequate

The Coalition also emphasizes that the current way of financing the Institution of BH Ombudsman, which is the responsible body for monitoring of the implementation of this law, does not guarantee independence nor protection of the ombudsmen from the pressures of holders of legislative and executive powers.

– Fascist organizations and Roma status

‘’There is no adopted legislation to prevent formation of fascist organization and use of fascist symbols in BiH. This encourages the expression of racist rhetoric, particularly during sport activities, graffiti calling for ethnically motivated violence or sending hate messages.  These phenomena in the great majority of cases remain unprosecuted, and their masterminds and indirect executors, unpunished”, warn the members of the NGO Coalition for CERD in BiH.

A special chapter of the list of issues made by the Coalition, is dedicated to the position of Roma in BiH, the most numbered national minority the country. The Coalition recognizes the great progress in this area, however all those governmental efforts can be interpreted as ‘’infertile’’, due to the fact that from the cantonal level, across BH entities to the state level – there is not one employed Roma person.

Organizations and activists signers of the list of issues to the CERD, are: Human Rights House of Sarajevo; Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Serbian Civic Council, Movement for Equality – SGV; Croatian People’s Council – HNV; Youth Initiative for Human Rights in BiH – YIHR; European Law Students’ Association – ELSA; Dervo Sejdic, Roma activist and Boris Kozemjakin, president of Jewish Municipality of Sarajevo, with the support given by the Human Rights House Foundation.

Full list of issues for CERD is available for download.

 

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HRH Sarajevo / Lejla Mazlic

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