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Participants carry a rainbow colored flag, during Sarajevo’s second pride parade, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14 August 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/FEHIM DEMIR
Bosnia and Herzegovina unveiled its first ever strategy to improve the rights and freedoms of LGBT people on Wednesday, a step towards bringing human rights protections in the country into line with European Union standards.
Adopted by the government in July and presented by the state Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees, the 2021-24 LGBT Action Plan is the first of its kind in Bosnia, addressing hate speech, freedom of assembly, family law, transgender rights, prejudice and stereotyping.
In theory, the plan should pave the way towards regulation of same-sex civil partnerships, help transgender people with access to medical services and changes to personal documents, and ease freedom of assembly.
“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, human rights and fundamental freedoms are the foundation of the constitutional set-up, while numerous international agreements in the area of human rights represent not only international obligations but also a pillar of the country’s constitutions,” the plan states.
In its latest report on Bosnia, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance underscored the need to ensure a consistent strategic framework on human rights, including adoption of a strategic framework for the protection of LGBT persons. The EU has made similar calls, citing the European Convention on Human Rights.
“Arising from these universally accepted standards are the obligations to respect, ensure the enjoyment of and protection for the rights of all individuals and groups in the society irrespective of their personal or group identity,” the plan says.
Also on Tuesday, the ministry presented a report on mapping hate speech.
According to the report, there is no official data on the number of incidents of hate speech or what responses were undertaken. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, does its own monitoring.
“Bosnian legislation has established various mechanisms to offer protection against hate speech,” the report says. “One part of these mechanisms is intended to prevent, and the other to sanction, hate speech.”
“Criminal laws in the country govern the role of the police, prosecutors and courts in terms of sanctioning hate speech as well as of bodies who have a duty to report crimes and testify in criminal proceedings.”
“However, criminal law sanctions have limited reach and apply only to speech that concerns national, racial and religious hatred. Furthermore, a relatively low number of individuals are prosecuted for hate speech crimes.”
