• Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina

    The government missed several deadlines to make constitutional changes needed to end discriminatory restrictions on Jews and Roma holding political office. Roma remain subject to widespread discrimination. Two decades after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there was virtually no progress on implementing a strategy to facilitate the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their pre-war homes. The prosecution of war crimes in local courts is hampered by inadequate capacity and funding. Several foreign nationals are subject to indefinite detention without trial on national security grounds. Journalists remained vulnerable to threats and attack.

  • Balkans: Rights Protections Lagging
    Jan 31, 2013
    Human rights protection in the Western Balkans fails to match the region’s aspirations for European integration, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. Human Rights Watch documented human rights concerns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo during 2012.
  • EU/US: Press Rights Issues on Balkans Visit
    Oct 29, 2012
    United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton should emphasize the importance of improving human rights records in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia and Kosovo during their Western Balkan tour.
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Reports

  • Second Class Citizens
    Discrimination against Roma, Jews, and Other National Minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Justice for Atrocity Crimes
    Lessons of International Support for Trials before the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Still Waiting
    Bringing Justice for War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Cantonal and District Courts
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Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Denying Genocide Won't Promote Reconciliation
    Apr 10, 2013

    A public debate at the UN on April 10 will serve up a revisionist denial of the worst killings in Europe since the end of World War II: the ethnic slaughter in the former Yugoslavia that horrified the world in the 1990s. While the session's ostensible purpose is to take "a closer look at the long-term impact of international criminal justice, in particular as it relates to reconciliation..." it is unlikely much thoughtful discussion will occur. 

  • Balkans: Rights Protections Lagging
    Jan 31, 2013
    Human rights protection in the Western Balkans fails to match the region’s aspirations for European integration, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. Human Rights Watch documented human rights concerns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo during 2012.
  • Too little to celebrate - Dayton Continues to Fail Bosnia’s Minorities
    Nov 21, 2012
    On November 21, 1995, the EU and US brokered the Dayton peace agreement, putting an end to the three-and-a-half-year bloody war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The agreement failed to tackle the division that the war had wrought, though, instead establishing a loose federation along ethnic lines. The hope was that in time, as wounds healed, and with the political, military and economic support of the US and EU, a country that fully respected equality and other human rights would emerge.
  • EU/US: Press Rights Issues on Balkans Visit
    Oct 29, 2012
    United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton should emphasize the importance of improving human rights records in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia and Kosovo during their Western Balkan tour.
  • Bosnia is Learning Wrong Counterterrorism Lessons
    May 16, 2012
    Continued detention of Imad Al Husin - who has never been charged with a crime - shows Bosnia has taken steps in the wrong direction when it comes to balancing human rights against national security issues.
  • ICTY/Bosnia: Start of Mladic Trial Shows Persistence Pays
    May 14, 2012

    The opening of the trial of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb wartime military commander, is a salient reminder that justice catches up with those accused of atrocity crimes. Mladic’s trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide is scheduled to begin on May 16, 2012, before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

  • Protecting minorities in Bosnia - the EU has a role to play
    Apr 20, 2012
    Without clear guidance from Europe, Bosnia will fail to address discrimination and instead continue to perpetuate ethnic separation – warns human rights group.
  • Sarajevo’s Lingering Tensions
    Apr 9, 2012
    Despite the peace, Bosnia and Herzegovina remains a country deeply divided along ethnic lines, based not only on lingering animosities, but also on separation by ethnicity in political and public life. Until Bosnia rewrites its constitution to strip it of ethnic labels it’s hard to see how the rest of the country will come together.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: Roma, Jews Face Political Discrimination
    Apr 4, 2012
    Roma, Jews, and other national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina remain excluded from participation in national politics 20 years after war began.
  • Bosnia: Key Lessons From War Crimes Prosecutions
    Mar 12, 2012

    Countries that want to prosecute atrocity crimes can learn from Bosnia’s experience with its War Crimes Chamber, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. National governments, policymakers, and international donors who want to support domestic trials for these crimes should learn from the successes and shortcomings of the Bosnian chamber.

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