Round Table “Combating racial discrimination and intolerance in Bosnia and Herzegovina”
Organisers: ECRI in co-operation with the Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Objectives: provide the participants with the opportunity to discuss the follow-up to the recommendations contained in ECRI’s monitoring report on Bosnia and Herzegovina, published in 2011 and the relevant conclusions published in 2014.
The round table was divided into four sessions:
- The main findings of ECRI’s report;
- Legislative and institutional framework for combating racism and racial discrimination;
- Combating hate speech;
- Discrimination-free education as a tool for social integration.
Opening statements were made by Damir Ljubić, Minister of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Ahlund, Chair of ECRI, and Ljubomir Sandić, chairman of the Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ECRI’s report on Bosnia and Herzegovina was presented by Barbara John and Vigen Kocharyan, ECRI members.
In addition to national and local authorities, the round table brought together representatives of international organisations and NGOs, as well as members of groups of concern to ECRI. This event aimed at contributing positively to the national debate on combating racial discrimination and intolerance in the country.
In its 2011 report on Bosnia and Herzegovina, ECRI expressed concern about issues such as: the need to increase the training on the Law on the Prevention of All Forms of Discrimination, and on issues pertaining to racial discrimination in general; to take measures to target the use of ethnically inflammatory discourse by political leaders; and to end racial discrimination and segregation in the areas of education, employment, housing and health.
