With the financial support of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019 - 2022", and through the action "Promotion of diversity and equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina" the "Clinic of international and European human rights law" started on November 15.

Students from all law faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina were able to participate in this project. The topic of this year's clinic is "International and European law with regard to the rights of LGBTI people". The clinic will last for over a month, ie until 17 December, and as part of it, an online course of the Council of Europe's Human Rights Education Program for Lawyers (HELP) on combating racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia will be held.

Prof. dr Amila Ždralović, Vice Dean for Research, at the opening of the Clinic, in her introductory speech as a representative of the Faculty of Law, University of Sarajevo, expressed her satisfaction that such an important topic will be the subject of study for the participants of the clinic. The Vice-Dean emphasised the importance of education in this field of human rights, in the hope that, in the end, the topic of LGBTI rights will find a more significant place in the curricula of law faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The representative of the European Law Students Association Sarajevo (ELSA Sarajevo), Armin Fuka, thanked the representatives of the European Union and the Council of Europe and professors of the Faculty of Law, University of Sarajevo, and wished good luck to the participants of the clinic in expanding their knowledge of human rights.

The clinic was officially open by Loreta Vioiu, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo. On that occasion, she said that she was happy that the Council of Europe has the opportunity to implement a project like this at the Faculty of Law, University of Sarajevo.

More information about the HELP course on "Fight against racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia", which has been translated into Bosnian and adapted to the local context, as well as other HELP courses of the Council of Europe, which are of exceptional importance for law students, judges, prosecutors, and other lawyers, were presented by prof. dr Dzamna Duman and Valentina Boz, Project Manager at the Council of Europe. Prof. dr Duman developed a discussion with students about the basic concepts of the HELP course, where students showed their interest, and actively participated and expressed their opinions, and showed a desire for new knowledge in this area. Valentina Boz pointed out the importance of this topic, and continuous professional development in this field, and presented opportunities provided by the Council of Europe website and what HELP courses it offers to students, with special reference to the HELP course "Fight against racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia", which is publicly available to anyone interested.

European Law Students Association Sarajevo (ELSA Sarajevo) is a beneficiary of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022". The views expressed in this text are the responsibility of the author and do not represent the official views of the European Union and the Council of Europe.