Press statement | 23.03.2023

Press Release

The Human Rights Ombudspersons of Bosnia and Herzegovina condemn in the strongest terms the attack against NGO activists, journalists, LGBT persons and citizens that took place in Banja Luka last weekend.

Stressing the severity of the incident in the broader context of promoting the rule of law, protecting human rights defenders, journalists and members of any groups with attitudes different from attitudes of the majority, IHROBiH would like to draw attention of all competent institutions to its unwavering, final and substantial position according to which:

Journalists perform a mission of wider social importance, which is timely, true and complete information of the public, as a prerequisite of democracy (Special Report on the Position of Journalists and Cases of Threats Made against Journalists).

Public office holders should more openly step out to protect the rights of the LGBT population concerning both individual incidents and in general;

Members of the LGBT community must be able to hold gatherings without any fear of being physically attacked by their opposition (Special Report on the Rights of LGBT Persons);

as well as

The exercise of the right to freedom of assembly imposes positive obligations on the competent authorities, i.e. to take measures with a view to ensuring peaceful enjoyment of rights, including, primarily, protecting and assisting (Special Report on the Right to Peaceful Assembly).

In addition to drafting special reports, sending recommendations and proposals to amend the legislative framework, IHROBiH has taken a number of preventive and promotional activities, including training law enforcement officers to work with the LGBT community and participation in training programmes for judicial office holders to work with hate crime cases.

At the same time, IHROBiH calls on all competent institutions, including, in the first place, criminal prosecution bodies, to take measures falling within their respective competences as a matter of priority, with a view to ensuring security and right to work and exercising fundamental human rights of all citizens, as guaranteed by the Constitution and international conventions directly applied in the domestic legal system.

While respecting the principle of independence of the judiciary, IHROBiH expresses its hope that judicial institutions will adequately assess the element of hatred as a qualifying circumstance in cases of determining the criminal responsibility of any participant in the said events.

Useful Links

• Cooperation with NGO
• Agreements of the Ombudsperson Institution of BiH with other ombudsman institutions
• Freedom of Access to Information
• ​Marrakech Declaration, 12th October 2018
• Operational Strategy of the Institution of Human rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Period 2023 – 2028
• Medium-Term Plan 2025-2027
• Medium-Term Plan 2024-2026
• Ombudsman Manual for handling discrimination cases
• Guidelines for filling in the complaints in the area of discrimination
• Application before European Court of Human Rights - Instruction
• The life of an application before the European Court of Human Rights
• News Archive

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