Press statement | 20.02.2020

World Day of Social Justice

On the occasion of the 20th February - World Social Justice Day, Ombudsmen of Bosnia and Herzegovina Prof. Dr. Ljubinko Mitrović, Dr. Jasminka Džumhur and Nives Jukić point out that social justice, equality and fairness are the core values of every society.

The Ombudsmen state that this is a day when the importance of commitment to goals such as poverty eradication, protection of dignity at work, gender equality, development and provision of social services for particularly vulnerable categories of society and individuals should be reviewed so that they do not feel less valuable, useless and to unprotected members of society.

Economic, social and cultural rights are guaranteed by the constitutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the constitutions of ten cantons and the Statute of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These rights are more precisely regulated by the laws at the entity and cantonal and Brčko District levels, since they are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the constitutional system of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Summarizing the complaints received by the Ombudsman Institution in the past, it appears that they are a manifestation of a high poverty rate of a large population, which is a direct consequence of the high unemployment rate, low pensions, and the lowest, or average, salaries far below the value of the official consumer basket. This situation indicates that an increasing number of citizens are in need of certain forms of social protection, which imposes an obligation on the competent authorities that this type of rights must be placed in a greater focus of interest. Social assistance is symbolic and cannot provide for the basic life needs of beneficiaries. Aware of their helplessness, and in order to provide for themselves and their family members, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often the whole family, are forced to leave their homes and go to work in other countries.

During 2019, a total of 801 cases were registered within the Ombudsman's Division for the Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The largest number of registered cases within the Department related to employment rights violations (281), followed by violations of pension rights (217), utilities (92), social protection (82) health (74), education (33), ecology and environmental protection (21) and public revenue (4).

In the area of social rights, the Ombudsman institution has specifically addressed the situation and problems encountered by social work centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina. To this end, in October 2019, a Special Report on the Status and Problems of Social Work Centres/Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina was presented to the public.

The Ombudsmen indicate that it is the duty of all authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to build an equal opportunity society, to provide a high degree of sensitivity to vulnerable categories and to care for them is a prerequisite for achieving social justice and achieving an equal and fair relationship between the individual and society.

Useful Links

• Cooperation with NGO
• Office Days of the BiH Ombudsman
• Agreements of the Ombudsperson Institution of BiH with other ombudsman institutions
• Covid-19 and the human rights effect
• 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 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

We are protecting rights of natural persons and legal entities in accordance with the Constitution of BiH and international human rights instruments...
Ombudsmen of BiH

Ombudsman's Activities

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