Representatives of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka, the Human Rights House Banja Luka and the Initiative Women Citizens for Constitutional Reform attended the pre-sessions of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, presenting key recommendations for improving human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina to representatives of permanent missions of UN member states.
As members of the Civil Society Coalition for the UPR of BiH, we advocated for urgent reforms in the areas of freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as women’s rights and political participation.
During five days of intensive activities, we held bilateral meetings with delegations from 17 UN member states, UN Special Rapporteurs and independent experts. These meetings provided an opportunity to directly address the key human rights challenges facing Bosnia and Herzegovina and recommend concrete measures to be considered at the upcoming UPR session in January 2025.
The key topics and recommendations that we advocated on that occasion are focused on:
Freedom of expression, especially in the context of the re-criminalization of defamation in the RS, which created an atmosphere of censorship, self-censorship and intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders. We requested the repeal of these legal changes, the harmonization of laws with international standards and the creation of a safe environment for journalists and activists.
Freedom of assembly and association, where we emphasized the need for harmonization of laws in accordance with international norms, the removal of unjustified bureaucratic obstacles and the application of positive models such as the Law on Public Assembly in Brčko District to the entire country, and especially the Republic of Srpska, Sarajevo and Herzegovina-Neretva cantons.
Women’s rights and political participation of women, pointing out the lack of gender equality in the Constitution of BiH, the partial implementation of the Istanbul Convention, the regressive tendencies of the authorities in RS, the growing influence of anti-gender movements and the low representation of women in executive bodies. We proposed amendments to the criminal codes, and the adoption of new laws on protection from domestic violence and violence against women.
Advocacy meetings resulted in important promises by the UN member states that they will try to include the recommendations of our coalition in their UPR proposals for BiH. Further cooperation with UN special rapporteurs was also agreed, especially on specific cases related to women’s rights and the protection of environmental activists, within the Help Line for human rights defenders.
The UPR pre-sessions in Geneva have shown how important international support is in protecting human rights in BiH.
In this regard, we call on the international community to support the adoption of much-needed recommendations at the upcoming UPR session and assist BiH in achieving concrete changes in the protection of human rights.
