COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS REVIEWS INITIAL REPORT OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the initial report of Bosnia and Herzegovina on how that country implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Dragutin Cegar, Expert Advisor at the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the report had been elaborated in accordance with the revised general directions as regards the format and contents of reports to be submitted under articles 16 and 17 of the International Covenant. It contained a summary of the implementation of obligations under individual articles of the Covenant. The report had followed recommendations to put accent on the most importance issues.

Mr. Cegar said the report had been elaborated on the basis of indicators collected from the State Ministries and other institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and experts directly dealing with issues relating economic, social and cultural rights. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had also supported the elaboration of the report.

Over the course of the discussion, there was an exchange between the 18-member Committee and the delegation on a number of issues, including gender equality; the rights of internally displaced persons, minorities and other vulnerable groups; living conditions of civil victims of war; trafficking in human beings; domestic violence; labour issues ranging from trade unions, to the right to strike, to unemployment rates; health services; and measures to reduce poverty.

The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of its three-week session on 25 November.

Members of the delegation for Bosnia and Herzegovina included representatives of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Government of Republika Srpska; the Ministry of Health of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and the Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 November, it will begin its review of the second periodic report of Libya (E/1990/6/Add.38).

Report of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The initial report of Bosnia and Herzegovina (E/1990/5/Add.65) consists of a review of the implementation of commitments outlined in the articles of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It says that the country lacks substantial material resources for extensive activities as required for the preparation of the report. Despite the difficulties, Bosnia and Herzegovina has made a tremendous effort to give concrete and sound answers on complying with the commitments that the country is bound to fulfil under the Covenant, reflecting the situation in the country in both favourable and unfavourable light.

The report notes that Bosnia and Herzegovina has been an internationally recognized State since 1992, based on the Dayton Agreement which was signed in Paris. The Constitution included international conventions with the effect of constitutional provisions; the issue of the right to self-determination could be reviewed through the structure of the State and defined solutions under the Agreement. The Constitution guarantees equal representation of all peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Bosnians, Serbs, Croats, as well as all other peoples.

Bosnia and Herzegovina develops cooperation in the areas of science, technology, education, culture and sport through entering into international bilateral agreement, protocols and memoranda with other States, the report says. In accordance with the International Covenant, equal rights for women are set out, especially in the sense of enjoying all economic, social and cultural rights. The issue of general equality is addressed at the Bosnia and Herzegovina State level by the law on gender equality. This law promotes and protects gender equality and guarantees equal possibilities to all citizens, both in private and public sectors, and prevents both direct and indirect gender-based discrimination. Poverty is borne equally by men and women, yet despite this, there are several examples of gender inequality, which deepen differences between men and women in relative poverty levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Introduction of Report

DRAGUTIN CEGAR, Expert Advisor at the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the report had been elaborated in accordance with the revised general directions as regards the format and contents of reports to be submitted under articles 16 and 17 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It contained a summary of the implementation of obligations under individual articles of the Covenant. The report had followed recommendations to put accent on the most importance issues.

Further, the report had been elaborated on the basis of indicators collected from the State Ministries and other institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Cegar said. Non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and experts directly dealing with issues contained in the report had provided additional information. The document did not contain data for the period from 1993 to 1995 because of the war in the country. In outlining the report, the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees had encountered certain problems and difficulties, particularly in data collection due to the absence of a unique database. The State lacked material resources for detailed implementation of activities and the preparation of such very detailed and complex assignment.

A seminar lasting several days on the preparation of the report had been organized in June 2003 with the support of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on human rights, Mr. Cegar said. The Office had also offered financial support to the overall activities on the elaboration of the report.

Mr. Cegar said a public discussion on the draft initial report was held on 29 December 2003, with the participation of members of the working group, expert team, representatives of international organizations, non-governmental organizations and university professors dealing with economic, social and cultural issues.

Questions by Committee Experts

An Expert asked whether the provisions of the International Covenant were fully incorporated in the domestic legislative system and if recourse was made to the Covenant in court rulings. He asked if law cases existed relating to infringements of the rights enumerated in the Covenant.

One Expert said the country was emerging out of a period of conflicts and it was now building stability. Its legislation did not satisfy the guidelines of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action on a national plan of action for human rights and the Paris Principles on the creation of national human rights institutions. He requested information on the impact of the 2003 law on gender equality and the actual status of women in the academic field.

Another Expert asked about the impact of the Dayton Agreement on economic, social and cultural rights and how free the Government was to amend the Constitution pertaining to economic, social and cultural rights.

Referring to gender discrimination, an Expert said there was no mention of how gender equality was dealt with within ethnic groups. The war had seen terrible human rights violations and women and children had been the main victims of the violations. Forty thousand women had been victims of sexual violence and torture. What kind of compensation and support did they receive? What happened to those displaced victims when they were sent back to their original places? Did child soldiers receive protection by the State?

Another Expert asked about the status of the national minorities and ethnic groups. He said that discrimination against the Roma community had been reported on several occasions. What was the actual status of the Roma and what had been done to redress the situation, particularly with regard to racial tolerance?

The Committee knew about the difficult history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an Expert said. He asked if a national identity was being built or if people continued to be identified as Bosnian-Croats, Bosnian-Serbs or on the basis of their ethnic groupings. Many of the returnees were female heads of households and they held the burden of raising their children. What efforts were being made by the State to assist those women? On unequal payments between men and women, the Expert asked if the Government was aware of this problem. Had the Government taken measures to correct the situation?

Another Expert said the report referred to the existence of a number of human rights institutions. He wanted to know if the existing human rights institutions were dealing with the provisions of the International Covenant. What were the priorities of the State party in implementing the provisions of the Covenant?

An Expert said the Committee was engaged in a dialogue with the delegation to improve the situation and to assist it in resolving the country’s problems with regard to the implementation of the Covenant. He said some people had to travel a long distance to have access to courts. What had been done to improve this situation?

The lack of coordination and bureaucracy had been delaying the implementation of various provisions, another Expert said. The legislative frameworks were not properly functioning. What measures had been taken to resolve the problems? The Government said financial constraints were not enabling the State to implement economic and social provisions; but the policy of ethnic divisions was playing an important role in hindering the full implementation of the Covenant.

Bosnia and Herzegovina had adopted several strategies among which was mines clearing, an Expert said. He asked how many landmines had already been de-mined. Had the State party ratified the Ottawa Convention on landmines? If so, had it asked for assistance to promptly clear landmines? Many children had been maimed or killed by landmines left by the war.

Response by Delegation

On the status of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the delegation said the treaty had the force of law and courts or any other bodies could directly apply it. The Covenant was among the 19 international treaties that had been incorporated into domestic legislation. However, there were no statistics available on the number of law cases with regard to the implementation of the treaties.

The judiciary was independent and it was separate from the executive power, the delegation said. In order to secure the independence of the judges, a high salary was allocated to make them materially independent.

The issue of internally displaced persons and refugees was a painful one to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the delegation said. They had been dispersed all over 110 countries around the world. One could not say that there was no discrimination against refugees and displaced persons. However, the situation was improving. The international community was helping the Government in the construction of infrastructure to allow the swift return of refugees.

On the issue of women and their position in public office, the delegation said traditionally, women held managerial positions in health, education and other fields. The president of the higher court was now a woman. Since the country was developing data, it was difficult to provide the number of women holding high positions. However, the situation could not be qualified as satisfactory. The law on gender equality was expected to improve the situation. The law on elections had provided for the retention of 30 per cent female candidates by political parties during parliamentary plebiscites.

With regard to discrimination based on gender, the delegation said the fate of the 40,000 female victims of sexual violation was an extremely painful issue. A number of non-governmental organizations and the Government had provided psychological support. A law would also been introduced to improve the situation of the victims. Many children had been born as a result of this violence, which was another trauma to the women and the children. NGOs were expected to further cooperate with the State in this area.

On the use of languages, the delegation said there were three official languages: Serbian, Croat and Bosnian. However, since Serbo-Croat language was widely used under the former Republic of Yugoslavia, people easily understood each other.

The role of the media was an outstanding issue at present, the delegation said. With the already existing ethnic exacerbation, the media used to play a negative role; however, the public radios of the federation and the entities were now promoting ethnic harmony. Some media still focused on ethnic differences and on the negative phenomenon, using hate language.

The delegation said wages were fixed by collective agreement and the issue of unequal salaries could not been raised. Sexual harassment was considered as a serious violation of rights. The State provided preventive measures at all levels.

Mine clearing was an important issue which had been foreseen by the Dayton Agreement and it required the de-mining to be competed within 45 days, the delegation said. Landmines affected at least 300,000 people. Programmes for agricultural development and tourism industry could not be expanded because of the landmines. The human rights of children also continued to be violated by the daily incidents related to landmines.

To the question on the contribution of international organizations to the country’s Gross National Product (GNP), the delegation said that since international organizations had been spending their money in the country through material purchases and employment, they were directly supporting the growth of the GNP. The salaries paid by those organizations to Bosnian citizens were much higher than local salaries.

The socio-economic environment of the country might not be favourable to the Roma communities; however, they were enjoying all rights as the rest of the 17 national minorities, the delegation said. A formula was now being sought to represent all minorities in the parliament. For that purpose, a quota system would be applied in the national and local councils. There was no distinction between national or ethnic minorities and the terms could be interchangeable.

The Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees was dealing with human rights issues, the delegation said. The office of the Ombudsman was set up in 1995. Because of the change in the law regarding the Ombudsman this year, one Ombudsman and two deputies now headed the office. Because of the circumstances in which the country was in, the Ombudsman received a high number of complaints, particularly by displaced persons concerning access to their rightful properties. The property legislation was now correctly implemented.

Questions by Delegation

On the issue of employment, an Expert said it was a serious problem, with individuals waiting up to five years to be employed. The Expert said he was worried by this situation of long-term unemployment. With regard to privatization, employers were not respecting the conditions of respecting minimum wage and many workers were underpaid. Did the State monitor the situation through its labour inspectors? There was a lack of a unified law applied throughout the country concerning trade unions and labour in general. The right to strike was also obstructed by conditions placed on it. However, the right to strike was extended to all sectors except to the military. Was that true in practice?

The Government thought that privatization would create more employment, another Expert said. He asked whether there was a policy for compensation for those laid-off by the privatized enterprises. The proportion of people working in the informal sector was high. What measures were being taken to reduce those working in that grey sector? Did the Government take steps to resolve the problem of discrimination in employment in the State and private sectors against ethnic minorities?

On the subject of pensions, an Expert asked whether there was uniformity in the pension payments system. She asked if employers paid their contributions to their employees’ pension schemes. On unemployment benefits, she asked if the amount paid to the beneficiaries had been increased since 2001. Social assistance was a core obligation on States and low-income citizens should receive such assistance. However, some municipalities were not able to provide social assistance to the needy. What measures were being taken by the State to increase the financial capacities of municipalities so that they provided assistance to the vulnerable segments of the population such as the Roma?

Another Expert asked about the major impact of the draft provision on persons with disabilities. What steps had been taken by the State so that all citizens enjoyed equal social benefits? Under what conditions were the war veterans and the disabled ones living at present?

Response by Delegation

With regard to victims of war and raped women, there were no official statistics available, the delegation said. Women who had been victims of sexual violence were reluctant to complain. Financial and other mechanisms were lacking and did not fulfil the obligations to compensate the victims of war. In addition, there was no specific legislation with regards to compensation to civil victims of war.

The exact number of children born as a result of rape was not known, the delegation said. However, care was given to those children and the Government was making efforts to prevent discrimination against those children. The State did not provide financial assistance to the mothers of the children.

The State was giving serious attention to gender equality, the delegation said. An agency had been created with the view to promoting equality between men and women. Although there were stereotypes in the laws which were detrimental to women the Government was paying special attention to identify the contexts that engendered inequality between the sexes. The Government would continue to deploy further efforts to help women who were victims of violence and rape.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was developing the private sector, the delegation said. Conditions were also being facilitated to attract direct foreign investment by reducing the bureaucratic process in registration of foreign companies.

According to Bosnian law, freedom of trade unions was guaranteed and neither the State nor the employer had the right to intervene in the affairs of trade unions, the delegation said. There were very few courts cases with regard to trade unions. Employers who hampered with the free movement of trade unions could be punished with fines.

On the percent of the budget allocated to the war veterans and members of their families, the delegation said 12 per cent went for that purpose. In 2004, about 500 million Euros had been allocated for war veterans, including civil victims of war.

All the international principles against discrimination were binding to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the delegation said. State agents and other bodies of the Government respected the principle of non-discrimination. The Roma communities enjoyed their rights as did the other citizens of the federation.

A law on architectural changes would be adopted this year to facilitate the movement of persons with disabilities, the delegation said. All laws pertaining to persons with disabilities were also being harmonized to strengthen services provided to that category of the population.

Since the Dayton Agreement, social protection to all citizens had been reinforced, the delegation said. The legislation concerning social protection had also been harmonized. Cantonal laws had been reviewed and brought in line with the federal legal structure. However, some cantons had better social protection that attracted people from other regions to come and settle. Displaced persons preferred to stay in the cantons where the social protection was better than their original cantons.

The Roma were a de facto minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the delegation said. Because certain Roma did not want to declare themselves as Roma, the real number of that community was not known. The Roma population also tended to move from one place to another, which did not help their integration into society. The Government was making effort to integrate the Roma community into the society through education. A strategy had also been adopted for solving the Roma problems.

Questions by Experts

An Expert asked why the State party did not pay attention to the women victims of the war and asked it to provide information on the conditions in which they were living. More determination was necessary to go after the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Another Expert said the trade unions had to give a ten-day advance notice to the State, which was too long. What was the view of the delegation on this issue?

An Expert asked if there was a minimum pension payment observed by all regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She also asked if measures were being taken to harmonize all the provisions with regards to pensions.

One Expert said women were victims of rape in many conflicts in the world. Further efforts should be made concerning the victims of sexual exploitation in Bosnia. The Government had created the “State coordinator to fight against trafficking in human rights”, whose operations seemed to be inefficient. And there was a lack of information on the activities of that agency. There were incidents of sexual tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Expert wanted to receive information on the involvement of foreigners in sexual tourism and if their acts were criminalized.

An Expert wanted to know more about the social conditions of the women who were the victims of rape and sexual violence and who were living in silence. Those women were living in other cantons because of ethnic cleansing and sexual violence. What measures were being taken to support those individuals?

Response by Delegation

The Government was undertaking reconciliatory measures so that people living in different cantons lived on good terms with their neighbours, the delegation said. The victims of the rape and sexual violence were not only Muslim women; they included many women from all sides, including Serb women. The Government did not neglect those victims, despite the lack of specific laws on the subject.

The right to strike was guaranteed and trade unions could carry out their strikes any time they wished, the delegation said. However, depending on the sector and the special interest of the public, advance notices should be given by the unions. The notice might vary from 24 hours to eight days and not ten days as noted by an Expert. The law of Republika Srpska established that activities of certain sectors should maintain minimum functions during a strike in order to secure safety of people and property.

Concerning trafficking in human beings, the delegation said that during the war, organized criminals had trafficked human beings from the region. The problem had created great problems which the Government had identified and tried to resolve. With the changing strategies of the traffickers, the problems were not immediately solved. Measures of border controls had been implemented as part of the fight against the traffickers. The State coordinator to fight against trafficking in human beings had been effectively working to tackle the problem. A new criminal law had been adopted in conformity with the United Nations convention on trafficking in human beings.

Questions by Experts

An Expert observed that there was a decline in international assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina. What approach was being used to help female heads of family, particularly mothers with many children? Feminization of poverty in rural areas had had an impact on returning women. What measures were being taken by the State to relieve the burden of poor families in the rural areas?

Another Expert emphasized that the presence of landmines was a problem that was seriously affecting Bosnia and Herzegovina. Concerning drinking water, the Government should adopt appropriate measures with regards to this matter. He asked if legislation had been put in place with regards to drinking water as illustrated in the Committee’s General Comment No, 15 on the right to water.

Concern was also expressed by an Expert on the issue of victims of trafficking and he asked how effective were the social welfare centres to help those victims. The law on gender equality should be harmonized with the criminal law; was there an initiative to do so? The Government should provide training to those interacting with victims of violence. She wanted to know if the personnel working with such people were provided with training courses. On the problem of drug addiction, the Expert asked if there were organizations working to integrate victims of drug consumption.

Referring to the poverty reduction programme designed by the State, an Expert asked if the programme targeted the most vulnerable segments of the society such as the Roma, orphans and elderly, among others. What remedial steps did the Government take with regard to social housing lacking electricity, water, heating systems, garbage disposal and other facilities. He asked if there was homelessness in the State party and the extent of the phenomenon.

Another Expert asked about the number and living conditions of mentally ill persons, including the manner in which they were treated in specialized hospitals. With regard to brain draining of medical doctors, the Expert asked how the Government ensured the availability of medical centres within reasonable distance with many doctors leaving the country for better salaries abroad.

Response by Delegation

The delegation said the international community had so far helped the country and funds were being channelled to the economic, social and cultural areas. However, there was now a tendency for some international organizations to withdraw assistance, which had had an impact on the economic growth of the country. For that reason, public spending had decreased by 10 per cent. Assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) was also decreasing.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was helping the Government’s efforts to resettle returnees to their places of origin, the delegation said. UNDP was also assisting in the house construction efforts of the Government. A policy on housing had also been implemented to find a durable solution to the problem of social housing to those who lost their properties due to the war. Other development programmes were also being executed to help the IDPs.

Children were the most vulnerable group in Bosnian society, the delegation said. A council had been established to coordinate the efforts deployed to help children. In addition, there were many single parent families. According to statistics, 300,000 children had lost at least one parent during the war. The cantons were providing assistance to those who lost one parent during the war, particularly single mothers.

Because of the stigma attached to the use of the word “orphan”, the children were called “children who were deprived of parental care”, the delegation said. The Government did not want to keep children accommodated only in institutions. It considered institutional alternatives as temporary and transitional means until the children could be given to the care of their extended family or adoptive families. The State had adopted the United Nations convention on the protection of children in matters of adoption; however, the Government preferred that nationals of Bosnia adopt Bosnian children.

With the help of international organizations, the Government had created 20 day-care centres for children with physical and mental disabilities, the delegation said. At present, there were only 120 children with disabilities accommodated in these institutions.

Assistance and help was given to the victims of domestic violence, the delegation said. Perpetrators of violence, who were mainly men, were removed from their homes in the event such violence was reported to the police.

The water management was not sufficiently regulated because of the damage by the war, the delegation said. The water supply was in poor condition, with worsening water pollution. The supply competence was the jurisdiction of each canton; however, the laws on State entities in matters of water supply had to be harmonized to ameliorate the water supply conditions and to improve the quality of the water.

Although the report did not exhaustively deal with the issue of drug abuse, the Government had been closely monitoring the situation of drug abuse and had created centres for the treatment of addicted citizens. Other measures were also taken to deter the use of drugs in the society.

The Government had undertaken a policy to deal with psychological patients immediately after the war, the delegation said. The concept was entirely changed by considering patients not as psychological patients but as “patients with mental disorders”. With the new concept, the number of beds reserved to such patients in hospital wards had been reduced. Instead, 39 centres in the Bosnian Federation and 12 in Republika Srpska had been established for persons with mental disorders.

On equal access to medical health care, the delegation said that it was a paradox that clinics and hospitals built through international help in the places where displaced persons were supposed to be settled were empty. In other areas, because of unwillingness of physicians to go to the rural areas, access to medical care was lacking.

The international community had helped Bosnia and Herzegovina in maintaining an independent media that reflected harmony and peaceful coexistence, the delegation said. A council had also been set up to monitor the independence of the media.

Culturally, all people in the country understood each other and there were no cultural barriers, the delegation said. The people were also determined to iron out differences that might hamper their understanding. There was a centre for inter-religious dialogue. In order to promote the cultural strategy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a committee had been created. The Committee would draft laws aimed at promoting cultural strategies. It would also be responsible for the maintenance of cultural heritage and monuments. The committee had so far declared 170 sites as cultural heritage sites. Work would also be carried out to maintain cities and cultural heritage sites damaged by the war. The reparation of historical sites such as the Mostar Bridge, the Ottoman-era Bridge destroyed in 1995, required further efforts by the Government.

Children in Bosnia and Herzegovina had equal access to education, the delegation said. However the administrative unification of the education system still required further measures. Because of language implications, there were schools segregating students under the same roof.

With regard to Roma children, the Government had been making efforts to develop educational incentives to bring them into the mainstream educational system, the delegation said. Further measures were also taken to increase the presence of Roma children in secondary schools and universities.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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