Bosnia and Herzogovina
The data presented is a selection of current statistical information available from existing sources. The Hub will both generate new data and publish reports and analysis based on the Women’s Rights After War’s work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
| Law | Mechanism | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Annex of Constitution of BiH (1995) | Constitutional Reform | With the 1995 Constitution, B&H ratified several conventions on discrimination on women. The Constitution is part of Dayton Peace Accords. |
| Law on Gender Equality BiH (2003) | Legislative | This law deals with gender equality and introduction of the principle of gender equality in public policies and regulations. Gender discrimination is said to happen when the participation in public sphere at national, entity and other levels is lower than 40 %. It is possible to initiate proceedings before the courts through a lawsuit in which the violation of a right guaranteed by this Law is emphasised. |
| Law on Prohibition on Discrimination in BiH (2009 | Legislative | Provides a framework for implementation of equal rights and opportunities to all persons in BiH and shall define a system of protection from discrimination. |
| Article 4.19.(3) of the Electoral Code (2017) | Legislative | Every candidates list shall include candidates of male and female gender, who are equally represented. The equal representation of the genders shall exist in case when one of the genders is represented with minimum of 40% of the total number of candidates on the list. The minority gender candidates shall be distributed on the candidates list in the following manner: at least one minority gender candidate amongst the first two candidates, two minority gender candidates amongst the first five candidates, and three minority gender candidates amongst the first eight candidates, etc. |
| Law | Mechanism | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Article 22 of Criminal Law of BiH (2003) | Legislative | Introduced the criminal offense of domestic violence for the first time. The penalty for different degrees of injury is between a few months to five years. punishment, and thus the protection of women, given that they are the most common victims of domestic violence. Unfortunately, the analysis of court cases of domestic violence showed that the perpetrators of this crime are mostly given suspended sentences, almost 77%, then fines 13.5% and almost negligible prison sentences, and the amount of sentences is even below the statutory minimum. There is a justified question whether such a penal policy achieves the purpose of punishment and whether it is possible to achieve adequate satisfaction of victims or women. In practice, very few of these crimes are prosecuted because the victim is often pressured by family members not to report the crime or to give up or change their testimony in court, because it allegedly embarrasses the family, they will not be able to marry or the burden of guilt is shifted to her, etc. |
| Article 172 of Criminal Code of BiH (2003) | Legislative | Provisions for rape are classified as crimes against humanity and in relation to the war. |
| Law on Protection from Domestic Violence BiH (2005) | Legislative | The law contains provisions regarding protective measures against family violence (i.e. by the use of protection orders), and sanctions for perpetrators of violent actions. The purpose of this law is to ensure the prevention and suppression of domestic violence, to ensure that efficient measures are taken to persuade the perpetrators do not commit violence again, to remove the consequences of the violence committed by prescribing protective measures, and to remove the circumstances that encourage and stimulate repeated violence in the family. |
| Article 208 of Criminal Code of Republika Srpska S (2017) | Legislative | It has been amended 6 times since then. Article 208 defines domestic violence as a crime. |
| Law | Mechanism | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Article 37 (1995) | Constitutional reform | Children, pregnant women and elderly persons shall be entitled to health care financed out of the public funds. |
| Article 38(6) (2015) | Constitutional reform | Both spouses shall have equal rights in property and family affairs. |
| Law on Primary and Secondary Education in BiH (2003) | Legislative | The current laws in the field of primary education in BiH do not prescribe penalties for legal entities (schools) as well as responsible persons who violate the principle of non-discrimination, although in practice we often have discriminatory behavior of certain schools or teachers and professional associates based on gender. The exception is the Law in RS which has defined different fines and sentences. The law prohibits any form of discrimination based on sex. |
| Law on Social Protection, Protection of Civilian Victims of War and Protection of Families with Children (2018) | Legislative | The first draft of the law was adopted in 1999. this law was passed to mitigate the vulnerability of women who found themselves in the role of single mothers after the war, difficult financial situation and mental state. It aims to reduce the economic and social vulnerability of women due to the death, illness or disability of their husbands caused by war. Women fighters have the right to use social and health care, and the right to priority treatment in certain cases. Special support is provided to women of fallen and demobilized fighters in the form of monthly disability benefits, solving the housing issue, more favorable conditions for retirement and the like. In the Federation, we have 10 different systems (cantonal systems) of maternity benefits and other rights in the field of protection of families with children, which are conditioned by the economic power of the canton. In practice, employers but also the state in various ways violates the right to maternity protection. |
| Law | Mechanism | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Mediation Law and Social Security of Unemployed Persons FBiH (2008) | Legislative | This law confirms the principle of non-discrimination. Regarding women rights, it is mostly addressed in the non-discriminatory prescriptions in the field of gender and sex. |
| Labor Law RS (2018) | Legislative | The first version of the Law in 2007. Discrimination based on sex in the employment procedure, during the employment and in ending employment contract is not allowed except in cases prescribed by Law. The law regulates the issue of payment of compensation for employed parents through the public fund for child protection in RS. The right to compensation is regulated for employed mothers, in the amount of the average salary earned by a woman during the last 12 months before the beginning of maternity leave (Articles 111 and 123). |
| Labor Law FBiH (2020) | Legislative | The first version of the Law was passed in 1999. This Law prohibits discrimination against employers as well as persons seeking employment with regard to gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family obligations, pregnancy and so on. Still, employees often ask women about their marital status and the desire to have children and how many children they already have. In the Federation, we have 10 different systems of maternity benefits and other rights in the field of protection of families with children, which are conditioned by the economic power of the canton. The analysis of statistical data on the realisation of maternity benefits in the cantons of FBiH shows that maternity benefits are not equal for all women in the Federation and that therefore maternity women have an unequal position depending on the area in which they live. |
| Labor Law BD (2019) | Legislative | The first version of the Law was passed in 2006. This law prohibits discrimination against employers seeking employment with regard to gender, sexual orientation, marital status and family obligation. Significant changes are contained in the provisions concerning the protection of women, especially pregnant women: special articles define rights of women during and after pregnancy, ban on women working in difficult jobs (except at the woman’s own request), the right to maternity leave. Articles 79-82 define rights of postpartum women. |
| Law | Mechanism | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (Ratified in 1993) | Legislative | An international treaty to promote and monitor women’s rights and their equality to men. B&H is required to undertake special measures in all spheres to eliminate the discrimination of women, especially in political, cultural, social and economic spheres. The Optional Protocol is ratified in 2002. Unfortunately, in the domestic legal system, the Convention often has only an indirect role. Rarely do lawsuits and judgments refer to the standards of the Convention. |
| European Convention on Human Rights (2002) | Legislative | This Convention is an integral part of the Constitution of BiH. Unfortunately, the direct application of this, as well as other international conventions, is a rare practice in BiH. In reality, the role of the Convention in protecting women from discrimination in BiH is mostly indirect. |
| Council of Europe: Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (2013) | Legislative | This new landmark treaty of the Council of Europe opens the path for creating a legal framework at pan-European level to protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence. This new landmark treaty of the Council of Europe opens the path for creating a legal framework at pan-European level to protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence. This Convention obliges BiH to take legislative and other measures to ensure a legal, institutional and organizational framework for the prevention of violence against women, the protection of survivors of violence and the punishment of perpetrators of violence. BiH also is required to integrate new crimes into its legislation and to ensure that all suspicions of violence against women and domestic violence are effectively investigated. BiH is obliged to establish domestic mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of this document and report regularly to the Committee and the Council of Europe Working Group on the application of the Convention. |
| Women, Peace, and Security Agenda: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 — Action plan for implementation of UNSCR 1325 (2010-2013; 2014-2018; 2018-2022) | Executive | ‘Women, Peace & Security’ calls for the full and equal participation of women in the process of conflict prevention and resolution, and in building international peace and security. This is the first action plan and it served other countries in the area of Southeastern Europe. as a model to follow. The 2010-2013 Action plan is followed by 2014-2017 and 2018-2022 Action plans. |
| Type of mechanism | Mechanism | Policies/Laws |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional Reform | Legislative | Though the political system of Bosnia has undergone many restructurings in terms of providing electoral quotas to women, candidate lists, etc., not many of these measures are tied directly to the war. One major initiative was the vetting of the police force for their potential role in human rights violations during the war period. New institutions like the Human rights chamber, the Constitutional Court of BiH, the Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH were established to prevent repetition of war crimes. |
| Criminal Justice Reform | Legislative | 1) International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Most of the prosecutions for crimes committed during the Bosnian war were conducted under the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The ICTY was created under the UN Security Council Resolution 827 in 1993. It adjudicates over four types of crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia – grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, violations of the laws or customs of war, genocide, and crimes against humanity. 2) War Crimes Chamber (Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina) The court was established in 2000 to handle war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. This was created to supplement the work done by the ICTY. 3) Second instance courts in the Entities and District Brčko Some domestic cases were picked up by the local courts within the two Entities as well. |
| Truth-Memory-Reconciliation | Legislative | In 2003, the Commission for Investigation of the Events in and around Srebrenica between 10 and 19 July 1995 (Srebrenica Commission) was established to investigate what happened in Srebrenica in the 9 days. The Commission established facts about perpetrators, the victims who were killed, that a mass killing had taken place, and about mass graves. Other initiatives by International NGOs and civil society groups for other truth-memory-reconciliation were unsuccessful to setup. |
| Reparations | Legislative | Reparations are awarded to people who have suffered 60% bodily harm, victims of sexual violence and rape, and family of missing persons. Restitution due to loss or damage of property is also offered. |
