The European Union and the Council of Europe will continue to support the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their reform processes and in their efforts to meet European standards. This was underlined in today’s second meeting of the Beneficiary Steering Committee of the joint EU/CoE programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.
Promoting an inclusive society in Bosnia and Herzegovina where everyone’s human rights are respected and no one is left behind, enhancing protection of human rights for all, including people deprived of their liberty, and strengthening freedom of media and freedom of expression will remain in the focus of five actions implemented under this programme. The budget allocated to Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Horizontal Facility initiative amounts to € 3.67 million.
Bojana Urumova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo, underlined the essential role of institutions, partners and civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the advancement of reforms. “I am very grateful for the fruitful co-operation with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union Delegation in Sarajevo. Thanks to this strong partnership and the commitment everyone has demonstrated, we have managed to continue with our interventions and achieve tangible results, despite the challenges encountered during this past year”, she said in her welcoming remarks.
“This joint EU and Council of Europe programme is one of the most useful programmes available to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Almir Šahović, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As he pointed out, the synergies established within the programme allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to achieve several main goals. “Thanks to this programme and its actions, we are striving to adjust all areas of society to European standards, which in parallel leads to the acceleration on our European path and contributes to fulfilment of 14 key priorities identified in the European Commission’s opinion,” he added.
Nicolas Bizel, Head of Operations Section for Justice and Home Affairs and Public Administration Reform of the EU Delegation to BiH, praised the commitment from the BiH Institutions that kept the level of ambition at the highest level in spite of the difficult working conditions that we all faced last year. He also highlighted that the expertise of the Council of Europe is fundamental as it can really assist the country in its key reforms in its accession process.
The importance of reinforcing the ownership of beneficiary institutions to progress on the domestic reform agenda and maximise the impact of the programme was underlined by Delphine Freymann, Head of Division, Programming Co-ordination Division, Office of the Directorate General of Programmes of the Council of Europe. “The Council of Europe, in a spirit of partnership with the European Union and the beneficiary institutions, is committed to support Bosnia and Herzegovina at a turning point to move along with its reform agenda and advance on its EU path and compliance with Council of Europe standards”, she concluded.
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Horizontal Facility programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility II” was created as a co-operation initiative to assist Beneficiaries in the Western Balkans and Turkey to comply with European standards in the framework of the enlargement process, where relevant.
Notable results were achieved during its second year of implementation, despite the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the implementation of the activities under the Horizontal Facility II in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the field of strengthening the human rights treatment of detained persons, significant efforts were devoted towards enhancing the capacities of law enforcement institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The programme supported the introduction of an electronic system for sharing prison-related data to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of prison management, as well as establishing an accredited pool of law enforcement trainers.
The initiatives in countering discrimination included support through the Horizontal Facility II small grants scheme, which served as an emergency fund and helped communities at risk to overcome the additional challenges they have been facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Psycho-social support was provided to LGBTI people, while awareness-raising campaigns were conducted to overcome discrimination and stigmatisation of various vulnerable groups. In addition, police and civil society representatives exchanged good practices on combating hate crimes, particularly those targeting LGBTI people.
With the aim of sensitising the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina about the risks and possible signs of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation, the action joined forces with local civil society organisations in awareness-raising campaigns. Furthermore, online courses were made available to various groups – labour inspectors, judges, prosecutors, students and civil society activists.
The “Policy Recommendation with a Roadmap on Quality Education for All”, developed during the first phase of the Horizontal Facility, was adopted by the Council of Ministers in September 2020 and the programme has been supporting its effective implementation. Secondary school students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia participated in Democratic School Chatrooms and have together strengthened their skills and knowledge of online learning, human rights, empathy and a culture of non-violence in the school environment.
In the area of freedom of expression and freedom of the media, the programme established partnerships with the BH Journalist Association and the Press Council in order to promote and enrich a dialogue among media representatives, the judiciary and law enforcement professionals. The capacities of these professionals have been built up on many important issues, including: ethical standards and obligations of journalists in reporting on the war heritage and war crimes trials; defamation; protection of whistle-blowers; and the right to privacy and its relation to public interest.
As part of the Expertise Co-ordination Mechanism, the Venice Commission provided on 19 March 2021 an Opinion on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina.