The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) hosted a meeting to assess progress made in the implementation of six overarching commitments established to combat gender-based violence (GBV) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
In August 20203, following several highly publicized cases of domestic violence (DV), including femicide, the Mission intensified its support to institutions mandated to combat GBV. As an initial step, the Mission convened relevant stakeholders to identify and dissect systematic shortcomings, develop potential remedial mechanisms, and ensure effective co-ordination. These measures were captured in the commitments, which were reviewed today.
In light of their efforts to move this process forward and for their attendance today, the Mission would like to thank the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of BiH; the Agency for Gender Equality of BiH; the Federation of BiH (FBiH) Minister of Interior (MoI), the Republika Srpska (RS) Ministry of Interior, the Cantonal Ministers of Interior and Ministers of Justice (MoJ); the Police and Judicial Commission of Brcko District (BD) of BiH; and senior police and governmental representatives from all levels of government.
The Mission commends the chairs of relevant FBiH parliamentary committees for their attendance and their readiness to hold the FBiH Government accountable for improving institutional responses to GBV. Legislative bodies have responsibility to ensure that institutions coordinate and standardize their responses to GBV. The Mission stands ready to co-operate with them and all other elected bodies in BiH similarly dedicating themselves to combatting GBV.
The Mission will convene the next review meeting in spring 2024.
Commitment 1 - Legislative amendments:
Commitment 1 focuses on ensuring adequate legislative frameworks, an essential precondition for effective responses to GBV, across all jurisdictions.
To that end, the Mission commends the FBiH MoJ for establishing a Working Group(s) tasked to review and prepare amendments to the FBiH Law on Protection against DV and the FBiH Criminal Code (CC) that align with international standards, including the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention. The Mission calls upon the FBiH MoJ finalize the draft in an inclusive and transparent manner to allow for the adoption of relevant amendments by the FBiH Parliament as soon as possible. The Mission will further support the FBiH Government and Parliament in adopting the FBiH Strategy for the Prevention and Protection against DV (2023-2027) and securing the budgetary resources necessary for implementation.
The Mission commends the RS National Assembly for passing the draft RS Law on Protection from DV and Violence against Women in the first reading in November 2023 and encourages its swift and final adoption. The Mission appreciates the effective cooperation that informed the process of drafting of this law.
The Mission stands ready to support the BD of BiH Government in aligning the Law for Protection against DV and harmonizing the BD CC with international standards.
Commitment 2 - Sustainable solutions to capacity building of relevant institutions:
To respond to GBV and DV and as a necessary preventative mechanism, institutions, including law enforcement, must take effective action, as reflected in commitments 2, 3 and 4.
The Mission commends the FBiH MoI for revising, in co-operation with the Mission and other international partners, the curricula of the FBiH Police Academy, which should introduce new modules on DV, juvenile justice and GBV by the end of 2023. To ensure their implementation, as well as the highest standards of teaching, the Mission will co-operate with the FBiH MoI in developing the capacities of expert FBiH Police Academy trainers.
The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina calls on the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and relevant ministries to undertake activities within their jurisdiction as soon as possible and no later than the end of 2023 and enable the entry into force of the new Curriculum.
Commitment 3 - Continuous trainings for police:
The Mission thanks the FBiH and Cantonal MoIs for excellent co-operation in developing a model for the institutionalization of mandatory and specialised trainings on GBV for in-service police officers. The Mission calls upon the FBiH and Cantonal MoIs as well as relevant authorities in the BD of BiH to finalize and adopt policies and mechanisms; the Mission remains ready to support these processes.
Commitment 4 - Development of guidelines for action for police officers:
The Mission commends the FBiH and Cantonal MoIs for efforts, together with the Mission, to develop flowcharts for police actions in response to reports of DV and GBV. The Mission will continously support to the FBiH and Cantonal MoIs to institutionalize and begin utilizing them.
Commitment 5 - Control of firearms in DV cases:
Reducing the potential threat of DV, including to life, requires reducing access to firearms, as reflected in Commitment 5.
The Mission commends the BiH Council of Ministers for establishing a Working Group comprised of representatives from all administrative levels in BiH for the harmonization of regulations on firearms and ammunition in BiH. The Mission reminds the FBiH and Cantonal MoIs of similar commitments made to harmonize and strengthen Cantonal legislation and regulations on issuing, possessing and controlling firearms in relation to reported DV cases. The Mission calls on the FBiH and Cantonal authorities to initiate procedures for the mandatory temporary seizure of firearms from potential perpetrators/households following a report of DV. Where already in place, such procedures to should implemented effectively and consistently.
Commitment 6 - Improvement of the justice sector response:
Per commitment 6, combatting impunity for DV and GBV requires effective and prompt responses by the judiciary.
The Mission commends the HJPC of BiH for providing, in close co-ordination with the Mission, training to improve the justice sector response to DV and GBV, including the proper application of the relevant legal provisions and enhancing police-prosecutorial cooperation. Analysis of existing practices carried out by the HJPC of BiH should enable the identification of additional training needs. Moving forward, the HJPC BiH and judicial institutions across BiH must prioritize the swift and effective processing of DV and GBV cases.
