Combating discrimination and hate speech, as well as promoting social cohesion in line with European standards are among the important issues that the European Union and the Council of Europe will continue promoting in the following four years in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). This was announced during the launching of the action “Towards an equal, inclusive and tolerant Bosnia and Herzegovina”, that took place in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

85 representatives of relevant institutions at the State, Entity, and Brčko District levels; international community, civil society organisations; media and other relevant stakeholders gathered to learn more about this initiative aiming to promote anti-discrimination and protection of the rights of vulnerable groups.

Bojana Urumova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo stated: “The full enjoyment of human rights and non-discrimination for one social group does not mean the infringement of the human rights of others. Promoting a safe and inclusive society for all people is an achievable goal that we are working towards in the Council of Europe, in all of our member states.”

Gianluca Vannini, Head of Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross Border Co-operation, EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, pointed out the importance of the action so that all groups and members of minority groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina can live equally without discrimination on any basis.

“On behalf of the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, I would like to thank the European Union and the Council of Europe for the continuation of the action….which is very relevant for the Ministry but also for Bosnia and Herzegovina, since it has never been so important to continue dealing with the topic of tolerance and increasing the level of fight to prevent hate speech”, said Saliha Đuderija, Assistant Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The action is co-financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe in the amount of €850 000 for the period 2023 - 2026. It builds on the results of the previous actions implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within the joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.