At the 54th session, held on 27 July 2022, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the proposal of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adopted the Action Plan to improve the state of human rights and fundamental freedoms of LGBTI people in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2021 - 2023.
In this way, Bosnia and Herzegovina fulfills one of the key priorities in the pre-accession process of joining the European Union, specifically, priority number 13, which mandates the improvement of protection and inclusion of vulnerable groups, among others, LGBTI persons.
Between June and November 2023, the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, jointly with relevant institutions from Republika Srpska, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Brcko District and with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe, organised four consultative working meetings, gathering altogether 64 representatives from relevant institutions, international and civil society organisations.
These meetings fostered the dialogue about the implementation, monitoring and reporting towards the Plan among the relevant stakeholders in charge of implementing specific activities within the Action Plan.
One part of the meetings was also dedicated to discussing concrete problems which LGBTI community is facing in everyday life and the importance of implementing envisaged activities foreseen by the Plan, to improve the human rights of LGBTI persons in line with European standards. Envisaged activities include those such as raising capacities of employees working directly with people living in the country, such as doctors, police officers, teachers, etc. to understand the specificities related to the people belonging to the LGBTI community and having a sensitised approach towards them.
These gatherings were organised with the support of the action "Towards an equal, inclusive and tolerant Bosnia and Herzegovina", which is implemented within the framework of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye".