All News on Social Issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo Politician Champions Legislation to Outlaw Hate Speech
Damir Marjanovic, a member of the Sarajevo Canton parliament from the liberal, multi-ethnic Nasa Stranka (Our Party), told BIRN that he has filed the proposal for new legislation to the Cantonal Assembly because there is a real need for a clear and precise law that will enable people to be sanctioned for hate speech.
Bosnia Arrests Two Serb Ex-Soldiers for Multiple Rape
State Investigation and Protection Agency police arrested Radovan Paprica, also known as Papro, and Slavko Ognjenovic, alias Macak, on Sunday on charges of the multiple rape and sexual abuse of Bosniaks in the Foca area of eastern Bosnia in 1992.
The two former Bosnian Serb Army soldiers have been charged with committing a crime against humanity.
Croatia Mulls Using Retired Police To Handle Migrant Crisis
The Croatian Interior Ministry is planning to introduce an auxiliary reserve police force that will draw also on retired officers - mostly to help deal with the migrant burden and strengthen Croatia's border, which is also an EU external border.
Sarajevo Faces Tolerance Test with First Pride March
Sarajevo, which withstood a bloody siege by Bosnian Serb forces for 1,425 days during the 1992-95 war, has long been viewed as a city of tolerance, a cultural capital and a city that exudes resilience.
Eurostat: Nearly 230,000 People from the Balkans Have Moved to the EU
Last year, 228,000 citizens of the Western Balkans moved to European Union countries. This is shown by data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), Macedonian news agency Makfax reports.
New Hope Offered to Kosovo’s Wartime Rape Victims
It will be a long time before survivors of wartime rape in Kosovo find lasting closure or healing, Mirlinda Sada says.
Serbia’s military chief: "We have Russian support for the Kosovo challenges"
He stated that we have Russia's military support for the challenges ahead of us in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija.
Croatia President Denies Insulting Bosnia in Israel
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, on a three-day visit to Israel, on Wednesday denied calling neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina an unstable country taken over by militant Islam and connected to Iran - remarks reported in a Jerusalem Post article that sparked hostile reactions in Bosnia and Herzegovina - and which the newspaper has since deleted.
Bosnia’s First State Prison to Open After 13-Year Wait
Justice Minister Josip Grubesa told reporters in Sarajevo on Tuesday that Bosnia and Herzegovina's first state-level prison will finally open on Auigust 1, a move set to address the country's current lack of adequate jail capacity.
Serbs in Croatia are treated like scum, as Croatian interest suddenly becomes Serbian
In the same time, as he explained, Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina "declares the construction of the Peljesac Bridge as Serbian national interest".
He wrote it on his Twitter page, on the occasion of Dodik deciding to call for the protection of vital entity interests, thereby preventing the dispute with Croatia over the construction of the Peljeac Bridge.
Slovenia Opposition Demands Tighter Border Controls With Croatia
The opposition conservative New Slovenia party, NSi, on Thursday, demanded a session of the foreign policy and interior policy committees in parliament to discuss the new joint Italian-Slovenian border patrols on the borders of the two countries.
Bosnia Moves Migrants, Refugees to ‘Unsuitable’ Forest Camp
Croatian police regularly prevent migrants from crossing the country's border, sometimes using violence, rights groups say. That has created a bottleneck in Bosnia.
Though the numbers are not on the scale of 2015, when the migrant crisis was at its height, Bosnia, and particularly its northwestern Una-Sana Canton, has struggled to cope.
First Gay Parade in North Macedonia
A rainbow of colors filled the streets of Skopje on Saturday when North Macedonia held its first gay parade. Demonstrators in the largely conservative Balkan region have called for the cessation of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT).
Young Bosnians Turn Hateful Graffiti Into Joyful Art
The central Bosnian town of Zenica in May hosted several young people from several towns in Bosnia with one aim - to paint over offensive, hateful graffiti.
Nationalist and political slurs and threats against ethnic groups are now transformed into a colourful mural, under a team led by Faruk Celikovic, a young street artist.
Bosnian Croat Ex-Fighter Faces Extradition after Arrest in US
Robert Kovacic, a former member of the Croatian Defence Council wanted for war crimes, was arrested last month in the United States on a warrant issued by Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is now awaiting an extradition hearing in a US court in July.
Kovacic, now 66, was arrested in Roanoke, Virginia on May 16. He is currently in custody in the US and his extradition is pending.