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Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing a turning point. After the destruction of the 1992-1995 war and the subsequent, massive international reconstruction support, the country now finds itself at a crossroads between economic, social and political dependency on one side and the sustainability and local ownership of its development on the other. The Human Development/Millennium Development Goals Report for Bosnia and Herzegovina for the year 2003 is forward-looking and proposes policies in specific sectors that will help achieving sustainability and ownership. It also contains quantitative forecasts for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. // The MDGs are of critical importance for BiH. They provide a global context that determines previously under appreciated aspects of the globalisation process, especially with regards to poverty reduction, the humanisation of development, and the advancement of development aid. With this report and by implementing its recommendations and policies, BiH is actively joining the globalisation process, especially the activities of UN agencies and the UNDP in particular. One may argue that MDGs as such cannot be all that relevant for BiH context as the global goals have been defined too generically and detached from the present day of BiH. There also might be voices to express discontent with irrelevance of AIDS or maternal mortality, for example, in the country where these are not policy priorities. Yet, the question is - what BiH can do to prevent them from becoming issues before too late, and what real priorities the country can set in such areas as health, education and economy, outlined in MDGs. // Some statistics provide an optimistic, but perhaps misleading development picture of BiH, in light of global generic MDGs. Primary education rates stand far much higher than most of the developing countries, while maternal mortality figures are not high1. Yet, such a status quo is rather an inheritance from former socialist system. Unless the country embarks on the implementation of the mid and long-term development strategy, such achievements cannot be taken for granted forever given a current fragile economic outlook and insufficiency of public revenues. Furthermore, this report takes a look at disaggregated data to capture who are the vulnerable and neglected groups, and who would be the potential vulnerable ones, all of which should be taken into account when BiH governments and CSOs formulate development policies and implementhem in line with 8 ambitious MDGs. MDG 1 on poverty reduction seems to be a main challenge of BiH today, but it cannot be addressed in isolation of other MDGs as poverty reduction requires integrated and multisectoral approach that cannot be carried out if other MDGs are left aside. In other words, it would be myopic to formulate poverty reduction policies without taking education, health and environmental factors as relevant variables in an integrated manner. Goal 8 (on international cooperation) is also of utmost importance as it should enlighten the international community how to better address internally identified development priorities in BiH especially at a time when external financial support is on decline. // Therefore, this Human Development Report on MDGs attempts to assess problems, set priorities, and identify solutions along with BiH specific development indicators and benchmarks for all 8 goals. The report thus should enable governments and civil society organizations together to implement, monitor and evaluate country specific MDGs.
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Instead of an Abstract/Summary here, please refer to the Introduction PDF-file which includes an Executive Summary
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Despite the progress that has been made since the end of the 1992-1995 conflict in BiH, the country’s social fabric is still weakened and frayed. Levels of social trust are very low. In contrast to what one might assume – that levels of trust and social cohesion would be increasing, as the conflict recedes into the past – evidence suggests that over the past few years trust levels have been worsening. This low social trust manifests itself as a considerable development challenge in BiH, in particular in light of the country’s aspirations to join the European Union in the near future. // Social trust is something that binds societies together and helps them function. It makes people’s interactions with one another, and with institutions and service providers, smoother and more efficient. A lack of trust, in contrast, has the tendency to make those processes more laborious and fractious. Together with civic participation and norms of reciprocity, trust is a crucial component of social capital. // They are the features of society that facilitate cooperation between people that results in mutual benefit. The concept of social capital arises, therefore, from the assumption that relationships matter: that understanding the different constellations of social networks and the functioning of everyday social ties is essential to interpreting – and ultimately intervening to change – broader social processes. // The report finds that BiH’s social fabric is characterised by fragmentation and segmentation rather than cohesion and solidarity. BiH has a web of localised strong ties, based on strong family relations. Such strong ties do have their advantages. For example, they can provide support in times of need. To that extent, it is clear that in their immediate networks people care and look out for each other to a great extent in BiH. // Those with higher education have more diverse networks, highlighting the importance of strengthening the education system in BiH and improving retention levels. Yet, for the benefit of broader society, a lot more needs to be done to build broader, more integrative and wider-spanning ties, incorporating members of other communities, ethnicities, social classes and both genders.
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1. The Government Policy // 1.1. Balancing between negotiations and military scenario // 1.2. Army issues require an immediate resolution // 1.3. The judicial system is resisting to changes // 2. Economic Situation // 2.1. The government offers to introduce special period in energy sector // 2.2. The NBU got a new head – from business // 2.3. Crimean goods will not receive European preferences // 3. Political Competition // 3.1. Creation of Petro Poroshenko’s team // 3.2. Ihor Kolomoisky may bring his party to the Parliament // 3.3. Fight for Eastern electorate
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Sasvim u duhu narodne poslovice da se prijatelj u nevolji poznaje, Marija Zaharova, zvanična predstavnica ministarstva spoljnih poslova Rusije, prekjuče je izjavila: „Beležimo i izjave srpske strane da im je Rusija prijatelj. Možda imamo različite poglede na prijateljstvo. Mi svoje prijatelje u teškim trenucima uvek podržavamo“. Uvek, Marija?
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Sjednica užeg kabineta Vlade RH u stranačkim prostorijama HDZ-a. Prisutni: predsjednik Vlade Andrej Plenković, ministar obrane Mario Banožić, ministar branitelja Tomo Medved, ministar financija Zdravko Marić, ministar unutrašnjih poslova Davor Božinović, fotografija Franje Tuđmana na zidu.
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Velika izborna bitka je završena, ali generali niču kao pečurke posle kiše. Jedni jašu na zapad, drugi na istok, treći sve znaju o izbornoj taktici, četvrti grme i kore one koji nisu imali dovoljno hrabrosti da se tokom kampanje, pored toga što su javno osudili agresiju Putinove Rusije na Ukrajinu, založe i za uvođenje sankcija Rusiji. Ovo se spočitava Stranci slobode i pravde, kao i Koaliciji Moramo. Trebalo bi videti zapravo ko je uopšte tokom dva i po meseca putinovskog ludila u Srbiji imao smelosti da izgovori bilo šta protiv Rusije u političkoj areni. Po svemu sudeći to i nisu bile stranke, već nekoliko pojedinki, političarki, od kojih je jedna bila kandidatkinja za predsednicu Srbije.
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Već decenijama je marama ili hidžab tema šire društvene, a u posljednje vrijeme i pravne polemike u nekoliko evropskih država, naročito u Belgiji i Francuskoj. To nije iznenađujuće kada se uzme u obzir da obje te države na svojim prostorima imaju dugu tradiciju islama, te brojne muslimanske zajednice koje zahtijevaju poštivanje svojih vjerskih uvjerenja. Uprkos tome, ni Belgija ni Francuska ne djeluju odveć otvorene prema vjerskoj raznolikosti svojih stanovnika. Takav stav se često opravdava zahtjevima “vjerske neutralnosti” ili sekularizma. Neutralni pristup države religiji između ostalog podrazumijeva da niti jedna religija ne smije imati utjecaja na državna pitanja. Jedna od posljedica takvog pristupa u ovim dvjema državama je i zabrana nošenja vjerskih simbola na radnom mjestu za javne službenike, što – kako se u praksi pokazalo – najviše dotiče pokrivene žene muslimanke. Osim državne službe, zabrane nošenja hidžaba, odnosno drugih vjerskih obilježja, uvele su i škole, ugostiteljski i sportski objekti, a sada i poslodavci privatnog sektora, formulirajući ove zabrane kao zabrane nošenja pokrivala za glavu ili generalne zabrane nošenja vjerskih obilježja i odjeće. Takve prakse su u mnogim slučajevima svojim odlukama podržali i nacionalni sudovi.
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Borbu protiv korupcijskog kriminaliteta u svijetu, na kraju XX i početku XXI vijeka, obilježili su slučajevi korupcije na visokoj razini, u kojima su glavni akteri često bili javni funkcioneri, a koji su korištenjem svojih pozicija stekli značajno bogatstvo. Narušavanjem principa pravilnog i zakonitog obavljanja službene i odgovorne dužnosti, takvi slučajevi su uzrokovali velike štete društvenoj zajednici, pojedinačnim institucijama, ali i samoj državi. Da bi se očuvao pravni poredak, slučajevi korupcije među javnim funkcionerima trebaju biti otkriveni, izvršioci kažnjavani, a nezakonito stečena imovina oduzeta i vraćena zajednici. Ipak, to nije lak zadatak. Naime, otkrivanje i dokazivanje krivičnih djela korupcije javnih službenika predstavlja izuzetno velik izazov za profesionalce, pa počinioci često ostaju neotkriveni ili nekažnjeni. Prema relevantnim procjenama, dok u evropskim zemljama po svakom otkrivenom krivičnom djelu korupcije bude između 10 i 50 neotkrivenih, procjene za Bosnu i Hercegovinu (BiH) ukazuju na to da se broj neotkrivenih djela u odnosu na jedno otkriveno kreće i do 200. Iako bazirana na percepciji građana, referentna mjerenja o prisutnosti korupcije po državama, godinama unazad, pokazuju da je BiH, uz Albaniju, zemlja koja je najviše pogođena korupcijom. Međutim, vjerovatno veća zabrinutost treba biti izostanak očekivane reakcije organa formalne socijalne kontrole, što pokazuje izrazito mali broj optužnica, pa onda i osuđujućih presuda za korupciju, među kojima predmeti visoke korupcije predstavljaju izuzetke. U mnogim zemljama koje su se susretale sa sličnim problemima, a sa ciljem da se efikasnije i efektivnije odgovori na korupcijski kriminalitet, u krivične zakone je uvedeno krivično djelo nezakonito bogaćenje. Sama kriminalizacija i primjena novog krivičnog djela dali su značajan doprinos tome da se neke od tih zemalja danas pominju kao dobri primjeri u borbi protiv korupcije. Potpisivanjem UNove Konvencije protiv korupcije (UNCAC), BiH se, pored ostalog, obavezala da će ozbiljno razmotriti kriminalizaciju nezakonitog bogaćenja, što je propisano članom 20 ove konvencije. Međutim, treba imati na umu da je pitanje kriminalizacije nezakonitog bogaćenja izazvalo intenzivne diskusije, kako u naučnim i stručnim tako i u krugovima donosilaca odluka. Dok jedni u tome vide značajne prednosti i efektivan mehanizam zaštite pravnog poretka, drugi upućuju značajne prigovore, među kojima se najteži odnose na kršenje osnovnih ljudskih prava i fundamentalnih principa krivičnog prava. Cilj ovoga teksta je da ponudi prikaz prednosti kriminalizacije nezakonitog bogaćenja, ali i najvećih prigovora uvođenju tog krivičnog djela, pritom se osvrćući na izazove za zakonodavca i izazove za profesionalce. Uz svijest o tome da je u ovom momentu teško ponuditi najbolje rješenje, ovaj tekst bi trebalo da posluži kao početni korak za buduće diskusije i analize, koje će polučiti konkretne smjernice za daljnje djelovanje. Upravo u tom duhu, dokumenat koji prati UNCAC – “Legislativne smjernice za implementaciju UNCAC-a” – predlaže da države trebaju da razmotre donošenje odnosnih pravnih mjera, a kako bi ustanovile da li su te mjere u skladu s konkretnim pravnim sistemom. Tako, ostaje izuzetan izazov da se pronađe pravi balans između pravnog principa prema kojem nezakonito stečena imovina ne može da bude zadržana, ponajmanje od strane javnih funkcionera, i pravnih principa koji garantuju zaštitu ljudskih prava i fundamentalnih pravila krivičnog postupka.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is often considered one of the most prominent examples of comprehensive international intervention into local affairs aimed at post-war state building, including institutions of the local media system. International actors played an important role in creating legislative frameworks and regulatory institutions for the media sector, started the reform of the PSB system, supported the development of independent media, and initiated the introduction of a self-regulatory framework. These efforts have resulted in the pacification of media discourse and elimination of outright ethnically-charged hate speech, and have opened up the media space for opposition voices and alternative sources of information.
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Generally, international media assistance can help any media system with the positive and negative interventions. Positive interventions, on the one hand, provide incentives and support the forces in the desired direction. Negative interventions, on the other hand, suppress unwanted practices which inhibit the desired outcome. Peace building is not any different and post-conflict media strategies are concerned with both positive and negative role of media in reconciliation. Most of the projects described in the literature deal with positive interventions – orchestration of positive media practices that contribute to peace: development of professional journalism, building media institutions and promotion of content in support of lasting peace. Nonetheless, negative interventions are often necessary to curb media practices that enable the continuation of conflict discourse. Even though the cessation of direct violence marks a decisive step in transforming conflict, sustainable peace depends on the eradication of other forces that are destructive to peace development. The majority of conflicts since the Cold War have been reinforced through carefully orchestrated media machines. Even after political agreements bring an end to physical violence, propaganda and inciting messages tend to prolong the culture of violence. Violence often continues to exist in a non-tangible form – cultural violence – as aspects of culture (e.g. religion, language, art) which function as the symbolic sphere of our existence. Cultural violence continues to exist most prominently in the media and as such represents a major obstacle to the peaceful transformation of conflict. Hence, the critical component of peace building media strategy that has been widely underreported concerns the regulation of residual violence-inciting, conflict-promoting media environment. While the intervention with peaceoriented information in conflict is necessary, “intervention against certain kinds of information” has not been a priority of most media interventions. Therefore, this chapter deals with the regulation process that centers on the development of legal environment which protects free speech and democratic media discourse while preventing inflammatory language, hate speech and verbal incitement. While the two approaches may appear to be in opposition, a more complementary practice developed over the last two decades. Nowhere else has this duality of media assistance been prominent as in the post-conflict recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Kosovo. In both of these cases, the initial media projects centered on journalism reform because at the time of the first post-Cold War conflicts, a quick model for news media improvement in conflict societies did not exist. A model of the media development at the time existed in the former communist countries in democratic transition (e.g. former Soviet bloc, Latin America and parts of Asia) and it focused on elimination of censorship and careful nurturing of independent press. However, years after the peace agreements were signed in both countries, the professionally-run, independent media were slow to make visible changes because they could not compete with the old, nationalist media sources (i.e. national broadcasters). The audiences stuck with the coverage of nationalist media which was frequently biased and often even hateful. Moreover, the new, independent media failed to attract larger audiences, despite their professional and objective journalism. The international administrators in charge of the media strategy believed that, when presented with the appropriate options, people would make the right choice (i.e. choosing objective media over biased ones) but the success of the nationalist media negated such assumption. The media strategists failed to understand that pluralism requires more than the saturation of the environment with new media outlets. This is when the reform of the regulatory environment became the focus of the media assistance in the region. However, the model of what regulatory reform of a conflict media needed to be was an enigma at this point. This chapter argues that the two experiences from the conflicts in B&H and Kosovo provided the answer of what regulative practice in conflict zones must contain. Not only have the two case studies established the variety of practices necessary for a comprehensive regulatory reform; they also came at the time when policy makers and academics came together to label this area of media assistance as “enabling environment” in one of the most influential studies for the USAID by Price and Krug. A decade later, many experts would agree that regulation efforts were possibly the best practice of media assistance and the basis for post-conflict intervention regulation paradigm. As such, the model of regulation from the Balkans will be seen as instrumental in the entire field of peace building media and a baseline for the future intervention in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The chapter is structured as follows: The rationale for the production of positive media promoting peace building (e.g. journalism training, professionalization and development of peace-oriented media) is easily understandable and widely acceptable. The rationale for regulation of conflict media has not been as popular or easily understood. Therefore, it becomes highly important to understand the history of regulatory practices, provide the justification of its usefulness while remaining cognizant of the signpost issues surrounding the regulation (e.g. free speech v. hate speech). Finally, the two case studies of regulation from B&H and Kosovo are presented with the focus on implementation of regulation strategies (i.e. protection of free speech, suppression of incendiary media and development of regulatory authorities) that will serve as a basis for the media development known as “enabling environment” or the process of building media laws and institutions that support free and independent media.
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The issue of participation of members of national minorities, as part of the constitutional category of “Others”, in the political and public life of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been a recurring topic of concern of international organizations and institutions. As these international actors eloquently show, ethnic power-sharing arrangements related to the elaborate mechanisms of collective political equality of the three dominant ethnic groups in the state (Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks - constitutionally termed as constituent peoples) have been one of the main obstacles to equal participation of members of national minorities and other persons not belonging to constituent peoples in public affairs. Discrimination and exclusion of the heterogeneous constitutional category of “Others” in BiH, including persons belonging to national minorities, indeed takes place in a variety of institutions and settings. The most cited example of exclusion of minority ethno-cultural groups from public affairs is the ethnically exclusivist Constitution of BiH, which prevents, inter alia, persons belonging to minorities from being elected to the three-member Bosnian Presidency and delegated to the upper chamber of the Bosnian Parliament. However, these explicit, constitutionally entrenched mechanisms of exclusion seem to have completely obscured the more complex and subtle ones operating at the level of laws and policies related to decision-making processes at the local, municipal level. While such exclusion of “Others” is a matter of discrimination, the exclusion from political life of one category from this heterogeneous group – national minorities – is a violation of another important right – the right of persons belonging to minorities to participate in public affairs, in accordance with the more recent international minority rights instruments. Namely, during the last decade of the past century, new international group and minority rights instruments have been devised, recognizing and affirming the identity and status of minorities in national constitutional and political systems. A particularly important, even ground-breaking feature of these new international legal developments is the explicit recognition of the right of minorities to participate in public affairs. This new standard of political participation of minorities is formulated as them having a say in public “matters affecting them”. Based on these new standards, regional human rights institutions - most notably, the Advisory Committee (hereinafter AC) on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (hereinafter FCNM) have interpreted the minority right to collective political participation as a rather “strong” right and started implementing it in unqualified terms, translating the minority cultural identity directly into the political plane. This is somewhat surprising, as even the more optimistic experts have initially been skeptical of the potential and reach of the FCNM, not least because its status as a framework convention. However, as some influential commentators have argued, the AC on the FCNM has proven to be very successful in ensuring collective political participation of minorities in accordance with the relevant provisions of this instrument. State reports and the opinions of the AC issued under FCNM, as well as various other policy documents of European institutions, suggest that the concept of political participation of minorities already has deep roots in the pan-European polity. Effective participation of minorities in public affairs is a broad concept. First, it can be interpreted as participation in a narrow sense: having representatives in elected bodies at different levels of governance, in the executive, or in advisory bodies, committees or public councils. Participation can also mean membership in “semi-state bodies, such as chambers of commerce and industry, in bodies representing agriculture and labor, in social insurance bodies, in trade unions, employers’ unions and tripartite bodies, and in boards of public broadcasting companies.” Additionally, participation in public affairs can include various forms of autonomy, ranging from territorial and federal arrangements to cultural autonomy. The practice of the AC on the FCNM, however, has shown that the focus is mostly placed on representation of minorities in elected bodies and on various forms of consultation, whereas mechanisms of participation in the executive, public administration, judicial and other bodies are almost neglected. In its last Opinion on BiH, the AC on the FCNM has confirmed that this dual avenue of representation and consultation of minorities at different levels of governance has not been adequately entrenched in the political system and practice of BiH. This research project examines precisely how this important emerging right plays out in the complex legal system of BiH and the equally complex decision-making practice in the country, focusing on the local level of governance. In other words, this study examines mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion of minorities in decision-making processes at the level of municipal governance. It is important to note that even persons belonging to constituent peoples can also in certain (sub-national) contexts be in minority situations and as such be considered minorities for the purpose of international minority rights instruments. However, according to the BiH Law on the Protection of Rights of Persons Belonging to National Minorities, a minority is defined as “part of the population-citizens of BiH who do not belong to any of the three constituent peoples, and is composed of persons of the same or similar ethnic origin, the same or similar tradition, custom, belief, language, culture and spirituality, and closely related history and other traits.” This research project focuses on national minorities in the latter sense only. The structure of the study is as follows: first, the conceptual and international legal framework is briefly elaborated. Following these introductory considerations, we examine both the legal framework and the practice of participation of persons belonging to minorities in decision-making at the local level in BiH. Although political representation and consultation mechanisms are treated separately, and in different chapters of the study, we are aware of the interconnections between the two mechanisms, which figurate prominently throughout the study.
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Pitanje participacije pripadnika nacionalnih manjina, kao dijela ustavne kategorije ’ostalih’, u političkom i javnom životu Bosne i Hercegovine (BiH), redovno izaziva zabrinutost međunarodnih organizacija i institucija. Kako ovi međunarodni akteri rječito navode, etnička raspodjela vlasti kroz složene mehanizme kolektivne političke jednakosti tri dominantne etničke grupe u državi (Srba, Hrvata i Bošnjaka – koji se u Ustavu nazivaju konstitutivnim narodima) jedna je od glavnih prepreka za ravnopravnu participaciju u javnim poslovima pripadnika nacionalnih manjina i drugih osoba koje ne pripadaju konstitutivnim narodima. Diskriminacija i isključenost heterogene ustavne kategorije ’ostalih’ u BiH, koja uključuje i pripadnike nacionalnih manjina, zaista su evidentni u različitim institucijama i oblastima. Primjer isključenosti manjinskih etnokulturnih grupa iz javnih poslova koji se najčešće spominje jeste ekskluzivno etnički koncipiran Ustav Bosne i Hercegovine, koji, između ostalog, sprječava izbor pripadnika manjina u tročlano Predsjedništvo BiH i njihovo delegiranje u Dom naroda Parlamentarne skupštine BiH. Međutim, čini se da su ove izričite mehanizme isključenosti koji su ugrađeni u Ustav potpuno zasjenili složeniji i suptilniji mehanizmi na nivou zakona i politika koji se odnose na postupke donošenja odluka na lokalnom, općinskom nivou. Iako takva isključenost ’ostalih’ zasigurno predstavlja diskriminaciju, isključenost iz političkog života jedne kategorije iz ove heterogene grupe – kategorije nacionalnih manjina – predstavlja kršenje drugog važnog prava – prava pripadnika nacionalnih manjina da učestvuju u političkom životu, u skladu s novijim međunarodnim instrumentima manjinskih prava. Naime, tokom posljednje decenije prošlog vijeka, doneseni su novi međunarodni instrumenti grupnih i manjinskih prava, kojima se priznaje i potvrđuje identitet i status manjina u nacionalnim ustavnim i političkim sistemima. Iznimno važna, čak prijelomna osobina ovih novih međunarodnih pravnih standarda jest izričito priznanje prava manjina da učestvuju u javnim poslovima. Ovaj novi standard političke participacije manjina formuliran je kao njihovo pravo da se očituju o javnim „pitanjima koja ih se tiču”. Na osnovu ovih novih standarda, regionalne institucije za ljudska prava, među njima prvenstveno Savjetodavni odbor (u daljnjem tekstu: SO) za Okvirnu konvenciju za zaštitu nacionalnih manjina (u daljnjem tekstu: Okvirna konvencija), su interpretirali pravo manjina na kolektivnu političku participaciju kao prilično „snažno” pravo, koje su stoga počele primjenjivati bezuvjetno, prenoseći manjinski kulturni identitet direktno u domen politike. Ovo je donekle iznenađujuće, jer su čak i optimističniji stručnjaci isprva bili skeptični u pogledu mogućnosti i dometa Okvirne konvencije, između ostalog, zbog njenog statusa okvirnog međunarodnog instrumenta. Međutim, kako tvrde pojedini utjecajni komentatori, SO za Okvirnu konvenciju pokazao se veoma uspješnim u osiguranju kolektivne političke participacije manjina u skladu sa odgovarajućim odredbama ovog instrumenta. Državni izvještaji i mišljenja SO u kontekstu okvirne konvencije, kao i razni drugi politički dokumenti evropskih institucija, sugeriraju da se koncept političke participacije manjina već duboko ukorijenio u panevropski političko-pravni poredak. Efikasna participacija manjina u javnim poslovima širok je koncept. Prvo, ona se može tumačiti kao participacija u užem smislu, kao postojanje predstavnika u izabranim tijelima na različitim nivoima vlasti, u izvršnim organima, ili u savjetodavnim tijelima, odborima i javnim vijećima. Participacija također može značiti članstvo u „poludržavnim tijelima, kao što su privredne i industrijske komore, u tijelima koja predstavljaju privredu i rad, u tijelima socijalnog osiguranja, u sindikatima, udruženjima poslodavaca i tripartitnim tijelima, te u odborima javnih radiotelevizijskih preduzeća”. Pored toga, participacija u javnim poslovima može obuhvatati različite oblike autonomije – od teritorijalnih i federalnih aranžmana do kulturne autonomije. Praksa SO za Okvirnu konvenciju, međutim, pokazuje da je pažnja ponajviše usmjerena na predstavljanje manjina u izabranim tijelima i u različitim oblicima konsultacija, dok su mehanizmi participacije u izvršnoj vlasti, u javnoj upravi, te u pravosudnim i drugim organima gotovo zanemareni. U svom posljednjem Mišljenju o Bosni i Hercegovini, Savjetodavni odbor za Okvirnu konvenciju potvrdio je da ovaj dvostruki mehanizam predstavljanja i konsultacija s manjinama na različitim nivoima vlasti nije na odgovarajući način zaživio u političkom sistemu i praksi u Bosni i Hercegovini. U ovom istraživačkom projektu upravo se istražuje koliko se ovo važno pravo koje se razvija provodi u složenom pravnom sistemu Bosne i Hercegovine i u podjednako složenoj praksi odlučivanja u državi, s fokusom na lokalni nivo vlasti. Drugim riječima, u ovoj studiji se istražuju mehanizmi isključenosti i uključenosti manjina u postupke odlučivanja na nivou općinskih vlasti. Važno je istaći da se čak i pripadnici konstitutivnih naroda u određenom kontekstu (tj. u pojedinim dijelovima države) mogu nalaziti u situaciji manjine i da se kao takvi mogu smatrati manjinama u smislu međunarodnih instrumenata manjinskih prava. Međutim, prema Zakonu o zaštiti prava pripadnika nacionalnih manjina BiH, manjina je definirana kao „dio stanovništva – državljana BiH koji ne pripadaju nijednom od tri konstitutivna naroda, a sačinjavaju je ljudi istog ili sličnog etničkog porijekla, iste ili slične tradicije, običaja, vjerovanja, jezika, kulture i duhovnosti i bliske ili srodne povijesti i drugih obilježja”. Ovaj istraživački projekat bavi se nacionalnim manjinama samo u ovom drugom smislu. U strukturi ove studije, najprije je ukratko izložen konceptualni i međunarodnopravni okvir. Nakon ovih uvodnih razmatranja, istražujemo pravni okvir, kao i praksu participacije pripadnika manjina u odlučivanju na lokalnom nivou u BiH. Iako su političko predstavljanje i mehanizmi konsultacija analizirani odvojeno, i u različitim poglavljima, svjesni smo međusobne povezanosti ova dva mehanizma, koji se prepliću kroz cijelu studiju.
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In the European context, the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (hereinafter: Framework Convention or FCNM) from 1998 is the chief treaty dealing with minority rights, and it has been adopted by more than forty state parties across the continent. The Framework Convention deals with the subject of participation of national minorities in public affairs as part of Article 15; however, the text itself is ambiguous and offers little guidance on its practical implementation. In response to the growing recognition of participation in public affairs as an important aspect of minority rights, in 2008 the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (hereinafter Advisory Committee or AC) - the expert body that monitors the implementation of the Convention - issued a detailed commentary. This Commentary on the Effective Participation of Persons Belonging to National Minorities in Cultural, Social and Economic Life and in Public Affairs offers its interpretation of fundamental standards for the realization of Article 15, reflecting its findings from the state reporting procedure. The Advisory Committee has without doubt made valuable contributions to the awareness of minority participation in decision-making and to the establishment of standards in this area. This report analyzes both its Commentary and the most current reporting cycles from each state party to the Framework Convention in order to elucidate the meaning of effective participation in decision-making and to identify models of best practice. As a framework encapsulating institutional mechanisms of participation and common issues that must be taken into consideration in designing them, the report looks at coordination between the mechanisms and on different levels of governance, including the local level, which has been prone to neglect in most of the relevant scholarship. Apart from its general purpose, the report particularly intends to promote and offer guidance for implementing minority inclusive governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other Balkan states. This latter dimension of orientation of this report is due to the often noted lack of understanding of the concept of political participation of minorities and often uncertain and winding routes towards truly multicultural governance that these states, to varying extents, are currently taking. The analysis also recognizes two factors that affect the work of the Advisory Committee in standard-setting and evaluating state practice. The first is the broad margin of appreciation afforded to state parties in designing systems of minority political participation as well as the individualized approach of the Advisory Committee, which takes contextual specificities (e.g. current level of minority inclusion, historical and socio-political factors) into account when evaluating these systems. The second factor is the Advisory Committee’s limited mandate, as the agenda of the reporting procedure is for the most part set up by the state parties themselves: the AC relies on the cooperation of states and lacks an enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with its recommendations. This study therefore investigates the impact of these factors on standard-setting and on its individual opinions on state parties’ implementation of minority political participation. It incorporates illustrative examples from the state reporting procedure to highlight and further elucidate standards; however the analysis also aims to quell some of the optimism towards the AC’s work in light of noticeable gaps, influenced in part by the limitations to its mandate. Following the introductory section, Chapter 1 examines criteria commonly used by states to determine the existence of national minorities under domestic law against the AC’s prescriptions. The very term “national minority” is a primary example of the margin of appreciation, as there exists no common, universally accepted definition in the Convention. Despite this leeway, the AC stipulates basic principles by which state parties should abide; namely, this means maintaining an inclusive and flexible approach in granting national minority status. Arbitrary exclusion or differentiation between groups based on ancestral presence in a country, territorial ties to a geographic area, and numerical size are seen as unjustified by the AC. Importantly, it also insists that citizenship should not be grounds on which to exclude persons belonging to national minorities (although few states have incorporated this principle), as many articles of the FCNM, including Article 15, do not require a citizenship dimension. In particular, the AC is resolute that citizenship should not be a requirement to vote or run for office on local and regional levels. The findings of this section resound in subsequent chapters of the report, as official recognition as a national minority is directly linked to entitlements to special participatory rights reserved for persons belonging to national minorities. The next chapter analyzes the tripartite institutional structure of minority participation in political affairs. This includes representation in elected positions such as in parliament and local councils; consultative or advisory bodies; and employment in public administration. Representation in elected bodies and positions is generally the most direct means for minority representatives to take an active part in decision-making. Some of the principal measures that may be used to increase the representation of national minorities in elected bodies include allowing minority-specific political parties, electoral designs with separate voting lists, threshold exemptions, quotas and reserved seats, and special voting rights such as minority veto powers. Consultative bodies are another institutional mechanism, serving as forums where minority representatives may engage in dialogue with each other and governmental authorities. These bodies have an advisory function and may initiate and amend legislation affecting national minorities. Employment in public administration is another means of including minorities in public affairs, and the recruitment of national minorities has significant implications on raising general awareness of minorities in the state amongst majority and minority populations, and inspiring trust in government institutions from persons belonging to national minorities. Beyond these three principal mechanisms, the AC calls on specialized governmental bodies within the executive, such as ministries or departments for minority rights, to coordinate, monitor, and mainstream minority issues on all levels of governance. Specialized governmental bodies are tasked with coordinating a state’s policy towards national minorities and are in charge of monitoring implementation and results, as well as liaising with minority representatives, minority organizations, and relevant bodies where minorities participate in order to facilitate communication. In this sense, specialized governmental bodies mainstream minority issues throughout the entire institutional framework and state apparatus. Lastly, decentralized forms of government such as regional autonomy and self-government can be a useful means to give national minorities control over their interests, especially on local and regional levels. The second part of Chapter 2 elaborates upon overlapping issues concerning the effectiveness of the institutional mechanisms. This includes the legitimacy and pluralism of national minority representatives and additional interlocutors (such as relevant NGO representatives, scholars, or other experts) to advocate on behalf of persons belonging to national minorities; the range of issues beyond culture, education, and language in which representatives may be involved in decision-making, including budget allocation; their impact and voice in decision-making, which highlights the importance of being able to substantively participate as opposed to having a mere presence in governmental bodies; and mainstreaming minority issues into state policies and governmental institutions. These issues form the core standards of participation and must be incorporated into the structure of a state’s institutional framework to ensure that participatory mechanisms have the effect of empowering persons belonging to national minorities to participate in decision-making. These standards are then questioned in Chapter 3, as the study evaluates the consistency of the Advisory Committee's performance. One foremost gap is the disjointedness between explicit criticisms and amorphous recommendations that the AC issues in its opinions. Chapter 3 links the two previously-mentioned factors - margin of appreciation and individualized approach; limited mandate and reactive approach - to account for some of this disparity. Observations of additional gaps are also explored, including: common criticisms towards states with different practices; inconsistencies and leniency; promising alternative methods for coordination and mainstreaming of minority policy displayed by selected states that contrast with the prescriptions of the AC’s own Commentary; and inconsistencies in the Advisory Committee’s reaction towards trade-offs whereby a state party displays unequal development in the three types of participatory institutions or in different levels of governance.
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U evropskom kontekstu, najvažniji ugovor koji se bavi pravima manjina je Okvirna konvencija za zaštitu nacionalnih manjina (Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities) (u daljnjem tekstu: Okvirna konvencija ili FCNM) Vijeća Evrope iz 1998. godine, koju je usvojilo više od 40 država članica širom kontinenta. Okvirna konvencija se u članu 15. bavi pitanjem participacije nacionalnih manjina u javnim poslovima, ali je sam tekst neodređen i nudi premalo pojašnjenja za praktičnu implementaciju. Kao odgovor na sve veće priznanje participacije u javnim poslovima kao važnog aspekta prava manjina, stručno tijelo koje prati implementaciju Konvencije – Savjetodavni odbor za Okvirnu konvenciju za zaštitu nacionalnih manjina (u daljnjem tekstu: Savjetodavni odbor ili SO) – 2008. godine je objavio detaljan Komentar o efikasnoj participaciji pripadnika nacionalnih manjina u kulturnom, društvenom i ekonomskom životu i javnim poslovima (Commentary on the Effective Participation of Persons Belonging to National Minorities in Cultural, Social and Economic Life and in Public Affairs), koji nudi tumačenje osnovnih standarda za provedbu člana 15. i predstavlja odraz izvještaja koje podnose države. Nema sumnje da je Savjetodavni odbor dao veliki doprinos podizanju svijesti o participaciji manjina u odlučivanju i uspostavljanju standarda u ovoj oblasti. U ovom izvještaju analizira se njegov Komentar, kao i najaktuelniji ciklusi podnošenja izvještaja svake države članice Okvirne konvencije, kako bi se pojasnilo značenje efikasne participacije u odlučivanju i kako bi se identifikovali modeli najbolje prakse. Kao okvir koji obuhvata institucionalne mehanizme participacije i zajednička pitanja koja treba uzeti u obzir prilikom njihovog oblikovanja, ovaj izvještaj posvećuje pažnju koordinaciji među mehanizmima, te koordinaciji na različitim nivoima vlasti, uključujući lokalni nivo, koji je često zanemaren u stručnim analizama. Pored ove opće svrhe, poseban je cilj izvještaja da posluži za pojašnjenje, promoviranje i pružanje smjernica u implementaciji vladavine koja uključuje nacionalne manjine u Bosni i Hercegovini i drugim zemljama Balkana. Ova druga dimenzija izvještaja rezultat je često primijećenog nerazumijevanja koncepta političke participacije manjina, te često neizvjesnih i kompliciranih puteva ka istinski multietničkoj vlasti kojima ove zemlje, u različitoj mjeri, trenutno idu. U analizi se također uvažavaju dva postojeća faktora koja utječu na rad Savjetodavnog odbora u postavljanju standarda i u ocjenjivanju prakse država. Prvi je široka sloboda procjene koja se daje državama u oblikovanju sistema političke participacije manjina, kao i individualizirani pristup Savjetodavnog odbora, koji uzima u obzir specifične kontekste različitih država (kao što su trenutni nivo uključenosti manjina, historijski i društveno-politički faktori) prilikom ocjenjivanja ovih sistema. Drugi je faktor ograničeni mandat Savjetodavnog odbora, jer o dnevnom redu u proceduri podnošenja izvještaja u najvećoj mjeri odlučuju same države potpisnice, a SO se oslanja na saradnju država i ne posjeduje mehanizam provedbe kojim bi osigurao ispunjavanje svojih preporuka. Ova studija, dakle, istražuje i utjecaj tih faktora na postavljanje standarda i na pojedinačna mišljenja SO-a o implementaciji političke participacije manjina koju provode države potpisnice. Ona nudi slikovite primjere iz postupka podnošenja izvještaja samih država kako bi se istaknuli i dodatno pojasnili relevantni standardi. Međutim, analiza također ima za cilj da reducira dio optimizma prema radu SO-a u svjetlu primjetnih nedostataka, na koje dijelom utječu i postojeća ograničenja njegovog mandata. Nakon uvodnog dijela, u prvom poglavlju se ispituju kriteriji koje države obično koriste za priznavanje postojanja nacionalnih manjina prema domaćim zakonima i porede se sa uputama SO-a. Sam termin „nacionalna manjina” pravi je primjer slobode tumačenja u pojedinim zemljama, jer u Konvenciji ne postoji zajednička, općeprihvaćena definicija. Uprkos ovom slobodnom prostoru, SO predviđa osnovne principe kojih države članice treba da se pridržavaju a koji se odnose na zauzimanje inkluzivnog i fleksibilnog pristupa u dodjeljivanju statusa nacionalne manjine. SO smatra neopravdanim proizvoljno isključenje ili razlikovanje grupa na osnovu njihovog dugotrajnog prisustva u zemlji, teritorijalnih veza sa geografskim područjem i brojčane zastupljenosti. Ono što je važno jeste da Odbor insistira i na tome da državljanstvo ne treba predstavljati osnov za isključivanje osoba koje pripadaju nacionalnim manjinama (mada su malobrojne države koje su usvojile ovaj princip), jer mnogi dijelovi Konvencije, uključujući član 15, ne zahtijevaju dimenziju državljanstva. SO je naročito odlučan u tome da državljanstvo ne treba predstavljati uslov za glasanje ili kandidiranje na izborima na lokalnom i regionalnom nivou. Nalazi ove sekcije imaju odjeka i u narednim poglavljima izvještaja, jer je zvanično priznanje nacionalnih manjina direktno povezano sa dodjeljivanjem posebnih participatornih prava rezerviranih za pripadnike nacionalnih manjina. U narednom poglavlju analizira se trodijelna institucionalna struktura participacije nacionalnih manjina u političkim aktivnostima. Ona obuhvata predstavljanje u kontekstu izabranih funkcija, kao što su one u parlamentima i lokalnim vijećima, konsultativna ili savjetodavna tijela, te zapošljavanje u javnoj upravi. Predstavljanje u kontekstu izabranih tijela i pozicija obično je najdirektniji način na koji predstavnici manjina aktivno učestvuju u odlučivanju. Među ključnim mjerama koje se mogu koristiti za povećanje prisustva pripadnika nacionalnih manjina u izabranim tijelima jesu: dozvola djelovanja političkih stranaka manjina, oblik izbora sa odvojenim glasačkim listama, izuzeća od izbornog praga, kvote i rezervirana mjesta, te posebna prava kao što je pravo manjinskog veta. Konsultativna tijela još su jedan institucionalni mehanizam i služe kao mjesto gdje predstavnici manjina mogu učestvovati u međusobnom dijalogu kao i u dijalogu sa organima vlasti. Ova tijela imaju savjetodavnu funkciju i mogu predlagati i dopunjavati zakone koji se tiču nacionalnih manjina. Zaposlenje u javnoj upravi još je jedan način uključivanja manjina u javne poslove, a angažiranje nacionalnih manjina u tom segmentu ima veliki utjecaj na podizanje opće svijesti o manjinama u državi i kod većinskog i kod manjinskog stanovništva, kao i na ulijevanje povjerenja u institucije vlasti kod pripadnika nacionalnih manjina. Osim ova tri osnovna mehanizma, SO poziva specijalizirane organe izvršnih vlasti, kao što su ministarstva i odjeli za prava manjina, da koordiniraju, prate i uključuju manjinska pitanja na svim nivoima vlasti. Specijalizirani organi vlasti imaju zadatak da koordiniraju državnu politiku prema nacionalnim manjinama i zaduženi su za praćenje implementacije i rezultata, kao i za povezivanje sa predstavnicima manjina, manjinskim organizacijama, te odgovarajućim tijelima u kojima učestvuju manjine u cilju olakšavanja komunikacije. U ovom smislu, specijalizirani organi vlasti uključuju manjinska pitanja u cjelokupni institucionalni okvir i državni aparat. I na kraju, decentralizirani oblici vlasti, kao što su regionalna autonomija i samouprava, mogu predstavljati korisno sredstvo da se nacionalnim manjinama omogući kontrola nad njihovim interesima, naročito na lokalnom i regionalnom nivou. Drugi dio drugog poglavlja bavi se zajedničkim pitanjima koja se tiču efikasnosti institucionalnih mehanizama. Tu se ubrajaju legitimitet i pluralizam predstavnika nacionalnih manjina i ostalih sagovornika (kao što su relevantni predstavnici nevladinih organizacija, istraživači i drugi stručnjaci) da zastupaju pripadnike nacionalnih manjina; raspon tema pored kulture, obrazovanja i jezika u pogledu kojih predstavnici mogu učestvovati u odlučivanju, uključujući i raspodjelu budžeta; njihov utjecaj i glas u odlučivanju, pri čemu se naglašava značaj suštinske participacije, za razliku od pukog prisustva u organima vlasti; kao i uključivanje pitanja koja se tiču manjina u državnu politiku i institucije vlasti. Ova pitanja predstavljaju suštinske standarde participacije i moraju se uključiti u strukturu institucionalnog okvira kako bi se osiguralo da mehanizmi participacije omoguće pripadnicima nacionalnih manjina pravo da učestvuju u odlučivanju. Ovi standardi se zatim ispituju u trećem poglavlju, gdje se procjenjuje dosljednost djelovanja Savjetodavnog odbora. Među značajnijim prazninama u njegovom radu je nedovoljna povezanost direktnih kritika i dosta apstraktnih preporuka koje SO nudi u svojim mišljenjima. U trećem poglavlju se povezuju dva ranije spomenuta faktora – sloboda procjene i individualizirani pristup; ograničeni mandat i reaktivni pristup – da bi se objasnio dio ovih nedosljednosti. Istražuju se i drugi primijećeni propusti, kao što su: jednake kritike prema državama koje imaju različitu praksu; nedosljednosti i blagost; predlaganje alternativnih metoda koordinacije i uključivanja politika prema manjinama u pojedinim državama, a koje se razlikuju od uputa iz Komentara samog Savjetodavnog odbora; te nedosljednosti u reagiranju Odbora na izbor mehanizama participacije kada država članica iskazuje neujednačen razvoj tri vrste participatornih kanala ili njihov neujednačen razvoj na različitim nivoima vlasti.
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Aktivne politike zapošljavanja u Bosni i Hercegovini uglavnom su orijentirane ka izravnom zapošljavanju i pokušaju saniranja posljedica aktuelnog socioekonomskog konteksta, dok se zanemaruju potencijali strateškog i dugoročnog osnaživanja konkurentnosti nezaposlenih osoba. Osnovni je cilj ovoga teksta predstaviti međunarodne trendove u domenu aktivacijskih politika u kojima je u posljednjim godinama došlo do paradigmatskog zaokreta od zapošljavanja ka jačanju zapošljivosti te, shodno tome, analizirati postojeće stanje i institucionalni okvir aktivnih politika zapošljavanja u BiH. Na osnovu identificiranih nedostataka postojećeg dizajna aktivnih mjera formulirano je nekoliko preporuka za unapređenje postojećeg stanja u oblasti politika zapošljavanja u smjeru jačanja njihove aktivne dimenzije i izgradnje dugoročnog pristupa unapređenju funkcioniranja tržišta rada.
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Uspostavljanje jedinstvenog portala za e-nabavke (www.ejn.gov.ba) krajem 2014. godine predstavlja dobar osnov za razvoj efikasnog sistema e-nabavki u BiH. Međutim, do sada je implementirana otprilike polovina funkcionalnih modula neophodnih za zaokružen sistem elektronskih javnih nabavki, a nedostaju i važni formalno-pravni preduvjeti, prije svega kada je riječ o podzakonskim aktima iz Zakona o elektronskom potpisu i izmjenama Zakona o javnim nabavkama, kojima bi se omogućilo elektronsko dostavljanje i evaluacija ponuda, što ukazuje na to da je sistem elektronskih nabavki još uvijek u ranoj fazi razvoja.
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Pitanje objavljivanja ugovora o javnoj nabavi u BiH je djelomično usklađeno sa zahtjevima direktiva EU o javnoj nabavi, no i dalje postoje normativne nedostatnosti, koje se uglavnom tiču potpunosti i funkcionalnosti. Stoga su u ovom sažetku analizirane odredbe Zakona o javnim nabavama BiH, koje se odnose na objavljivanje ugovora o javnoj nabavi u BiH, pri čemu su detektirani problemi koji idu nauštrb načela transparentnosti. Glavni rezultati analize nedvojbeno ukazuju na potrebu za temeljitom zakonodavnom reformom, zbog čega su ponuđeni konkretni prijedlozi u cilju poboljšanja pojedinih zakonskih rješenja.
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U aktuelnim raspravama o nedostacima i mogućim reformama sistema socijalne zaštite u Bosni i Hercegovini, uglavnom se zanemaruje problem nedovoljne usklađenosti i neintegriranosti socijalnih politika sa politikama tržišta rada, odnosno nedovoljno razvijena aktivacijska komponenta socijalnih mjera. Stoga je osnovni cilj ovoga teksta predstaviti aktuelne politike i trendove Evropske unije u oblasti socijalnih politika, naročito se fokusirajući na aktivacijsku dimenziju ovih politika, te analizirati postojeće stanje i institucionalni okvir u BiH u ovom kontekstu. Formulirano je nekoliko preporuka sa ciljem unapređenja postojećeg sistema socijalne zaštite u pravcu stvaranja pretpostavki za realizaciju njegove inkluzivne funkcije i implementacije aktivnih socijalnih politika.
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