After Bosnia and Herzegovina started with reforms that have been the basis for accession to the European Union, the issue of double or multiple taxation was raised again. Meanwhile, in the Republika Srpska entity that way of taxation was introduced, and the Federation of BiH entity considers to start with that practice no later than March of this year.
The role of the police in a democratic society has an aim at maintaining public order, prevention and repression of crime, protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, and any other form of coordinated activities with the citizens.
The murky aspect of the issue of ‘dealing with the past’ is the leadership of the political parties that gain support in Bosniak-majority areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This part of the political spectrum actually tends to monopolize the claim to concern for the common future and the multiethnic society, and poses itself as the ‘guarantor’ of the country’s integrity.
Many issues would never have been brought up in the official Progress Report had they not been opened and given a well-argued presentation in the Alternative Progress Report of the civic Initiative for monitoring the European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Domestic human rights organizations and their human rights potential find themselves on the operational and service delivery level of human rights where, in terms of management, transactional leadership is usually required.
Yet, it is still an arena for a different political culture. Voices of many marginal and discriminated groups in BH, such as LGBT people, are starting to be heard thanks to activities of the civil society. In civil society, the very notion of citizenship and political participation is not questioned, but placed within a broader context and critical thinking regarding the very possibility of participation and emancipation within the rules imposed by the system itself.
Contrary to the “obvious” desire of the population, their political elites in political practice seemed to have favoured other issues over the EU integration. In all honesty, when asked, all politicians, without exception, are strongly supportive of Bosnia’s bid for accession to the EU, but when it comes to making any meaningful practical steps in this direction, their determination somehow seems to lose steam.
Even if the general public has certain information on EU accession at its disposal, it is mainly about the political aspect thereof and about the complicated reforms that need to be done, but due to a lack of political will are not.
In the report before you we present the assessment of the work of the government institutions and the barers of government functions, in terms of the set goals, during the first year of the mandate, from December 2014 to December 2015.
In order to ensure the realization of the concept of good governance, government institutions are obliged to ensure transparency of their work in a way that timely and extensive inform the public about their activities, respond to the needs of citizens, and to ensure the accessibility and transparency.
Respect for human rights, minorities’ rights and fighting discrimination, are the topics that are completely stepped off the radar in these processes, even though their presence was quite limited earlier, and were connected narrowly to the issues of constitutional changes and the implementation of the Judgement by the European Court for Human Rights in the case of Sejdić and Finci vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The main reasons for the introduction of these changes, among other issues, are greater transparency of the process and a better “control of reforms by all stakeholders, including the civil society.”