Democracy

This essay investigates the effects of contemporary migrations on the constitution of a new epoch of peace, with particular emphasis on the European Union as a desired integrating entity for hundreds of thousands of people uprooted from their hearths.

The situation in which Bosnia and Herzegovina finds itself today requires an equal approach of Europeans towards our country, considering that we are going through the most severe political crisis since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement. That is why the atmosphere in the country is unequivocally reminiscent of the beginning of the 1990s. This is why the Members of the European Parliament came to hear the people - not only the officials of Bosnia and Herzegovina or representatives of the civil society, but also the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, those who fear the most.  

With this panel, we came to the conclusion that the conditions for changing the Constitution and the Election Law have not been met due to the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the pre-election year, and that the work of state institutions, including the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been blocked by secessionist forces from the Republika Srpska, while at the same time the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is de facto in a technical mandate, due to the HDZ obstructions in the establishing the government at that level in accordance with the results of previous elections.

The price tag for entering the political competition in North Macedonia is about to get a lot higher, especially for civic initiatives and independent candidates, with the amendments to the Electoral Code proposed by the government. The amendments, if passed by the Parliament, would require each independent list for the upcoming municipal elections to submit the signatures of at least two percent of the registered voters in the designated municipality, in order for their candidacy to be accepted and for them to be allowed to take part in the elections, planned to be held in October.

Three legal cases/political scandals during 2018-19 grabbed the attention of the domestic public and the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The first two concerned the unresolved deaths of two young men, Dženan Memić in Sarajevo and David Dragičević in Banja Luka. The improper investigative conduct of the police and judiciary regarding their deaths raised suspicions of cover-ups and political interference. The third concerned corruption allegations against Milan Tegeltija, then president of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC), the BiH judiciary’s self-managing body. The three cases marked the nadir of a steady decline of the rule of law institutions in BiH over the last decade and a half, and stand in stark contrast to 2005 when BiH was a frontrunner among Western Balkan countries aspiring to European Union (EU) membership. Rule of law achievements until then had been the result of substantial and systematic judicial and (to a lesser degree) police reform carried out during the immediate post-war period under the leadership of the international community.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Refugee Convention (GRC) it seems more important than ever, to bring the Convention’s indispensable importance for refugee protection back to the attention of policy makers and a broader public.

Open position The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Tirana office is welcoming applications for the open position FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COORDINATOR as of 1st of July 2021. The deadline for applications is 23rd of May 2021.

Vacancy Announcement: Office Manager Open position The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Tirana office is welcoming applications for the open position Office Manager as of 1st of July 2021. The deadline for applications is 23rd of May 2021.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) cannot yet be defined as a new "stable democracy". Čović (HDZ B&H) is trying to make changes to the B&H Election Law before the 2022 General Elections, which is to ensure the "legitimate representation" of the constituent peoples. In this way, with "legitimate representatives", a way would be opened for the implementation of their own long-term strategy, which undoubtedly goes in the direction of rounding off the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina which is inhabited by majority Catholic population, i.e. the rebirth of the "extinguished" so-called Herzeg-Bosna, its full territorial and political autonomy and its eventual annexation to the Republic of Croatia.

Only when enlightened citizens realize that they have rights and that they can and must use them to change the system for the better, something will change.