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SARAJEVO, May 16 (FENA) - The main goals of the project "Strengthening the Protection of National Minorities in BiH" are the strengthening of institutional coordination among relevant actors in the field of minorities, strengthening their capacities and promoting intercultural dialogue, which is a significant feature of the BiH society, said the participants of an introductory meeting of a new project on national minorities, which is being held today in Sarajevo.
For the implementation of the project "Strengthening the Protection of National Minorities in BiH", the European Union (EU) has allocated 400,000 euros and the scheduled completion date is April 30, 2019. The project is part of the EU and Council of Europe programs entitled "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey".
BiH Minister for Human Rights and Refugees, Semiha Borovac, emphasized that BiH was committed to the protection of minority rights in a systematic way and that there is much to be done concerning the alignment of BiH's legal regulations with European standards and practical implementation of laws.
She explained that the project was created in accordance with the requirements of national minorities in BiH in order to be able to exercise rights such as the right to education, religion, economic and social rights in an adequate way.
The head of the Council of Europe's Office in Sarajevo, Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, said that this project represented a new direction by the Council of Europe which helps BiH to solve problems and issues of discrimination.
He noted that the project would provide five grants for five municipalities, two in the Federation of BiH, two in the Republika Srpska and one in Brčko District, in the amount of 10,000 euros.
As he said, one of the intentions of launching this project is raising awareness about the issues of national minorities in BiH.
“Democracy is often measured by the number of rights that the majority population gives to minorities - the head of the Office of the Council of Europe concluded, adding that this is a kind of a test for the state.
Journalists were also addressed by the Chairman of the National Minorities Council of BiH, Tihomir Knežiček, who pointed to the fact that members of national minorities are not among the representatives of the legislative and executive authorities in BiH.
“There is no place for us there because those who make decisions do not recognize national minorities. Evidence of this is also the Council of Europe Report on BiH for 2016, where, among other weaknesses, it is stated that the institutions of the government do not recognize members of national minorities in terms of political participation,” he pointed out.
Head of the EU Delegation to BiH and EU Special Representative, Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, emphasized that minority rights were part of EU fundamental rights and that they are contained in the Treaty on EU itself and the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights.
As important, he also pointed out that the rights of national minorities should not be just "empty words", but also the concrete implementation of regulations must be ensured in order to ensure equal rights to national minorities.
“The Roma population in BiH has shown that, when minorities are given appropriate chances and opportunities, they are very likely to use them,” Mr. Wigemark said.
He also referred to the implementation of the Sejdić-Finci case decision, noting that it was not realistic to expect that, in the context of the current amendments to the Election Law, the issue of the aforementioned decision would be solved.
He noted that the EU had proposed that after the elections, a process is conducted in which the remaining issues, including the election of members of the BiH Presidency, would be resolved, and consequently the implementation of the Sejdić-Finci case decision.
Regarding the implementation of the judgment of the BiH Constitutional Court on the appeal in the Ljubić case, Mr. Wigemark is of the opinion that there is still a possibility to resolve this issue before the October general elections.
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(FENA)
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