We invite LGBTIQ+ people to apply for participation in the peer support group led by our peer advisor Mateo Čovčić. Peer support groups are regular online gatherings of LGBTIQ+ people that offer emotional and social support to one another. The groups are open, which means that everyone can join regardless of when they sign up. … Continued
Transgender persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot exercise their rights – legal gender recognition is possible only after complete medical gender reassignment, and endocrinological therapy and surgery can be performed only abroad and the costs are borne by the transgender persons themselves, because the BH medical facilities do not cover them. March 31 marks the … Continued
Civil society organisations call on the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Ministry) to withdraw the Preliminary Draft Law on Freedom of Access to Information for revision because it is not in line with international standards and best practices. In some parts, the Preliminary Draft jeopardizes the acquired rights and achievements from the … Continued
Sarajevo Open Centre (SOC) organized a conference entitled “Between the Sexes and Reality: The Rights of Intersex Children in the Healthcare System of Bosnia and Herzegovina“, on 5 March 2021 in Sarajevo. The conference was the final event of the project Human Rights of intersex children in the healthcare system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which … Continued
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006. It is a unique peer review mechanism that reviews the human rights situation of all states equally every four and a half years by other Member States during the sessions of the Government Working Group of the Human Rights Council … Continued
The purpose of the Handbook is to serve as a comprehensive guide for civil society stakeholders wishing to participate in the fourth UPR cycle – unique process that involves periodic review of the respect for human rights in all 193 UN member states by the UN Human Rights Council. The first two chapters of the … Continued
Last week, the implementation of the EU-funded project “Regionalising LGBTI Inclusive Psychosocial Support and Access to Mental Health Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina” was officially launched in Sarajevo. The project aims to create an environment in which LGBTIQ people will be encouraged and supported in access to mental health systems that provide inclusive and sensitized … Continued
For the LGBTIQ community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and us as organisers, the end of January and the beginning of February for the last eight years have been marked by Merlinka – Queer Film Festival in BiH. Merlinka has become a valuable public event in Sarajevo and Tuzla, not only for lesbians, gay men, bisexual, … Continued
Sarajevo Open Centre invites you to a conference on the „Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the State of Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina“, which will be held on February 5, 2021 (Friday) beginning at 10.00h at Hotel Courtyard by Marriott in Sarajevo, Skenderija 1. The conference will be held in two simultaneous panels which … Continued
We present a report that analyzes the rights of intersex children in the healthcare system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the beginning, a brief overview of the previous research is given – the publication of the Sarajevo Open Centre entitled “Bodies that Transcend the Binary: Recommendations for improving legal and medical approach to intersex persons … Continued