EU Accession Process encourages the BH executive government to work on LGBT rights

In its 11^th session held on June 17^th of 2015 Council of Ministers of BiH has considered and adopted the Information on the seventh meeting of the Interim Committee for Stabilization and Association held on the September 25^th and 26^th of 2014. Council of Ministers has also acknowledged the joint statement the Interim Committee issues after its seventh meeting. Regarding this statement Council of Ministers has referred a set of questions regarding the protection of LGBT people in BiH to the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of BiH.

Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees contacted Sarajevo Open Centre and asked for aid in providing adequate responses to these questions. These questions concerned raising the awareness and sensitization of law enforcement bodies and media representatives, discrimination of LGBT people and their legal protection, as well as inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in protected characteristics in laws, by-laws and policies of BiH, its entities and cantons. Ministry has also requested the information on the number and types of educations Sarajevo Open Centre has organised for public officials, police, media representatives, teaching staff, psychologists, etc.

Sarajevo Open Centre provided the Ministry with the relevant information, emphasizing that no institution, besides the Canton Sarajevo Ministry of interior, has organized required LGBT rights sensitization trainings for its employees. Sarajevo Open Centre also stressed that most laws on state, entity and cantonal level do not include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected ground, which is a direct violation of the BiH Anti-discrimination Law. This Law explicitly states that all the laws of BiH, its entities and cantons must be aligned with its regulations.

For more information you can find full memo attached on the following link.