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Bosnie-Herzégovine

Bien que la violence ait cessé, les ethnies de la BIH occupent toujours une place centrale dans les processus décisionnels du pays.

Groupes Évalués

  • Migration transnationale
  • Classe
  • Ethno-religieux

La Bosnie-Herzégovine (BIH) est un pays du sud-est de l’Europe dont l’histoire est marquée par la violence et l’instabilité entre les groupes. Sa population est diversifiée et se compose de trois groupes ethniques principaux : les Bosniaques, les Serbes et les Croates. Dans les années 1990, la BIH a été le théâtre d’un violent conflit entre ces trois groupes, lequel a duré plusieurs années et causé d’importants dommages et de nombreuses pertes de vies humaines. Après ce conflit, les trois groupes ethniques se sont réunis dans le cadre de l’Accord de paix de Dayton (1995) et ont accepté de partager le pouvoir. Il en résulte ce que l’on appelle un « modèle de consociationalisme » qui garantit que chaque groupe ethnique est représenté au sein du gouvernement. Si ce modèle a permis de maintenir la paix en BIH, ce rapport aborde les sentiments d’identité et d’appartenance nationales collectives et la manière dont ils pourraient être davantage développés. Aujourd’hui, la BIH a progressé sur la voie de la reconstruction et de la réconciliation depuis le conflit, mais elle reste confrontée à de nombreux défis, dont la corruption, les divisions de classe, l’instabilité politique et les politiques inégalitaires qui privilégient certains groupes ethniques au détriment des autres. Cet evaluation été achevée en 2021.

Recommendations

Government

To continue working toward a more inclusive and diverse society, the government can adopt policies that target marginalized communities such as national minorities, women, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

This could include affirmative action in education and welfare, as well as greater economic engagement for women and protection of natural resources. It is important that marginalized groups have equal access to employment opportunities and social wealth.

Civil Society

Civil society actors in BiH can further collaborate to promote education on pluralism and diversity. As many registered civil society organizations (CSO) focus on sports, recreation and culture, there are opportunities for intercultural exchange.

CSOs could advocate for their inclusion in policy-making and consider using crowdfunding for initiatives related to child rights and the environment due to limited and project-based funding.

International Actors

The European Commission can establish a rewards and sanctions system for its conditionality mechanism. United Nations agencies can work with local communities for human rights and reform.

Actors can also broaden their focus to include class and migration in their policies, data collection, and monitoring. This is crucial in understanding diversity and pluralism during BiH’s continued movement toward a more equal society.

Indicators

Legal Commitments

International Commitments

Note moyenne:7

BiH adopted and implemented several international, national and regional agreements and instruments for protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, the country’s constitutional framework creates an unequal divide between the guaranteed rights of the constituent peoples (Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats) and the rights that other ethno-religious communities and other groups facing marginalization are guaranteed.

National Commitments

Note moyenne:5

The Dayton Peace Agreement ended the conflict in BiH and established mechanisms for human rights and refugee protection. BiH’s citizens have various rights and freedoms, including the right to life, education, and property. However, ethnic groups’ rights prevail over other collective and individual rights, leading to BiH’s citizens having difficulties in expressing their opinions outside of the purview of the three constituent groups’ interests.

Inclusive Citizenship

Note moyenne:6

BiH’s citizenship system is complex and has two levels, with citizenship regulated at both the state and entity levels. This creates legal uncertainty and potential exclusions for specific groups. BiH’s naturalization process also differs significantly between entities and dual citizenship is generally not allowed except in cases of national interest or mutual agreement.

Practices

Policy Implementation

Note moyenne:3

BiH has various agencies and initiatives that promote diversity and pluralism, but ethnic cleavages remain dominant in political, social and economic life. The country’s poverty rate is high, and women, national minorities, Roma and transnational migrants face discrimination.

Data Collection

Note moyenne:5

Data accessibility varies widely, with data on gender and age available but data on ethnic belonging, minority status, urban-rural status and societal developments are lacking. This is partly due to political sensitivities that make ethno-religious composition contested.

Claims-making and Contestation

Note moyenne:5

The process of claims-making in BiH is structured through institutional mechanisms at the state, entity and district levels. The constitution’s design limits cross-group solidarity and mobilization, making cases of socio-political mobilization across ethnic categories a rarity.

Leadership for Pluralism

Political Parties

Note moyenne:2

BiH’s political landscape is dominated by three ethnic-based nationalist parties representing Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. These parties discourage cross-ethnic affiliations, and minor parties promoting diversity and pluralism struggle to gain support. However, there is potential for pluralist actors to gain salience in urban centers due to dissatisfaction with ethnic cleavages and corruption.

News Media: Representation

Note moyenne:4

The media landscape is diverse but lacks pluralism due to media partisanship driven by domestic ethno-political elites and their business interests. Media content covers main socio-political issues but does not capture the plurality of languages and views in the country, promotes stereotypes and offers limited coverage of issues pertaining to minorities and transnational migrants.

News Media: Prominence of Pluralistic Actors

Note moyenne:3

The public broadcasting system is committed to pluralism and objective information but is often partial to ethnic, political and commercial interests. The country’s media represents the views of the political elites and tycoons, resulting in low trust of citizens in media and media freedoms.

Civil Society

Note moyenne:5

There are over 23,000 registered CSOs in BiH. However, the civil society sector is weak and fragmented due to institutional and financial dependence on foreign donors. While a third of the country’s population are members of CSOs, only 5% take part in CSOs that promote democratization and play a role in political processes.

Private Sector

Note moyenne:3

Ethno-nationalist elites control many of BiH’s major companies. There are notable inequalities in the workforce, with women and minorities facing greater difficulties in employment and pay. Educational standards remain low, resulting in many young people joining the workforce instead of pursuing higher education.

Group-based Inequalities

Political

Note moyenne:3

BiH’s constitutional framework limits political participation and candidacy rights for non-constituent peoples and women. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against this, but no changes have been made. There is also no representation for transnational migrants, and laws to protect their interests do not exist.

Economic

Note moyenne:3

BiH’s economic inequalities are among the highest in Europe and intersect with gender, education, ethnicity, and urban-rural divides. The country faces high unemployment, a significant gender wage gap, and discriminatory practices in labour markets. Property rights and resource ownership remain problematic for women and marginalized groups.

Social

Note moyenne:4

BiH’s education system reflects the country’s complex political and social divisions. Access to education is uneven, particularly for vulnerable groups such as Roma children. The healthcare system is also based on regional entities, resulting in unequal access to care for vulnerable groups. The welfare system is weak and fails to provide equal protection to all vulnerable individuals.

Cultural

Note moyenne:4

The Dayton Peace Agreement created an institutional framework that reinforces ethnic, religious, and linguistic affiliations, leading to social and cultural division, mistrust, and discrimination against non-constituent peoples. Despite socio-cultural and linguistic similarities among ethnic groups, cultural and class inequalities are interlinked, with power holders being ethnic elites and their supporters. This situation results in privileged access to cultural production.

Access to Justice

Note moyenne:4

BiH’s fragmented institutional framework undermines the rule of law and access to justice for all citizens. Ethnic, religious and socioeconomic factors obstruct equal access to justice, especially for minority groups. The judicial system requires structural reform and international efforts to reform the justice system have met opposition.

Intergroup Relations and Belonging

Intergroup Violence

Note moyenne:7

The structure of society created by the Dayton Peace Agreement has successfully reduced inter-ethnic and inter-religious violence in post-war BiH, despite socio-political inequalities and marginalization of minority communities. However, hate crimes still occur and mechanisms for properly recording them are lacking, resulting in minimal and inconsistent data.

Intergroup Trust

Note moyenne:3

A report on intergroup trust shows low levels of trust among the three dominant communities, with Serbs showing the highest level of trust. Although mixing among different ethnic groups is seen as a sign of intergroup trust, the percentage of respondents who approve of inter-ethnic marriage is low.

Trust in Institutions

Note moyenne:2

A lack of disaggregated data makes it difficult to determine the level of trust in public institutions per ethnic community in BiH. However, surveys indicate that citizens rank the national government as the least popular institution, with a high level of mistrust in law enforcement, the police, the judiciary, and education and healthcare systems.

Inclusion and Acceptance

Note moyenne:3

Ethnic and religious identity strongly influence intergroup relations, with practical obstacles for certain groups to express their identity in some regions. Many young people fear for the future of their ethnic group, while socioeconomic status and minority status can lead to marginalization. The Roma community is systematically excluded, while attitudes towards migrants and refugees are mixed.

Shared Ownership of Society

Note moyenne:2

BiH has low political participation, resulting in some voices not being heard. Its political and constitutional setup means ownership of society at the state level is virtually non-existent, reflected in an exclusionary and flawed guarantee of societal ownership for the three constituent communities.