12 Feb Human Rights Watch World Report 2019

Human Rights Watch in its World Report 2019 said that Balkan countries made only modest progress last year in the field of human rights, citing lack of support for war crimes prosecution and various other issues.

Human Rights Watch World Report summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events from late 2017 through to November 2018.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia made limited progress in 2018 towards addressing long-standing human rights problems, the report said. War crimes cases are resolved at a slow rate.

Members of national minorities remained ineligible to stand for the presidency in the 2018 general elections because of the failure to amend discriminatory provisions in the constitution.

Bosnian authorities did not provide even basic support to thousands of asylum seekers and migrants who arrived in 2018, the report said.

Journalists face threats and interference in their work, and although some cases were investigated by police and handed over to the Prosecutor’s Office, no one had been convicted for attacks on journalists at time of writing.

Politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina still do not publicly discuss LGBT rights and concerns, police often dismiss hate crimes against LGBT people, and acquiring permits for LGBT events and peaceful gatherings was significantly more difficult in 2018 than in previous years, said the Report.

Croatia

Between January and September 2018, there were 14 war crimes cases before courts in Croatia. In the same period, courts convicted only four people for war-related crimes.

The report noted that around 2,500 asylum seekers and migrants had been pushed back by Croatian police to Bosnia and Herzegovina, hundreds of cases of denied access to asylum procedures, and over 700 allegations of police violence and theft.

The report notes that a government-funded study published in July found that almost all Roma in the country live in poverty and less than a third finish primary school.

The report noted a campaign starting in May for a public referendum to reduce the number of seats for ethnic Serbs in parliament and limit them from voting on the budget and government formation, which has alarmed Serbian community leaders and NGOs.

Kosovo

Progress on improving human rights protection in Kosovo was slow during the year, the HRW report said.

Serbian and Kosovo leaders in August announced a controversial plan to redraw their borders, which sparked concerns about the human rights consequences of population transfers that might be required under the plan.

Tensions between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians continued, particularly in the north. Roma, Ashkali, and Balkan Egyptian communities continue to face discrimination.

Domestic violence remained widespread in Kosovo with weak police response, few prosecutions, and judges seemingly reluctant to issue restraining orders against abusive spouses.

Journalists faced threats and intimidation, and prosecutions of crimes against journalists were slow.

Serbia

In Serbia, war crimes prosecutions progressed slowly and lacked political support and adequate resources, while witness support mechanisms were weak, the report said.

The report also said that the asylum system remained flawed and conditions for asylum seekers had failed to improve.

The situation for journalists also remained precarious, including attacks, threats, and lawsuits for those reporting on sensitive issues, it noted. A commission established to investigate the murders of three prominent journalists, made no progress.

Here you can read the full report

https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/world_report_download/hrw_world_report_2019.pdf

References from the the Human Rights Watch and Balkan Insight