"We want the same starting position as all other citizens, for many of us – Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only homeland", members of the country’s national minorities said at the first conference dedicated to their position in society.

The first conference of national minorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held Tuesday in Sarajevo. It was organized by the Council of National Minorities of BiH in cooperation with the OSCE Mission to the country and the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of BiH. It was an opportunity to exchange opinions, views and experiences through a constructive dialogue on the rights, position and interests of national minorities in BiH, as well as on the functioning and work of associations of national minorities in BiH.

It is also an opportunity to show their presence.

“We are also here, we are present as members of the wider social community of BiH. For the first time, today, we stress the importance of the position of national minorities. Minorities are fighting for equality. Participation in government at all levels is an opportunity for equality, and we don’t have that right. If High Representative Christian Schmidt amends the Electoral Law for the next parliamentary elections, national minorities would have the opportunity to have a fourth member of the BiH Presidency, who would be called a ‘representative of national minorities’. We have the opportunity to call ourselves citizens, but we don’t have equal civil rights. If we say that BiH is our first and only homeland, that we have no other, and we don't even have the opportunity to participate in all levels of government, all we want is an environment of equal rights and the same starting position with all citizens. Although we don’t call ourselves constituent peoples, we want to be equal,” Mujo Fafulic, the Chair of the Council, said.

Brian Aggeler, the OSCE ambassador to Bosnia also addressed the media.

He said that they must remain vigilant and effectively monitor the implementation of the law in the field of human rights, noting that the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in the case of ‘Sejdic and Finci’ has not yet been implemented.

The international community's High Representative in BiH is in charge of overseeing the implementation of the civilian aspect of the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. the High Representative has the power to impose laws and amendments and sanction politicians who are not in line with the Dayton Agreement provisions.