A two-day Regional Conference on cooperation on issues of national minorities commenced in Sarajevo on Tuesday and gathered representatives of government institutions, non-governmental organisations and international organisations in BiH and the region, as well as representatives of Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The goal of the conference is the promotion of the rights of national minorities, continuous engagement and support of various sectors of society, in order to create grounds for regional cooperation when it comes to the protection of the rights of national minorities, as well as the exchange of experience and lessons learned.

Bosnian Minister for Human Rights and Refugees Sevlid Hurtic said that 17 national minorities live in the country and that his ministry will try to amend the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Members of National Minorities in due course, so that more communities can enter this constitutional category.

“The proposal of the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees is to create a regional network, which will probably be adopted at this conference and that all national minorities in the territory of the former Yugoslavia are networked and have joint cooperation and mobility,” he said.

The minister added that his ministry allocates the kargest part of funds for the Roma, followed by other national minorities, announcing that he would issue a public call for aid and housing for national minorities.

“In this year's budget, we plan two million marks (approx one million euro) for national minorities in BiH”, said Hurtic, announcing that the plan is to equip health centres in order to provide better health care to national minorities.

The Head of the OSCE Mission in BiH, Brian Aggeler, said that improving the position of national minorities, especially the Roma, is one of the aspects of the OSCE's work that is of vital importance, especially in Southeast Europe.

“BiH has adopted laws on the comprehensive protection of the human rights of national minorities, whereby continuous efforts are necessary in their implementation and improvement of the overall status of national minorities in society. Regardless of the achievements and collective efforts, the level of political representation of national minorities remains disproportionately low, emphasising the urgent need for their greater participation in the creation and implementation of policies as well as representation in political action,” he stressed.

Aggeler also added that the OSCE recognises the long-term challenges in applying the rights of national minorities and fulfilling the obligations undertaken by the OSCE member states, stating that the organisation will remain an important partner towards that goal.

Mujo Fafulic, the chairman of the Council of National Minorities of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that organising such regional conference for the first time in Sarajevo means a step forward for BiH and the national minorities living in that country.

“18 members of national minorities participate in the Council of National Minorities of BiH and it is the highest body for national minorities in BiH. What we strive for as members of national minorities are amendments to the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Members of National Minorities in order to provide better opportunities for minorities in BiH. We are advocating the amendment of the Electoral Law which, in accordance with the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Members of National Minorities, will correspond to each other and where certain seats will be guaranteed to national minorities in cantonal and entity assemblies,” said Fafulic.

As a part of the conference, three panels were held yesterday, and they discussed, among other issues, the position and rights of national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the experiences of the countries in the region.