Publisher's Synopsis
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a democratic republic with a bicameral parliament but assigns many governmental functions to two entities within the state, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation) and the Republika Srpska (RS), and to the Brcko District, an independent administrative unit under the sovereignty of BiH. The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace (the Dayton Accords), which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war, provides the constitutional framework for governmental structures while other parts of the agreement specify the government's obligations to ensure human rights, such as guaranteeing the right of persons displaced by the war to return to their prewar homes. The Dayton Accords also provide for a high representative who has the authority to impose legislation and remove officials. In 2010 the country held general elections that international observers deemed free and fair. The coalitions formed at the state and Federation levels following those elections remained unstable, with regular efforts to change the coalitions' composition preventing political progress. Authorities failed at times to maintain effective control over security forces. Security forces did not commit widespread or systemic human rights abuses. Government corruption and dysfunction remained among the country's most serious problems and impeded citizens' rights to basic services, including access to necessary travel documents. This prompted protests in June, the largest demonstrations in the country since independence. Political leaders intensified and manipulated deep-seated ethnic divisions that weakened democracy and governance, fostered widespread discrimination in most aspects of daily life, undermined the rule of law, distorted public discourse in the media, and obstructed the return of persons displaced by the 1992-95 conflict. Harassment and intimidation of journalists and civil society limited the public's access to accurate information and accountability of political leaders. Other human rights problems included: deaths from land mines; police mistreatment of suspects during questioning; harsh conditions in prisons and detention centers, such as overcrowding and physical abuse of prisoners and detainees; police failure to inform detainees of their rights or allow effective access to legal counsel prior to questioning; failure to return properties to religious communities; discrimination and violence against women and members of sexual and religious minorities; discrimination against persons with disabilities; trafficking in persons; and limits on employment rights.
