A/HRC/25/49/Add.1 the directors, who were considering further joint activities, as well as a joint “peace garden” being created by the two student bodies. These are small but important steps in the right direction. 2. Mono-national/ethnic school system 43. Fewer than 6 per cent of all pupils are enrolled in the two-schools-under-one-roof system, the vast majority being educated in mono-national/ethnic schools in both the Federation and Republika Srpska. Curricula, school environments and practices throughout the country ensure that schools cater largely or solely for the ethnic majority in municipalities, with parents forced to choose between having their children face assimilation in the local school or enrolling them in a distant school with a different ethnic majority.18 This is of great concern to the Special Rapporteur, as children in these schools are denied opportunities to meet children of a different ethnic/linguistic background. It also means that children with a culturally diverse heritage only have access to one part of their cultural heritage. 44. This separation touches not only general education schools but also, for example, medical and engineering schools, as in Mostar, where the Special Rapporteur was informed of the planned merger of secondary schools of music, which would be an excellent initiative. 45. The right of pupils to learn in their mother tongue and the right of parents to choose their child’s school are often advanced in defence of the current segregated education system, be it through the two-schools-under-one-roof school or mono-national/ethnic schools. The Special Rapporteur notes, however, that the implementation of such rights is not dependent on establishing a segregated school system, as evident in many other countries. Furthermore, the choice of parents cannot be real in a situation where options are limited to either a mono-national/ethnic school of their own affiliation or a mononational/ethnic school of others’ affiliation. In practice, this discriminates against parents wishing their children to enjoy a pluralistic culture. 46. The Special Rapporteur is disconcerted by the fact that some neighbouring countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina support mono-national/ethnic schools (for people sharing their own national/ethnic affiliation)19 or support one side of a two-schools-one-roof school, leading to striking discrepancies either between mono-national/ethnic schools or between the two wings of a two-schools-under-one-roof school. 3. Integrated schools 47. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur learned of efforts to establish integrated schools. She visited the First Gymnasium of Sarajevo, where classes are offered in the three languages of the constituent peoples. She also visited the Gymnasium of Mostar, which was re-organized as a joint reintegrated school in 2004. These remain isolated examples, while the Special Rapporteur was informed that many more students would like to attend such gymnasiums. 48. Unfortunately, to date (in particular in the case of the Gymnasium of Mostar, which the Special Rapporteur had more time to study), integration is minimal: only one class is held in common (information technologies, owing to the strong demand by the company from Japan that offered the computers), while all other subjects remain divided between the 18 19 OSCE, Finding Long-term Solutions (see footnote 14), p. 1. See also Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention (see footnote 7), para. 170. 11