A/HRC/25/49/Add.1
side, especially if they have not ventured there for years. Some young people, having never
visited the “other side”, imagine all sorts of situations. Other cities are also territorially
divided, like Sarajevo and East Sarajevo. The Special Rapporteur hopes that the
organization of the 2017 European Youth Olympics in Sarajevo will provide opportunities
to proactively develop spaces for interaction. She was pleased to learn that collaboration
between the Mayors of Sarajevo (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and of East
Sarajevo (Republika Srpska) has started in this regard.
77.
Excellent initiatives promoting interaction between people are visible in both
entities. In Republika Srpska, the Teddy Bear association conducts, with support from the
entity’s Government, activities, promoting interaction between rural and urban children. In
Mostar, several civil society organizations are fully engaged in the field of sport, culture
and art, promoting interaction among people from various communities. For example, the
Mostar Blues festival, established in 2003, uses music to bring people together, and a
number of institutions, such as the Rock School, use their talents to combat segregation
proactively, challenging the perspectives offered by ethno-nationalistic agendas.
78.
People in general and decision-makers in particular do not always value such actions
in the field of culture or give them priority. The Special Rapporteur is convinced, however,
that it is precisely at this level that significant changes can be achieved in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. This is especially urgent, given that while some youth demand more spaces
for interaction through art and sport, others have already developed a sense of mistrust and
intolerance, and it is difficult to know how large either group is. Hate speech remains a
worrying reality, as seen for example during football games in Mostar.
79.
The Special Rapporteur wishes to underline that, since 1996, all associations for
national minorities have attempted to find ways to establish centres, which they lack, to
make minorities more visible. The centre for national minorities in Banja Luka was
described as quite an exception.
F.
Reconstruction and memorialization processes
80.
Many efforts have been made throughout the country to reconstruct cultural heritage
destroyed during the war, including mosques and churches. These are steps conducive to
the return of refugees and displaced persons.
1.
Commission to Preserve National Monuments
81.
The Special Rapporteur met with members of the Commission to Preserve National
Monuments, established under annex 8 to the Dayton Agreement to “receive and decide on
petitions for the designation of property having cultural, historic, religious or ethnic
importance as national monuments” (art. IV). Annex 8 defines a national monument as
“movable or immovable property of great importance to a group of people with common
cultural, historic, religious or ethnic heritage, such as monuments of architecture, art or
history; archaeological sites; groups of buildings; as well as cemeteries” (art. VI).
82.
The Commission has significant powers. According to annex 8, when the
Commission designates property as a national monument, the entity in whose territory the
national monument is situated “(a) shall make every effort to take appropriate legal,
scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary for the protection,
conservation, presentation and rehabilitation of the property, and (b) shall refrain from
taking any deliberate measures that might damage the property” (art. V.5). Commission
decisions are binding, and override all others. The Commission, according to article 39 of
its own rules of procedure, also determines the boundaries of immovable property
designated a national monument and the “conditions for its protection”.
17