CCPR/C/BIH/CO/2
brought under the archaic Criminal Code of the former Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, which does not recognize certain offences as crimes against humanity.
8.
The Committee is concerned that the Strategy on Transitional Justice that aims at
ensuring access to justice and reparation for all civilian victims of war including survivors
of sexual violence has not been adopted. The Committee is also concerned that a draft law
on the rights of victims of torture and civilian victims of war that aims at ensuring that all
civilian victims of war in the State party have equal access to social benefits has not been
adopted. The Committee further recalls its previous recommendation (CCPR/C/BIH/CO/1,
para. 15) and remains concerned that personal disability benefits received by civilian
victims of war are significantly lower than those received by war veterans in entities and
respective cantons (arts 2, 7 and 26).
The State party should take practical measures to ensure that survivors of sexual
violence and torture have access to justice and reparations. Furthermore, the
Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CCPR/C/BIH/CO/1, para. 15)
and urges the State party to harmonize disability benefits among entities and cantons
so that personal disability benefits received by civilian victims are adjusted to ensure
they are in line with the personal disability benefits received by war veterans.
9.
The Committee recalls its previous recommendations (CCPR/C/BIH/CO/1, para. 14)
and regrets the slow progress that has been made to find persons who went missing during
the armed conflict between 1992 and 1995. The Committee is also concerned at the budget
cuts for the Missing Persons Institute that adversely affect the implementation of its
mandate (arts. 2, 6 and 7).
The Committee reiterates its previous concluding observations (CCPR/C/BIH/CO/1,
para. 14) and recommends that the State party should expedite the investigation of all
unresolved cases involving missing persons. Furthermore, the State party should take
all necessary measures to ensure that the Missing Persons Institute is adequately
funded and able to fully implement its mandate with a view to completing the
resolution of these cases as soon as possible. The State party should also continue to
provide adequate psychological support to families of missing persons during the
conduct of exhumations.
10.
The Committee recalls its previous recommendations (CCPR/C/BIH/CO/1, para. 11)
and regrets that despite the introduction of quotas in the Election Law that require political
parties to nominate at least 30 per cent of women candidates and incentives for
parliamentary funding for political parties with women representatives in the Parliamentary
Assembly, women remain under-represented in legislative and executive bodies at all levels
of Government (arts. 2, 3 and 26).
The Committee reiterates its previous concluding observations (CCPR/C/BIH/CO/1,
para. 11) to strengthen its efforts to increase the participation of women in the public
sector through appropriate temporary special measures to give effect to the provisions
of the Covenant.
11.
While noting the State party’s efforts to reconstruct and refurbish places of
deprivation of liberty in order to improve conditions, the Committee is concerned that
overcrowding in detention centres and prisons continues to be a problem in the State party
The Committee is also concerned at reports of cases of inter-prisoner violence in prisons
(arts. 6 and 10).
The State party should take urgent measures to address overcrowding in detention
centres and prisons, including through increased resort to alternative forms of
punishment, such as electronic monitoring, parole and community service. The State
party should take practical measures to prevent inter-prisoner violence. In this
regard, the State party should continue to ensure that all cases of inter-prisoner
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