The Non-Constituents
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European Roma Rights Center THE NON-CONSTITUENTS Rights Deprivation of Roma in Post-Genocide Bosnia and Herzegovina Country Report Series, No. 13 February 2004 3 The Non-Constituents: Rights Deprivation of Roma in Post-Genocide Bosnia and Herzegovina Copyright: © European Roma Rights Center, February 2004 All rights reserved. ISBN 963 214 510 0 ISSN 1416-7409 Graphic Design: Createch Ltd./Judit Kovács Printed in Budapest, Hungary. For information on reprint policy, please contact the ERRC 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................................7 1. Executive Summary ..........................................................................................9 2. Introduction.................................................................................................... 19 3. The History of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina ......................................... 27 4. Roma in the 1992 1995 War ..................................................................... 35 5. Romani Representation in the Dayton State ................................................. 51 5.1 The Sovereign State of Bosnia and Herzegovina.................................. 51 5.2 The Dayton Agreement ......................................................................... 53 5.3 Obstacles to Romani Political Participation under the Dayton Agreement ................................................................................ 54 5.4 Reinforcing the Vulnerability of the Roma Minority .............................. 57 6. Citizenship and Access to Personal Documents ........................................... 61 6.1 Access to Birth Certificates .................................................................. 63 6.2 Access to Personal Identification Cards ............................................... 67 6.3 Access to Citizenship ............................................................................ 71 6.4 Access to Documents Related to Wartime Military Service ................ 76 6.5 Summary ................................................................................................ 77 7. The Treatment of Romani Refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina .................. 79 8. Police Abuse of Roma .................................................................................. 87 9. Racially Motivated Attacks on Roma ......................................................... 101 10. Housing and Property Rights of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina ........... 109 10.1 The Right to Return ............................................................................. 109 10.2 The Right to Property in the Aftermath of the 1992-1995 War..........114 10.2.1 Repossession of Personal Property ..........................................117 10.2.2 Forced Evictions/Return to Informal Settlements .................... 128 10.2.3 Repossession of Social Housing .............................................. 145 10.3Extremely Substandard Housing ......................................................... 147 10.4Desecration of Sacred Grounds.......................................................... 153 5 The Non-Constituents: Rights Deprivation of Roma in Post-Genocide Bosnia and Herzegovina 11. Other Social and Economic Rights ............................................................. 155 11.1 Access to Employment ....................................................................... 156 11.2 Access to Social Security ................................................................... 167 11.3 Access to Health Care ........................................................................ 174 11.4 Access to Education ........................................................................... 178 11.5 Access to Public Places and Services ................................................ 201 12. Government Efforts to Date to Address the Situation of Roma and Other Weak Groups .................................................................................... 203 13. Conclusions.................................................................................................. 209 14. Bibliography ..................................................................................................211 15. Summary in Romani..................................................................................... 217 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was produced by staff, interns, consultants and volunteers of/to the ERRC. Markus Baltzer, Sadik Pazarac and Tatjana Periæ conducted field research in Bosnia and Herzegovina. David Mark and Monica Eav engaged in internet research, while Jasmina Plee and Jelena Sesar assisted with press monitoring. Markus Baltzer wrote a first draft of the report, and Tatjana Periæ edited and expanded the draft. Elena Marushiakova and Veselin Popov read all or part of one or more parts of the text and provided substantial comments and suggestions. Tara Bedard and Claude Cahn edited and rewrote one or more drafts. Dimitrina Petrova copy-edited the final version and authorised the publication of the report. The ERRC is additionally grateful to the following persons and institutions for their assistance in the course of preparation of this report: Indira Bajramoviæ, Sanela Beiæ, Nijaz Biberoviæ, Jo-Anne Bishop, Rita Bolstad, Mustafa Æoriæ, Martin Demirovski, Jennifer Erickson, Lejla Hadimeiæ, Lisa Kirkengen, Ahmet Mujiæ, Elvis Mujiæ, aban Mujiæ, Slobodan Nagradiæ, Blago Periæ, Paul Prettitore, Dervo Sejdiæ, Miralem Tursinoviæ, Centre for Civic Co-operation Livno, Helsinki Committee for Hu- man Rights in Republika Srpska, Save the Children UK Sarajevo and Tuzla Of- fices, and UNHCR Representation in Bosnia and HerzegovinaProtection. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europes Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina provided a range of logistical and practical support for ERRC research in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ERRC also wishes to thank all the Romani individuals who agreed to be interviewed, and whose testimony forms the basis of this report. 7 The Non-Constituents: Rights Deprivation of Roma in Post-Genocide Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 I came back from Germany three years ago with my wife, who is handicapped, and my son. Our family had a house in Dubrave and 8,000 m2 of land next to the main road from Gradika to Banja Luka. When we returned we found a Serb refugee family from Croatia living in the house. As we had nowhere else to go, some relatives let us stay in their garage. I immediately submitted a request for the return of my prop- erty. I often went to the local office of the Ministry of Refu- gees and Displaced Persons to see how far they had come with my application. They always sent me back and they told me to come back after one month. It went on like that for two years. Then they told me that they could not evict the Serb family because they had no other place to stay. They told me that the Serbs property in Croatia had been de- stroyed and that he could not go back. This summer the officers at the Ministry told me that the best thing I could do was to sell my house and land to the temporary occupant. Mr Muharem Haliloviæ, December 17, 2002, Gradika, a village approximately 50 kilometres north of Banja Luka. 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There are few countries in which human rights are as richly guaranteed by law as they are in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina states, Bosnia and Herzegovina and both Entities shall ensure the highest level of internation- ally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms.1 The Constitution further gives 1 Article II(1) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All citations from the Constitution in this report are from an official translation available at: http://www.ccbh.ba/constitution/?lang=en. Unless otherwise specified, all translations of laws in this report are unofficial by the ERRC. 9 The Non-Constituents: Rights Deprivation of Roma in Post-Genocide Bosnia and Herzegovina priority to European human rights law over all other law,2 includes non-discrimination provisions and enshrines in the constitutional order a range of other international hu- man rights agreements,3 including some not ratified by any other European state.4 These facts notwithstanding, certain provisions of both the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Constitutions of the two Entities prima facie discriminate against Roma and other non-constituent peoples, violating both themselves and interna- tional human rights law. The constitutional law of Bosnia and Herzegovina prevents Roma from enjoying a number of fundamental political rights. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in Europe in which Roma are barred by law from holding crucial high political offices, including the Presidency. As members of a second class non- constituent people, Romani children in Bosnia and Herzegovina today can only as- pire in vain to one day becoming president of their country. European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) monitoring of the situation of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina has established that Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina are regularly exposed to abuses of their civil, political, economic and social rights as a result of their official second-class status in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also be- cause entrenched anti-Romani sentiment in Bosnia and Herzegovina gives rise to en- demic racial discrimination and other human rights violations against Roma. In addition to being legally barred from holding high political office,