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WASHINGTON, May 18 (FENA) - The US State Department published a report on religious freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the past year.
The constitutions of BiH and entities, the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska guarantee freedom of religious thought and practice and prohibit religious discrimination. Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina adheres to the national law on religious freedom, while the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina reserves special functions for members of the "constituent nations" - Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.
The government has failed to comply with a 2009 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights ordering the opening of positions in the Presidency and the House of Peoples of Parliament to ethnic groups outside the three constituent nations, although political leaders have held talks on elective and limited constitutional reforms that, according to international experts, would , implemented the court's decision. However, the negotiations ended in March without reaching an agreement. During the year, the government made no effort to approve the re-establishment of the two joint commissions needed to implement the agreement between the state and the Catholic Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which was criticized by the Catholic Church.
During the year, attacks, harassment and threats against members of various religious communities in the country were recorded, including vandalism against Jewish property.
The Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IRC) reported 15 cases of vandalism of religious buildings and cemeteries, as well as two incidents against religious officials.
In its report for the year 2021, the Commission of the Islamic Community, which consists of members of the Islamic Community and is chaired by the Mufti of Goražde, Remzija Pitić, pointed out that the continued use of Orthodox symbols and iconography in public institutions in the RS, including schools, is a violation of the principle of separation religion from the state and the principle of equality of all religious communities and churches before the law.
The commission also cited and criticized the practice of asking Muslim children enrolled in public schools in the RS to participate in the celebrations of the Orthodox holiday of St. Sava, the patron saint of Orthodox schools, which is celebrated on January 27.
The Islamic Community Commission also highlighted in its report for 2021 the rhetoric of Milorad Dodik, then a member of the BiH Presidency, who called Bosniaks "Muslims", which, according to the report, reduced their ethnicity to a religious group, while he did not mention religious affiliation when referred to Croats and Serbs.
During the year, the BiH Presidency did not consider the agreement drawn up in 2015 between the state and the Islamic Community, which, if approved by the Presidency and Parliament, would recognize and regulate Islamic dietary restrictions in public institutions, provide accommodation for public and private sector employees for daily prayers and allowed free time to attend Friday prayers, as well as a one-time trip to Mecca for Hajj.
According to the statement of an official of the Islamic Community, the BiH Presidency did not consider the agreement due to the opposition of Milorad Dodik, then a member of the BiH Presidency, who blocked the consideration of the agreement during his mandate from November 2018 to November 2022 and publicly stated that the agreement would give greater rights to Muslims than others religious communities.
The official of the Islamic Community did not agree with Dodik's claim. The report of the Commission of the Islamic Community for the year 2021 states that failure to adopt and approve the agreement constitutes discrimination against Muslims and their religious rights.
The report also states that delaying and blocking the process of harmonizing the draft agreement negatively affects freedom of religion and discriminates against the Islamic community and Muslims, unlike the other two main religious communities - the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church - which have agreements with the state, although they are not implemented. concludes the US State Department's report on religious freedom.
(FENA) L. N.
