Civil Society
An empowered civil society is a crucial component of any democratic system and should be recognised and treated as such by the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As was outlined in the European Commission’s Bosnia and Herzegovina 2020 report, “the overall legal and regulatory framework for civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina is broadly in line with the EU acquis. No progress was made in addressing the Opinion key priority 11 on ensuring an enabling environment for civil society, notably by upholding European standards on freedom of association and freedom of assembly. Challenges remain, as exemplified in the case of the “Justice for David” movement in Banja Luka and “Justice for Dzenan” movement in Sarajevo. Meaningful and systematic consultations with civil society remain to be ensured as part of an inclusive policy dialogue. A framework for the transparent funding of civil society organisations is needed.”
The EU’s policy on civil society is based on the Guidelines for EU support to civil society in enlargement countries. These contain a set of objectives, results and indicators which were developed for EU support to civil society. They allow the measurement of progress at country level as well as across the enlargement region. The Guidelines for the period 2021-2027 are available at this link Guidelines for EU support to civil society in enlargement countries 2021 – 2027
Some further details on civil society organisations in BiH:
- According to the records there are 25,646 registered associations and foundations.
- The official data obtained from entity statistics bureaus and tax offices related to full time employees vary from 3,063 to 4,247 employees. It represents some 3.5% of the total number of employees outside of the agricultural sector in BiH.
- Civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina has all characteristics of civil society in a transitional country dominated by sport-recreational associations and associations that represent interests of specific social groups.
Some key findings and recommendations from the EU financed 2016 Mapping Study of CSOs in Bosnia and Herzegovina are:
- The general assessment of the civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina corresponds to a general assessment of state and society – fragmented, institutionally very weak, financially unsustainable and greatly dependent on political and financial support of the international community;
- The public sector still does not regard civil society, as well as private capital, as a relevant partner in social and economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore the financing of activities of civil society organisations is treated exclusively as an expense, rather than as a social investment, which should encourage the social development of communities and contribute to the articulation and implementation of policy priorities.
Some of the key recommendations of the study are:
- Support to the capacity building of civil society organizations, especially to the sector networking of civil society organization (interest based networks) and strengthening legitimation of civil society organizations (strengthening member based organizations, their communication capacities and reputation among BiH citizens);
- Support to establishment of a value system serving as a basis for cooperation between the governmental and non-governmental sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and identification of the mechanisms for ensuring the independence and pluralism of civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Support for improving a strategic and legal framework for activities and development of civil society;
- Support to establishment of a system of funding and support to the civil society development.
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