Together with our member, the Center for Civil Society Promotion (CPCD), we present the 2023 annual report on the civil society environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 29 October in Banja Luka, CPCD is organizing a conference to present the report’s findings, with a particular focus on addressing the challenges faced by CSO workers and activists.
Want to be part of the discussion? Please register HERE.
The report highlights that the enabling environment in BiH is partially supportive for CSOs, with certain freedoms such as the ability to register and operate without excessive interference and access to foreign funding. However, challenges remain, including complications with peaceful assembly, increased government interference, and repercussions on freedom of expression, such as the defamation law. CSOs face unclear taxation rules and financial restrictions, while inspections and fines create excessive scrutiny. The financial viability framework is complex and more disabling than enabling, with funding processes lacking transparency. Cooperation between the government and CSOs remains inconsistent, with sporadic involvement in lawmaking and strategy development. Key challenges include addressing legal inconsistencies, improving the regulatory environment, and enhancing CSO financial sustainability.
Bellow, we present you the key findings and key recommendations:
KEY FINDINGS:
- The legal regulations regarding freedom of association and autonomy of CSOs are not harmonized at different levels, but they still comply with standards, ensuring an enabling environment.
- The law on anti-money laundering and financing terrorism was updated in 2023 and adopted in 2024. Non-Profit Organizations, in terms of this updated Law, are deleted as obligers.
- One of the strongest findings of this report is the violation of fundamental freedom of assembly by hooligans and the lack of institutional protection for activists.
- Although there is no clear and consistent framework for transparent public funding since the prescribed procedures exist at the state and RS levels, the weakest mechanism for distributing public funds to CSOs is in FBiH, including cantons. Still, CSOs in BiH see the public funding for CSOs as non-transparent process that is often abused for political purposes and is subjected to malversation.
- The Council of Ministers initiated the development of the Strategy for the Development of an Enabling Environment for Civil Society 2024-2028. The Advisory Body of the CoM for cooperation with NGOs is named as a member of the working group. The strategy is expected to be adopted in 2024.
- Organizations’ involvement in developing laws and strategic documents remains sporadic, with mechanisms only at the state level. The Rulebook for Public Consultation BiH has been revised with a few improvements and setbacks in the possibility of adopting documents without consultation. Changes to the Law on Freedom of Access to Information have made it harder for organizations, especially in the appeals process.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Harmonize legal norms and standardize the rights of organizations established at all levels of government and under any law in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Ensure zero tolerance on threats to the rights and freedoms of activists, with a special focus on protecting people from violence due to the expression of basic freedoms and the exercise of basic rights.
- To prevent the civil sector’s space from narrowing, it is necessary to ensure wider civil society involvement and respect for its demands when discussing the laws on financing non-governmental organizations in the FBiH and the Law on Foreign Agents in the RS.
- Public institutions in charge of grant distribution need to ensure clear criteria and mechanisms for distribution, enabling a transparent grant distribution process in FBiH.
- Ensure greater participation of civil society in the consultation process in all stages of the Strategy for the Development of an Enabling Environment for the Non-Governmental Sector in BiH. Ensure the mandatory participation of CSOs in EU integration through the establishment of a mechanism.
This report is part of a series of country reports covering six countries in the Westerns Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. A Regional Report provided by BCSDN will soon be available.
This report has been produced with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
Interested in reading more? Find the full report HERE.