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Integrity Scorecard

2008 Assessment

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	67
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	25
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	67
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	63

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Annex 4 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, representing the Constitution of the country; Laws on Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Official Gazette of BiH, No.32/01, 42/03

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Laws on Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Official Gazette of BiH, No.32/01, 42/03

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Laws on Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Official Gazette of BiH, No.32/01, 42/03

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments: "The law allows nongovernmental organizations to register at the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications and therefore to operate anywhere in the country. However, some NGOs and NGO associations experienced difficulties registering, including long delays and inconsistent application of the law. Some NGOs, frustrated by bureaucratic delays at the state level, chose instead to register their organizations at the entity level in one or both entities." From Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

References: European Commission Bosnia and Herzegovina 2007 Progress Report, Brussels, July 11, 2007, [ LINK ]

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 11, 2008, [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Registration of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been delayed for almost 2 years (and is ongoing), due to the fact that the State Ministry of Justice interpreted the article 21, which allows legal entities (foundations) to be a confounder to any other non governmental organizations incorrectly, stating the foundation can be a confounder to another foundation only, not any other type of organization!

As newly formed NGOs do not accept this, they have registered at the Federation level and have kept on working, but the case is still pending. At this stage, there is a so-called silence of administration, where the Ministry has a legal obligation to respond to NGO appeals within 30 days, but they still do not responded. They were said to be creating a commission within the same ministry to decide upon these cases, but that has also not happened.

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments: Civil society organizations have very limited influence in the policymaking process. There is little evidence that the government responds to CSO initiatives; it particulary ignores CSO anticorruption initatives.

References: Freedom House: Nations in Transit 2008: Bosnia and Herzegovina, released on June 24, 2008, [ LINK ]

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 11, 2008, [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: My experience in Bosnia indicates that the government takes account of NGO views only when forced to do so by the international community (Office of the High Representative, The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union, embassies, etc), but, even then, it rarely accepts any of their suggestions.

Peer Review Comments: Civil society organizations indeed have very limited influence in policymaking, a very specific activity which is only starting to emerge in Bosnia. The word "policy" itself is problematic, as there is no real translation of it in Bosnian language. The closest word is "politika" -- politics"-- and, as such, it means NGO's only compete on the same level as, instead of acting as independent groups that enable strategic approaches to governing.

The reluctance to cooperate mostly comes from ignorance. To illustrate this, there are few policymakers who know about the existence of think tanks. They are seen as part of foreign embassy departments. Those policymakers who spend time abroad make use of think tanks, less officially, but they understand the importance of them.

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: "Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) was forced to temporarily close its office and suspend operations due to ongoing unwarranted and damaging attacks that have recently escalated with the Serbian Republic (RS Republika Srpska). Prime Minister Milorad Dodiks claims that staff of TI BiH are engaged in racketeering and organized crime. "On Wednesday, July 9, 2008, the principal deputy high representative provided evidence to the BiH chief prosecutor suggesting that the Serbian Republic executive establishment was planning accusations against TI BiH late in 2007. It took some months until the action was put in motion, and today, the staff of TI BiH lives in an extremely uncertain environment. "

References: "Transparency International Chapter in Bosnia and Herzegovina forced to suspend operations due to safety concerns," press release, Transparency International, July 10, 2008, [ LINK ]

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Freedom House: Nations in Transit 2008: Bosnia and Herzegovina, released on June 24, 2008, [ LINK ]

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 11, 2008, [ LINK ]

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: "The Association of Old Foreign Exchange Savings Depositors threatened a lawsuit against the Serbian Republic (RS Republika Srpska) government for RS police officers' alleged use of excessive force during a protest in Gradiska on December 28, 2007." From Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007

References: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 11, 2008, [ LINK ]

"Police confronted citizens," Dec. 28, 2007, News portal 24 sata

Peer Review Comments: In the past year, few journalists have been attacked while doing research on corruption or similar matters.

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Freedom House: Nations in Transit 2008: Bosnia and Herzegovina, released on June 24, 2008, [ LINK ]

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 11, 2008, [ LINK ]

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Annex VI to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia Herzegovenia

Laws on Associations and Foundations, Official Gazette of BiH, No.32/01, 42/03

Peer Review Comments: Trade unions can be organized according to the Law on Associations and Foundations adopted in 2003.

According to that law, trade unions and any other association can be established by a minimum of three physical or legal entities who are citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Any other particular conditions can be defined by the statute of a certain trade union.

Trade unions can be organized at any level: municipal, entity or state.

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments: "The law allows workers in both entities (except members of the military) to form and join unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements, and workers did so in practice. However, the Bosnia Herzegovina (BiH) government refused to register the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an umbrella organization of entity-level unions at the state level, which effectively blocked the activity of the principal unions above the entity level. This failure was due in large part to differing legal interpretations from Serbian Republic (RS Republika Srpska) and Federation legal experts working in the Council of Ministers. The International Labor Organization (ILO) submitted a letter to the BiH Council of Ministers suggesting it register the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions as soon as possible, in accordance with applicable international conventions, or change the law, but the Council of Ministers had not done so by year's end. In June the government attended the ILO conference committee on application of standards." From Bosnia and Herzegovina, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007

References: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 11, 2008. [ LINK ]

"Black Market Labor: The Shadow Workers," The Center for Investigative Reporting Sarajevo (CIN), 2007, [ LINK ]