Joint statement by United Nations in BiH, European Union in BiH, and OSCE Mission to BiH
On International Roma Day, we reaffirm the importance of advancing the well-being, inclusion and status of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including by addressing persistent discrimination, prejudice, stereotypes and hate speech that continue to affect Roma communities. A human rights imperative and a development priority, Roma inclusion is critical to break the cycle of exclusion, providing hope to children and young people.
As highlighted in the latest European Commission report on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Roma remain the most vulnerable and disadvantaged minority in the country, facing persistent discrimination, anti-Gypsyism and social exclusion. The estimated 50,000 Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to face systemic impediments in exercising their civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. Far too many Roma regularly experience stigmatization and stereotyping, and institutions fail to protect their rights and respond to their needs. These challenges reflect entrenched discrimination as well as longstanding gaps in the design and delivery of public services. Unequal access to education, health, housing, water and sanitation, social protection and employment further deepen long-term socio-economic marginalization. Needs- and evidence-based policies, equitable service delivery, and stronger institutional accountability require timely and accurate data. With limited and insufficiently disaggregated data on Roma communities, it is not possible to fully assess the actual extent of these inequalities.
Roma remain the most marginalized minority in the country, disproportionately excluded from political, social and economic life, with consequences transcending generations. The critically low participation of Roma children in early childhood education - below 2 per cent - puts this community behind from the beginning. While primary school attendance in the general population reaches 98 per cent, only 69.3 per cent of Roma children are enrolled, with enrolment dropping to 23 per cent at the secondary level, including a mere 18 per cent of Roma girls. These barriers to education deepen the socio-economic exclusion of Roma communities by feeding ongoing disparities in access to viable work and formal employment, active labour market participation, and social protection.
Roma women and girls face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status, erecting even greater hurdles to education, healthcare, employment and participation in decision-making. In some Roma communities, early marriage bears serious consequences for girls and boys, creating pressures to assume adult roles prematurely, reducing educational and economic opportunities while also impacting individual bodily autonomy.
Roma continue to face obstacles to the exercise of civil and political rights, including electoral rights, due to their constitutional status as "Others". In its landmark Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina judgment, the European Court of Human Rights held that the constitutional and electoral frameworks in Bosnia and Herzegovina discriminated against Others, including Roma, in the exercise of their electoral rights. The non-implementation of that judgment and subsequent rulings on similar matters underscores the need for long-overdue reforms through inclusive consultations with civil society, including Roma.
Potential statelessness further impedes the exercise of fundamental civil and political rights. Noting the progress made, with the support of international partners and civil society, so that most known vulnerable persons have been assisted to confirm their legal identity, some Roma remain at risk, including due to missing or incomplete documentation for children born abroad to parents from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Greater Roma inclusion also requires the recognition of the historical suffering of Roma communities, including the atrocity crimes perpetrated during the Second World War and the 1992-1995 conflict. Recent research has documented mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, conflict-related sexual violence, and forced displacement of Roma, including women and children. In some areas, Roma settlements were obliterated, ceasing to exist. Equitably and effectively dealing with the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina necessitates ensuring accountability for such crimes against Roma, as well as truth, reparation and memorialization, to ensure this history is neither lost nor forgotten.
Looking ahead, and recognizing how much work still lies ahead, we welcome the preparation of the new Action Plan for the Social Inclusion of Roma Men and Roma Women for 2026-2030. We note, however, with concern that the draft Plan was not adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is important that this process moves forward without further delay. We therefore encourage the responsible authorities to build on the substantial work already undertaken and to submit a revised version of the Plan for prompt consideration and adoption by the Council of Ministers.
Advancing Roma inclusion is required by Bosnia and Herzegovina's international human rights obligations; recommendations by international human rights mechanisms, including those under the Universal Periodic Review, commitments established by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the pledge to leave no one behind, relevant OSCE commitments, and the 2019 Poznan Declaration on Roma integration. Roma inclusion is also a key benchmark in Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress towards the European Union membership that is explicitly recognized in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Reform Agenda and the European Union Growth Plan, particularly under the Human Capital policy area, which emphasizes the need to address vulnerabilities of marginalized groups, including Roma, through improved access to education, employment and social services.
Ultimately, ensuring the full inclusion of Roma is also essential to building a more equal, cohesive and resilient society for all.
The United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Union Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina
