Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina has reported hate crime data to ODIHR via the Ministry of Interior. There is no institutional system for recording and collecting hate crime data in the country. In co-operation with ODIHR and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the authorities of Republika Srpska have worked to improve hate crime recording and data collection through ODIHR's Information Against Hate Crimes Toolkit (INFAHCT) programme, including through a diagnostic workshop held in April 2022. Bosnia and Herzegovina has also co-operated with ODIHR and the OSCE Mission to train law enforcement officers and criminal justice professionals on hate crimes.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has launched a Gender Action Plan, 2023-2027. Hate crime prevention activities were included as part of the strategic implementation of the Action Plan.
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 54 | 10 | 8 |
| 2022 | 42 | 8 | 6 |
| 2021 | 45 | 7 | 4 |
| 2020 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| 2019 | 21 | 13 | 9 |
| 2018 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2017 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2016 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2015 | 24 | 12 | 3 |
| 2014 | 200 | 36 | 23 |
| 2013 | 350 | 77 | 88 |
| 2012 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2011 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2010 | 19 | Not available | Not available |
| 2009 | 15 | Not available | Not available |
About 2014 Data
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The exact number of hate crimes recorded by police is not known. Reported police figure is an official estimate based on information from law enforcement and some non-governmental monitoring.
Hate crime recorded by police
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR observes that Bosnia and Hercegovina has not reported hate crime data disaggregated by bias motivation to ODIHR.
INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina reported that it continued its activities with law enforcement, the judiciary and civil society organizations, including organizing four training events for 52 prosecutors and judges, and the establishment of five local civil society coalitions that aim to work together to improve monitoring and prevention of hate crime. The Mission continued to support its online “Super Citizens” reporting tool and to publish reports in its Hate Monitor, a monthly visualization of the Mission’s hate crimes monitoring information, which presents the latest data on all known bias-motivated incidents and responses to these incidents by judicial agencies, local authorities and civil society throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Mission also continued its co-operation with the project “Fighting Hate Crime in BiH”, funded by the Dutch OSCE Delegation. The Mission also reported that the Federal Ministry of Interior and the Police Academy adopted a hate crime training programme for the police, and that five municipalities adopted Community Cohesion Action Plans.
Anti-LGBTI hate crime
The UN Human Rights Council, in its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), recommended that local authorities collect and evaluate hate crime data, and publicly and unequivocally condemn any hate crime against LGBT groups and bring those responsible to justice.