By: Aida K.

At its 208th session, the Government of the Federation of BiH appointed the members of the Inter-ministerial Working Group to analyze the regulations under which same-sex couples in the living community may exercise their rights under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and propose regulations to be adopted in the Federation of BiH.

As Sead Lisak, President of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group (IRG), pointed out in an interview with our portal, the importance of this decision of the FBiH Government is primarily reflected in the fact that from declarative support, it finally turned to practical support for resolving the issue of the rights of same-sex couples.

"It is also necessary to take into account the provisions of the Constitution of BiH, which stipulates that the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms will be directly applied in BiH and that it has legal force above all other laws. with EU regulations under the Stabilization and Association Agreement. There is certainly a need to add to the implementation of existing legislation, in particular I think the consistent implementation of the Anti-Discrimination Act. The importance of the FBiH Government's decision is also reflected in the commitment to address the issue of insecurity with which same-sex citizens live on a daily basis, because the legal order, or the legislative framework, does not provide them," Lisak said.

As Vladana Vasic, Head of Advocacy at the Sarajevo Open Center, said, "It is essential that the FBiH Government, when evaluating regulations that directly affect the rights of same-sex couples, include the Sarajevo Open Center, as a civil society organization that already has expertise in human rights. An LGBTI person, working on an analysis of existing regulations, is in contact with same-sex couples from BiH and knows what rights and obligations these couples do not have in BiH. Persons appointed by the FBiH Government, however many legal professionals in BiH, have not yet had the opportunity to learn about the human rights of LGBTI people and their needs in the same way as members of the SOC team. "The absence of the SOC and other organizations, Vasic said, could lead to a poor assessment of the needs of same-sex couples in BiH, to propose and pass “inapplicable laws”, as was the case in Croatia in the original regulation of same-sex living communities, and to ignore the LGBTI community because they are a “minority” in a society where all social groups are waiting to protect human rights.

"Through adequate communication and involvement of SOCs and other LGBIT organizations, this" regional "and" comparative "component is introduced and enables the transfer of both the direct interest of the LGBTI community and the experiences from the region and other European countries that we have gained through our many years of cooperation with others LGBTI women activists, " Vasic said.

Sead Lisak confirmed that SOC representatives would attend the next sessions. "Recognizing the importance of the civil sector, we have taken the position to invite representatives of the non-governmental sector to the next sessions, first of all, to think about the Sarajevo Open Center, whose experience to date can in any case help to propose in a best way certain solutions regarding the protection of the rights of same-sex couples in life. communities. We have already informed the representatives of the Sarajevo Open Center about our decision. In the meantime, after the session, we exchanged mutually available documentation, which we individually analyze and will discuss at the next IRG session. One of the questions that will be raised before the IRG members is how to propose legal regulations, whether by amending the existing or by adopting a separate Law on the Living Communities of Persons of the Same Sex in the Federation of BiH. In fact, the answer to this question will be the results of the analysis of the existing legal framework that we are implementing, ” Lisak said. Read more via LGBTI.Ba