Five-Year Review: State Party Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) ratified the convention on 7 September 2010. It views its ratification law as sufficient to ensure implementation of the convention’s provisions. BiH has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention and has elaborated its views on important issues relating to the interpretation and implementation of the convention.

During the 1992–1995 war, Yugoslav forces and non-state armed groups used cluster munitions. BiH has acknowledged past production of cluster munitions. In 2011 and 2012, BiH completed the destruction of a stockpile of 445 cluster munitions and 148,059 submunitions.

Policy

Bosnia and Herzegovina signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008, ratified on 7 September 2010, and the convention entered into force for the country on 1 March 2011.

BiH has declared its ratification law under national implementation measures for the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[1] In September 2013, it stated that, “all the necessary legislation is in place.”[2]

BiH submitted its initial Article 7 report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 20 August 2011 and has provided annual updated reports ever since, most recently in June 2015.[3] 

BiH actively participated throughout the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, making strong contributions based on its experience as a country affected by cluster munitions and declaring a national moratorium on cluster munition use prior to the conclusion of the process.[4]

BiH engages in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention, including the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San Jose, Cost Rica in September 2014, where it made statements on clearance. BiH has attended all of the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva. BiH has participated in regional workshops on the convention and attended a mine action symposium in Biograd, Croatia on 27–29 April 2015, which included discussion on cluster munitions.[5] BiH served as the convention’s coordinator on victim assistance in 2012–2013 together with Afghanistan.

BiH has voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, including Resolution 69/189 on 18 December 2014, which expressed “outrage” at the continued use.[6]

Interpretive issues

In July 2011, the director of the department of conventional weapons of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs elaborated the ministry’s views on a number of issues important for the interpretation and implementation of the convention. On the prohibition on assistance with prohibited acts during joint military operations or “interoperability,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “under the same Article 21, para 3, we may engage in joint military operations with non-states Parties that might engage in activities prohibited by the Convention, however our personnel or nationals should not provide assistance with activities prohibited by the Convention.”[7]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the “transit of cluster munitions across, or foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions on, the national territory of States Parties is prohibited by the Convention.”[8] The ministry, however, noted that it does not have “access to or information on weapon types” stockpiled in European Union Force (EUFOR) military bases “on our territory.”[9] In May 2013, a Ministry of Defense official said the ministry has not inquired about the status of any foreign cluster munitions stored on EUFOR military bases in BiH.[10]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also stated that it considers “investment in the production of cluster munitions to be prohibited.”[11]

BiH is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, and transfer

Yugoslav forces and non-state armed groups used available stocks of cluster munitions during the 1992–1995 war. The various entity armies inherited cluster munitions during the break-up of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

In its initial Article 7 report, BiH declared, “There are no production facilities for CM [Cluster Munitions] in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”[12]

BiH has acknowledged past production of cluster munitions and first stated in 2007 that production had ceased.[13] It produced KB-1 and KB-2 submunitions for the Orkan multi-barrel rocket system, artillery projectiles, and mortar bombs.[14] The production capacity included the ability to manufacture KB-series submunitions and integrate them into carrier munitions such as artillery projectiles and rockets.[15] According to Jane’s Information Group, the Ministry of Defense produced the 262mm M-87 Orkan rocket, each containing 288 KB-1 dual-purpose submunitions.[16] It also lists BiH armed forces as possessing KPT-150 dispensers (which deploy submunitions) for aircraft.[17]

Stockpile destruction

BiH once possessed a stockpile of 445 cluster munitions of three types and 148,059 submunitions, as listed in the following table.

Cluster munitions formerly stockpiled by BiH[18]

Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, BiH was required to destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction and control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2019.

In September 2012, BiH announced that the completion of its destruction of “all known and reported stocks of cluster munitions in 2011” and declared that it has “fulfilled all obligations relating to Article 3” of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[19]

A total of 441 cluster munitions and 147,967 submunitions were destroyed in 2011, while 16,128 KB1 submunitions from M-87 Orkan 262mm rockets were destroyed in 2012,[20] along with four M-93 120mm mortar bombs containing 92 submunitions discovered after the 2011 stockpile destruction.[21] In 2014, the Ministry of Defense informed Landmine Survivors Initiatives that it destroyed the four bombs and their submunitions by open detonation.[22]  

In June 2015, BiH reported the destruction of 341 KB-1 submunitions on 16 April 2014 at Pretis in Vogosca.[23] It reported the discovery of the KB-1 submunitions in Pretis as well as four KB-2 submunitions in Krupa, Hadzici in the 2013 and June 2014 Article 7 reports.[24] On 17 June 2014, a cache of 114 KB-2 submunitions was found behind a house near Sarajevo.[25] According to the Federal Civil Protection the submunitions were taken to Lapov Do in Koniic municipality and destroyed the same day.[26]

Retention

BiH is not retaining any cluster munitions for research or training purposes.[27]

Contaminated by: landmines (massive contamination), cluster munition remnants (medium contamination), and other unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Article 5 deadline: 1 March 2019
(Not on track to meet deadline)

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline: 1 March 2021
(Unclear whether on track to meet deadline)

Summary

Landmines: As of the end of 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) reported 1,091km² of antipersonnel mine contamination, of which 23.46km² was confirmed.[1] In 2016, BiH released 1.34km² by clearance and 10.39km² by technical survey. A further 46.94km² was reportedly canceled, though this result may not be for 2016 only, but for a period of three years.

Cluster munition remnants: As of the end of 2016, BiH had 1.12km² of confirmed hazardous area (CHA) contaminated by cluster munition remnants and a further 7.3km² of cluster munition suspected hazardous area (SHA). This is an increase on the reported 0.85km² of CHA and 7.3km² of SHA at the end of 2015. During 2016, 0.86km² of land was released (0.1km² through clearance and 0.76km² through technical survey) with 632 submunitions destroyed, and 0.47km² confirmed to be contaminated.

Recommendations for action

• The Action Plan of the Demining Commission should be approved and implemented expeditiously.
• BiH should strengthen its resource mobilization efforts through the regular resumption of the Board of Donor meetings.
• BiH should finalize and implement the new mine action strategy for 2018–2025.
• BiH should complete the process of amending the mine action law within the planned timeframe.
• BiH should complete the revisions to standards and standard operating procedures within the planned timeframe.
• The BiH Mine Action Center (BHMAC) should ensure it reports more accurately and consistently on land release data (disaggregated by method of release), as well as on contaminated areas.
• BiH should accelerate clearance of cluster munition remnants to fulfil its Article 4 obligations as soon as possible, as required by the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
• The demining capabilities of the BiH armed forces and the Federal Administration of Civil Protection should be enhanced by the provision of new equipment and training, and more conducive human resources policies.

Contamination

BiH is massively contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), including cluster munition remnants, primarily as a result of the 1992–1995 conflict related to the break-up of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[2]

Mine contamination

Most mined areas are in the zone of separation between BiH’s two main political entities—the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS). Twenty years after the end of the conflict, BiH is still the most heavily mined country in Europe.

BiH has reported inconsistent figures for its estimate of mine contamination as of the end of 2016.[3] In its latest Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency report, BiH states that a total of 1,091km² of area was suspected to contain mines across 8,636 locations, of which it estimated that 315.75km² of area was more likely to contain mines across 4,286 “locations.”[4] BiH’s statement on Article 5 implementation at the June 2017 Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings, however, only mentioned the 1,091km² of suspected mined area (representing 2.2% of the total area of BiH), and does not reference the area within this total, which is estimated to contain mines.[5]

The BHMAC, in its “Report on Mine Action in BiH for 2016” and by email, reports that there are 1,091km² of hazardous area which it reports as SHA, although it includes 23.46km² of CHA, as presented in the table below.

Antipersonnel mine contamination by canton (as at end 2016)[6]

Note: The data reported on CHA is included within the overall hazardous area.

Whichever figures are correct, this represents a decrease in overall mined area, compared to the 300km² of CHA and 1.15km² of SHA as of the end of 2015, as reported by BiH in its Article 7 report the previous year,[7] or the 23.04km² of CHA and 1,149km² of SHA reported to by BHMAC for 2015.

BiH stated in its Article 7 report that 73,483 mines and items of UXO remain to be cleared.[8]

The number of “minefield” records was reported in 2016 to total 19,283, of which 13,672 were in the Federation of BiH, 4,858 in Republika Srpska, and 753 in Brčko District. Collection of minefield records is ongoing, with BHMAC estimating that it has collected around 70% of the total.[9] It is unclear to what extent the 19,283 minefield records include areas already released through survey and clearance operations that incorrectly remain in the database as mined areas.

A 2016 national audit office report on the efficiency of the demining system in BiH concluded that:

“Twenty years after the war ended, the Mine Action Centre still does not have complete information on the locations of landmines in BiH, which is to say it does not know the total suspected hazardous area.[10] Similarly, a 2015 UNDP evaluation reported that BHMAC is aware that not all of the SHA is actually mined, but “without more efficient non-technical survey and technical survey procedures the exact extent of the problem cannot be quantified.”[11]

BiH was severely affected by the Balkan flood disaster in May 2014, which reminded the international and local community of the task of mine clearance that still remains in BiH.[12] The European Union (EU)’s 2014 Flood Recovery Needs Assessment for BiH found that there to be minimal mine migration compared to that expected, and that mines and UXO remain a risk in human, economic, and social terms and should be addressed as a priority.[13] The EU Needs Assessment recommended that BHMAC consider the possibility that landslides may have buried landmines deeper than the 10cm to 20cm currently investigated in clearance efforts.[14] The assessment identified key priorities and tasks for mine action to aid the recovery.[15]

According to BiH, mined areas are located in 129 municipalities/cities, with 1,389 communities/populated areas contaminated. Mine and ERW contamination directly impacts the safety of approximately 545,000 people, or 15% of the population of BiH, based on the last census in 2013.[16] Of the total SHA, 62% is forested, 26% agricultural land, and 12% infrastructure.[17] Much of the remaining mine contamination in BiH is comprised of individually placed mines or groups of mines, which do not follow a set pattern, and which were emplaced across a wide area, posing a challenge to the identification of the location of contamination.[18] Furthermore, physical changes to mined areas, such as in vegetation, and a lack of witnesses to the laying of the mines, pose additional challenges.[19] Mine contamination is said also to obstruct the return of refugees and the displaced, impede rehabilitation and development of utility infrastructure, and prevent free movement between communities, especially on the administrative line between the entities.[20]

The fertile agricultural belt in the Posavina region, along with the Doboj region, has the most heavily contaminated areas.[21] According to BHMAC, however, most mine incidents now occur in forested areas.[22] In 2016, two incidents occurred in areas not declared or marked as contaminated, but such incidents are unusual in BiH.[23] (For further details, see BiH’s casualty profile.)

Cluster munition contamination

As at the end of 2016, BiH reported 23 areas covering a total of 1.12km² confirmed to contain cluster munition remnants, while a further 207 areas totaling 7.30km² were suspected to contain cluster munition remnants (see table below).[24] This compares to reported contamination, as of the end of 2015, of 25 CHAs covering 0.85km² and 294 SHAs totaling an estimated 7.3km².[25]

Cluster munition contamination as of the end of 2016[26]

The contamination figures in the table above differ slightly from those in BiH’s latest Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 transparency report, which claimed 7.31km² was the total of all contamination. No reference is made in BiH’s Article 7 report to the 1.12km² of confirmed area reported separately by BHMAC.[27]

Of the total suspected cluster munition contamination, 2.7km² is the result of individually launched KB-1 submunitions fired from modified AK-47 rifles.[28] BHMAC plans to undertake a survey to more accurately delineate areas containing this contamination, and will then produce an analysis of the findings.[29]

A total of 4.3km² of contamination, including the 2.7km² of contamination by KB-1 submunitions fired from rifles, is in areas which also contain mines.[30]

The difference in total cluster munition contamination between the end of 2015 and the end of 2016, both in terms of the number of CHA and SHA, and the overall area of contamination, cannot be explained or reconciled by area released by technical survey and clearance or the amount of land confirmed as contaminated by cluster munition remnants. No satisfactory explanation has been provided for the disparity in data between reporting periods.

Cluster munition contamination dates back to the conflicts of 1992–1995 related to the break-up of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[31] A survey and initial general assessment of cluster munition contamination was jointly conducted by BHMAC and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) in 2011. Since technical survey and clearance operations began in 2012, and through the end of 2016, 5km² of area was reduced or cleared, with 2,195 submunitions and 92 other ERW destroyed.[32]

Cluster munition contamination in BiH is a small humanitarian risk but has a greater impact on development, impeding access to natural resources and posing an obstacle to rehabilitation and building of infrastructure.[33] Sixty communities have been identified as affected with submunitions, of which 31 are also affected by mines.[34] In August 2016, a boy was injured by a KB-1 submunition while tending livestock in Sehovina, Mostar.[35] (See the Casualty profile for more details.)

Program Management

The Demining Commission, under the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, supervises the state-wide Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center (BHMAC) and represents BiH in its relations with the international community on mine-related issues.[36] The Demining Commission is composed of representatives from three ministries (Civil Affairs, Security, and Defense) elected from the three constituent “peoples” of BiH and representing BiH’s three majority ethnic groups (Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs).[37] Three new Demining Commission members were given a two-year mandate on 23 July 2015,[38] which expired in July 2017. A new Demining Commission was expected to be appointed in the near future, and in the interim, the current representatives will serve as an acting Demining Commission.[39] Whereas the Minister for Civil Affairs remains ultimately responsible for mine action, the Demining Commission represents the strategic body responsible for setting mine action policy, and it proposes the appointment of BHMAC senior staff, for approval by the Council of Ministers.[40]

BHMAC is responsible for regulating mine action and implementing BiH’s demining plan, including accreditation of all mine action organizations.[41] BHMAC operates from its headquarters in Sarajevo, two main offices in Sarajevo and Banja Luka, and eight regional offices (Banja Luka, Bihac, Brčko, Mostar, Pale, Sarajevo, Travnik, and Tuzla).[42]

A November 2016 national audit office report on the efficiency of the demining system in BiH concluded that: “The institutions of BiH have not undertaken all activities required to ensure efficiency of the demining system. A conclusion can be drawn that BiH is not committed to dealing seriously with the demining problem, which jeopardises the implementation of the BiH strategic goals and the fulfilment of international commitments assumed. The demining process has neither been analysed nor improved systematically in the past 15 years.”[43] However, reforms are now being implemented, under the leadership of a new acting director of BHMAC, who was appointed on 22 September 2015 by the Council of Ministers.[44] The Demining Commission has drafted an Action Plan to address the recommendations of the 2016 audit office report, but as of September 2017 the status of the Action Plan was unclear.[45]

In its 2015 revision of the National Mine Action Strategy for 2009–2019, BHMAC stated that one of its goals was to “organize regular meetings for Board of Donors in order to present the results and to ensure and increase trust and support of donors.”[46] After a 10-year hiatus, Board of Donor meetings resumed in September 2015,[47] and a second meeting took place in March 2016.[48] As the Board of Donors is one of the few platforms where international actors meet formally under law, international donors in BiH welcomed the resumption of the meetings, which provide a forum for improved coordination and communication with the national authorities.[49] As of September 2017, however, no further Board of Donor meetings had taken place since the March 2016 meeting.[50]

In October 2016, expert working groups, which used to meet until 2009, were re-established.[51] According to BHMAC, the working groups will meet as often as needed.[52]

Strategic planning

As of October 2017, BiH was working on a new National Mine Action Strategy for 2018–2025, with support from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), which addresses all contamination, including antipersonnel mines.

The BiH Mine Action Strategy for 2009–2019, adopted by the Council of Ministers in 2008,[53] sets the target of the country becoming free of mines by 2019. BHMAC conducted the first of three planned revisions of the strategy in 2012–2013[54] (the other two were due in 2015 and 2017, respectively).[55] The 2012 revision asserted a lack of funding as one of the major reasons for BiH’s slow progress towards completion of its clearance goals.[56] The revised strategy was not formally adopted by the Council of Ministers.[57]

The second revision of the BiH Mine Action Strategy 2009–2019 was completed in 2015,[58] in consultation with the Demining Commission and the UNDP.[59] Among the strategic and operational goals in the revised strategy, was the elimination of one third of the total suspected mined area in BiH through non-technical and technical survey, by the end of 2019.[60] The operational plan in the 2015 revision also envisaged that over the next two or three years all organizations would transition to conform to the new land release methodology.[61] The revision was endorsed by the Demining Commission in BiH in March 2016, but was not adopted by the Council of Ministers.[62]

After starting the third revision process, BiH, with support from the GICHD, is now instead producing a new mine action strategy towards completing landmine and cluster munition clearance (2018–2025),[63] for which two consultative workshops were held in November 2016 and February 2017.

The new strategy will contain a plan and timeframe for the completion of mine and cluster munition clearance.[64] It will also include a section on management of residual contamination and national capacities, after clearance of all contaminated areas is completed.[65] Donors are hoping that the strategy will contain clear, realistic indicators and milestones, and incorporate up-to-date land release methodologies.[66] The Demining Commission and BHMAC will produce an action plan and financial plan for the strategy (2018–2025).[67] BHMAC has reported that it intends to factor at least two revisions into its new mine action strategy, to help monitor progress and ensure it remains valid.[68]

On 13 September 2017, the draft strategy was presented and discussed at a meeting of the BHMAC, the Demining Commission, the GICHD, and the UNDP. The draft strategy was then shared with the BiH Armed Forces, the entity Civil Protections, the UNDP, and the EU for further comment.[69] The strategy is due to be completed in October 2017, after which it will be referred to the Council of Ministers for adoption.[70]

Survey planning

In September 2017, a project proposal for a country-wide re-assessment (re-survey) was submitted to the EU for consideration.[71] The aim is to establish a more accurate baseline of mine contamination.[72] The proposed non-technical survey would include desk studies, analysis of war maps, and other materials, and would focus on finding evidence of mines, including analyzing evidence of cases in which mines have been removed by locals since the end of the conflict.[73] It is envisaged that the re-survey would take approximately two years and data obtained during the process will help inform periodic revisions to BHMAC’s completion plan.[74] The proposed re-assessment will also include components of impact assessment, as the initial survey results date back many years and there is the need to re-determine the current impact of mine contamination.[75] The re-survey would be implemented by BHMAC, NPA, and the BiH Armed Forces’ Demining Battalion.[76]

Mine action prioritization and planning in BiH is based on socio-economic impact. However, a UNDP evaluation recommended that the system be reviewed to reflect changing circumstances as well as to take account of the specific impact of particularly dangerous mines, such as the PROM-1.[77] BHMAC conducted a general assessment in 2016 to help designate high, medium, and low impact SHAs.[78]

Legislation

Since 2008, efforts have been made to adopt new mine action legislation in BiH with a view to creating a stable platform for mine action funding by the government and local authorities. A new draft demining law, which was first submitted to parliament in 2010, had still to be approved as of September 2017 by the Council of Ministers,[79] after which it must be sent for parliamentary approval. The last attempt to amend the law took place in the second half of 2015 and the draft Bill failed to attract the support of the Council of Ministers, which concluded that instead of adopting a new law, the existing law on demining should be amended.[80]

BiH demining authorities are following the recommendation to amend the existing law, but as such is restricted in the number of changes it can include, as amendments are not permitted to exceed 40% of an original act, otherwise a new law is needed.[81] In August 2016, the 68th session of the Council of Ministers of BiH issued a “Decision of the establishment of working group for the design of changes on the Demining law in BH.”[82] The working group, which consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Demining Commission, BHMAC, the Armed Forces, and the entity Civil Protections, created the first draft of the amended demining law.[83] In December 2016, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH opened a short 16-day public consultation process on Draft of Law on Amendments to the Law on Demining in BiH in accordance with the rules for consultations in drafting legal regulations in institutions of BiH.[84] As of June 2017, the draft law had been sent, via the Ministry of Civil Affairs, to the Council of Ministers for adoption.[85]

The UNDP has highlighted the need for the existing draft to be amended to ensure a strategic management body exists for mine action, that BiH national standards on land release are referenced, and that no technical issues impede land release.[86]

A BHMAC official acknowledged that the lack of a new legal framework has contributed to BiH’s repeated failure to meet its funding targets under its own mine action strategy.[87] Nevertheless, the UNDP’s 2015 evaluation stated that though a more robust legal framework for mine action in BiH would be welcome, the current demining law is adequate to enable mine action activities to be implemented effectively.[88]

Standards

In 2016, the Demining Commission formally adopted the three chapters of the national mine action standards (NMAS) on land release, non-technical survey, and technical survey.[89] They were drafted in cooperation with EU technical assistance through the Land Release pilot project, the UNDP, and the GICHD.[90] The Demining Commission adopted temporary guidelines for quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) for land release tasks in July 2017.[91]

In 2016, BHMAC also adopted a new standing operating procedure (SOP) for non-technical survey of areas suspected to contain cluster munition remnants, based on NPA’s own SOPs.[92] The Demining Commission subsequently adopted new standards for cluster munition remnants at the beginning of 2017.[93]

In 2016, in collaboration with the GICHD and the UNDP, BHMAC held a workshop on “standards and SOP revisions.”[94] BHMAC created four expert working groups in 2016, to work on amendments and additional to all the chapters of the national mine action standards and SOPs.[95] The working groups expected to complete their work by the end of September 2017, after which recommendations were to be sent to the demining commission for adoption.[96] NPA piloted SOPs for technical survey with targeted investigation.[97]

Operators

At the end of 2016, 26 organizations were accredited for mine action in BiH: four government organizations (Armed Forces of BiH, Federal Administration of Civil Protection, Civil Protection Administration of Republic of Srpska, and Brčko District Civil Protection), the Red Cross Society of BiH, nine commercial companies (eight national and one international), and 12 NGOs (10 national and two international).[98] Overall demining capacity totaled 1,200 persons in accredited organizations, comprising 900 deminers and 300 others (including team leaders, site leader, operational officers, QA officers, and dog trainers).[99]

During 2016, technical survey and/or clearance of antipersonnel mines was conducted by the BiH Armed Forces, the Federal Administration of Civil Protection, the Civil Protection Administration of Republic of Srpska, and 13 other clearance organizations, comprising nine NGOs (DEMIRA, Dok-ing deminiranje N.H.O., Eko Dem, Centre of Mine Detection Dogs (MDDC), NPA, Pazi Mine, Pro Vita, Stop Mines, and Association UEM) and four commercial organizations (Detektor, N&N Ivsa, Point, and UEM).[100]

The governmental operators—Civil Protection teams and the BiH Armed Forces’ Demining Battalion—constitute about 60% of the available operational capacity in BiH, though their total output in terms of land released by clearance and technical survey is proportionately much less.[101] The general view is that the BiH Armed Forces and Civil Protection are both good partners, and have effective capacities, but have suffered from logistical challenges and equipment deficits, which prevent them from working at full capacity.[102]

The BiH Armed Forces survey and clearance operations are fully engaged from March to November, and with reduced activity, predominantly in southern BiH, from December to February.[103] The BiH Armed Forces deploys machinery and explosive detection dogs during its survey and clearance operations.[104] They require ongoing support from external partners since the army’s own complex procurement system often cannot deliver such items in sufficient time.[105] Since 2010, NPA has increasingly focused on building the capacity of the Demining Battalion.[106] This involves transfer of knowledge through operational planning of clearance and technical survey operations; direct operational support; and provision of mine detection dogs (MDDs) and equipment, among other things.[107]

Furthermore, both the BiH Armed Forces and Civil Protection entities suffer recruitment challenges, but of a differing nature. Deminers in the BiH Armed Forces are forced to stop demining at the age of 38 (this upper limit, until recently, had been 35). This results in experienced deminers being forced to retire and, as a consequence, a high turnover of deminers.[108] The Federal Administration of Civil Protection on the other hand, is unable to employ new staff, including deminers, as this is a federal government decision. Therefore, the capacity of the Federal Administration of Civil Protection has been reduced as pensioned deminers or those absent due to sickness have not been replaced.[109]

Both machines and dogs are integrated into NPA demining operations in BiH. Machines are used for mechanical ground preparation, but much of the remaining mined area is in hilly or mountainous terrain, which restricts the use of machinery. MDD and special detection dogs (SDDs) are used for clearance and technical survey tasks, including targeted technical survey.[110] NPA also supports BHMAC with non-technical survey, and has one non-technical survey team seconded to BHMAC.[111] NPA further conducts mine clearance in the Srebrenica region in support of the activities of the International Commission for Missing Persons.[112]

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) received operational accreditation in April 2017, and began technical survey and clearance operations in May 2017.[113]

During 2016, four organizations conducted cluster munition technical survey and/or clearance: the BiH Armed Forces, the Federal Administration of Civil Protection, and NGOs NPA and Pro Vita.[114] In total, they comprised 174 operational staff and 61 searchers. In addition, BHMAC conducted non-technical survey with the support of one NPA team seconded to BHMAC.[115] This represented a similar overall capacity to 2015.[116] Four of the 34 BiH Armed Forces’ 10-strong demining teams (eight deminers, plus a team leader and a medic) are specialized for cluster munition clearance. However, as of May 2017, only two were deployed, due to a shortage of metal detectors for cluster munition detection.[117]

With the exception of MAG and NPA, clearance operators in BiH typically compete for international tenders in order to secure their funding. The UNDP evaluation suggested that this left much capacity underused and recommended alternative contracting models more appropriate for land release (either by having longer term contracts or being contracted for the clearance of larger areas), which could be more attractive to the demining organizations in terms of security and could also make best use of capacity in the long run.[118] National demining NGOs, such as STOP Mines or Pro Vita, which are registered in a similar way to companies, potentially have capacity to quickly mobilize additional resources and up-scale operations.[119]

Quality management

BHMAC’S two main offices in Banja Luka and Sarajevo coordinate the activities of regional offices in planning, survey, and QA/QC. QA inspectors are based in the regional offices.[120]

The 2015 UNDP evaluation found that BHMAC’s QA of demining activities functions well, but recommended that BHMAC develop effective quality management mechanisms for the whole organization to make processes more efficient and transparent.[121] However, the 2016 national audit office report found that the quality control of demining carried out by BHMAC is not efficient and that a systematic improvement of the QC process has never been done. In addition, the report states that: “Despite several levels of control in the demining system, accidents and irregularities occur in the areas the BiH Mine Action Centre declared safe.”[122] In the report, “accidents” refer to blasts during demining activities and in areas that have been cleared and released; and “incidents” refer to mines and items of UXO detected in cleared areas after the completion of works and after the QC certificates had been issued by BHMAC. According to the audit office report, 23 irregularities and 32 accidents occurred between 2005 and 2016. Of the 32 accidents, 29 occurred during demining while the remainder involved civilians after demining had been completed.[123] The director of BHMAC, however, reported in May 2017 that no irregularities or accidents on cleared/released land have occurred in the last two years.[124]

Five decisions requiring repetitions of technical survey operations were issued during clearance and technical survey operations in 2016, in addition to six withdrawals of authorization, and one resolution on prohibition of further work.[125]

Land Release (mines)

In 2016, BiH cleared 1.34km² and reduced 10.39km² through technical survey.[126] While clearance output dropped slightly compared to the 1.64km² cleared in 2015, the amount of land reduced by technical survey in 2016 rose significantly, compared to the 8.39km² reduced in 2015.[127] The BHMAC reported that 46.94km² was canceled through non-technical survey.[128] However, the 2016 survey output was inflated as the area reported as released by survey and clearance, including as canceled by non-technical survey, includes the results of the EU pilot project over three and a half years, and not just in 2016.[129]

BHMAC reported that land release activities under the pilot project had been fully conducted on a total of six SHAs in BiH in 2016, with an estimated total area of 25.5km². BHMAC conducted non-technical survey, while accredited organizations conducted technical survey and mine clearance. Technical survey reduced 2km², clearance released 0.4km² (and destroyed 215 mines and 84 items of ERW), and 22.3km² was canceled through non-technical survey. After the verification process, 24.7km² was released to the final users. As per the data provided by BHMAC, less than 10% of the SHA was treated by technical methods.[130]

NPA implemented its pilot project of targeted technical survey over suspected mined areas, in coordination with BHMAC, in the municipality of Travnik, in the Middle Bosnia Canton. This included development of SOPs, and application and testing of new techniques, processes, and procedures for targeted technical survey.[131] It was hoped that this would limit the need for full clearance. NPA reported that the results were positive, and that they planned to expand the use of technical survey with targeted investigation to the municipality of Ravno.[132] For SHAs with incorrect minefield records, traditional systematic technical survey typically required 20–30% of the resources needed for full clearance, whereas targeted technical survey only required 1–3%, based on the results of NPA’s relatively limited pilot project.[133]

Survey in 2016 (mines)

In 2016, BiH reported that 10.39km² was reduced by technical survey across 183 tasks and 46.94km² was canceled by non-technical survey (see table below).[134] The figure of 46.94km² reported as canceled by non-technical survey, however, included the results of the full three and a half year EU pilot project, rather than the annual cancelation output for 2016.[135] This was likely due to a delay in sign off of the results of the EU pilot project, and subsequent delay in entry into the database, due to QC considerations.

In addition, 75 SHAs totaling 1.3km² were confirmed as mined.[136]

Technical survey was conducted by the BiH Armed Forces, the Federal Administration of Civil Protection, the Civil Protection Administration of Republika Srpska, and 13 other clearance organizations (see the Operators section above).[137]

Only BHMAC, with the assistance of an NPA non-technical survey team seconded to it, canceled SHAs and confirmed areas as mined in 2016.[138]

Survey of mined area in 2016[139]

Clearance in 2016 (mines)

In 2016, mine clearance operations in BiH were conducted by the Armed Forces, the Civil Protection of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Civil Protection of Republika Srpska, and 13 other clearance organizations (see the Operators section above).[140] More than 60% of the organizations engaged in small tasks each cleared a total of less than 100,000m² during the year.[141]

Overall, a total of almost 1.34km² was cleared in 2016, across 84 tasks, during which 1,313 antipersonnel mines, 63 antivehicle mines, and 1,192 items of ERW were destroyed (see table below).[142] This is less than the 1.64km² cleared in 2015,[143] and well below the 2009–2019 mine action strategy target of 9.27km².

Mine clearance in 2016[144]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

Land Release (cluster munition remnants)

In 2017, a total of 0.1km² of cluster-contaminated area was released by clearance while 0.76km² was reduced by technical survey. No area was reported by BHMAC as canceled by non-technical survey.[145] This represents a decrease compared to 2015, when 0.23km² was fully cleared, 0.76km² was reduced by technical survey, and 0.47km² was canceled by non-technical survey.[146] 0.47km² was confirmed to be contaminated.

Survey in 2016 (cluster munition remnants)

In 2016, non-technical survey of areas suspected to contain cluster munition remnants was conducted by BHMAC and an NPA team seconded to BHMAC regional offices. In addition, BHMAC, the BiH Armed Forces, and NGOs NPA and Pro Vita, all conducted technical survey.[147]

During survey operations 0.76km² was reduced by technical survey, all within the Federation BiH.[148] Sixteen SHAs were confirmed as contaminated, totaling 0.47km² (see table below).[149]

Cluster munition remnants survey in 2016[150]

Note: * Includes survey support from NPA; TS = technical survey.

Clearance in 2016 (cluster munition remnants)

In 2016, four operators cleared a total of 0.1km² containing cluster munition remnants, destroying 632 submunitions and 26 other items of UXO, all in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (see table below).[151]

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated area in 2016[152]

Note: N/R = not reported.

Deminer safety

In 2016, there were two demining accidents, both involving antipersonnel PROM-1 mines. The first was in March 2016, during clearance operations in the municipality of Usora, during which a team leader was killed. The second, also in March, was during technical survey operations of the NGO Eko-Dem in the municipality of Osmaci, during which one deminer was killed, and two people injured.[153]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the 10-year extension request granted by States Parties in 2008), BiH is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2019. BiH is not on track to meet this deadline, and is planning to prepare and submit an Article 5 extension request in 2018.[154]

BiH has reported that its Article 5 extension request will coincide with its anticipated national mine action strategy for 2018–2025, and will be in accordance with the Maputo Declaration, adopted in 2014.[155] The new strategy will also highlight the importance of full implementation of the land release concept.[156]

Mine clearance in 2012–2016[157]

In 2016, as in all years since it was granted the 10-year extension to its initial Article 5 deadline, BiH fell far short of its land release targets.[158]

In May 2016, BHMAC reported that analysis of the Mine Action Strategy 2009–2019, showed that BiH is currently 3.5 years behind in fulfilling its Article 5 obligations, due to a lack of funding.[159] BHMAC reported that more detailed information about completion of clearance would be available at the end of 2017, after it had conducted the third revision of the mine action strategy,[160] which is now intended to be produced as a new Mine Action Strategy for 2018–2025.

In March 2016, the UNDP reported that the results of the pilot project to date show that continued application of a land release approach will greatly accelerate reduction and cancelation of SHA in BiH, and reduce costs.[161] As of May 2017, BHMAC reported that new evidence-focused land release methodology was improving the mine action process and that it planned to greatly expand the application of technical survey with targeted investigation and of systematic technical survey in BiH.[162] According to BiH, “Results gained so far through the realisation of these projects in the period 2014–16 allow for optimism that the application of this concept in the next period will greatly speed up the process of releasing the suspect hazardous areas, which will become more cost effective and cheaper.”[163]

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 Compliance

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, BiH is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2021. It is unclear whether BiH is on track to meet this deadline.

The 2012 Mine Action Strategy Revision had expected that BiH would “completely eliminate” all cluster munition-contaminated areas by 2015.[164] In the second Mine Action Strategy Revision, conducted in 2015 and adopted by the Demining Commission in March 2016, this target was pushed back to the end of 2017.[165] However, based on the status of current cluster munition survey and clearance operations, BiH no longer expects to meet its Article 4 obligations by the end of 2017, as it had previously stated at the Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference in September 2015 and forecast in its second Mine Action Strategy Review.[166]

While BHMAC has stated that it does not expect any obstacles in meeting its Article 4 deadline of 1 March 2021,[167] the fact that less than 1km² of cluster munition-contaminated land has been cleared in the last five years (see table below), is cause for concern. It is now not certain that BiH will indeed meet its Article 4 deadline.

(See the Support to Mine Action profile for details of funding to mine action in BiH.)

Five-year summary of cluster munition clearance[168]

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the mine action research in 2017, including on survey and clearance, and shared all its resulting landmine and cluster munition reports with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.

In 2016, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) contributed BAM19 million (US$10.7 million) to mine action, a 19% decrease compared to 2015.[1] Since 2012, BiH has contributed half of its total mine action budget.

In 2016, international contributions for mine action in BiH totaled $7.4 million, a decrease of 44% from 2015. The largest contribution was from the United States (US) ($2.8 million), with two additional countries—Germany and Norway—providing more than $1 million each.[2]

Four donors—Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, and South Korea—contributed a total of $1.8 million via the ITF Enhancing Human Security. This represents one-quarter of all international support to mine action in BiH.

International contributions: 2016[3]

Since 2012, international assistance to BiH has fluctuated greatly, reaching a high of $23.1 million in 2013 and a low of $7.4 million in 2016, while national contributions have been relatively steadier.

Summary of contributions: 2012–2016[4]

Casualties Overview[1]

Details and trends

In 2016 in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), 12 casualties resulted from five civilian mine/ERW incidents and two demining accidents. All casualties were male.

Of the total, eight casualties (four people were killed and four injured) were civilians. Seven were adults and one was a child.

Due to the demining accidents, two clearance personnel were killed and two injured. One accident was caused by an antipersonnel mine and one by anERW.[2]

The 2016 casualty total represents a significant increase from the two casualties reported by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center (BHMAC) for 2015. In 2015, two male casualties were reported as a result of one incident with an antipersonnel mine. One adult was killed, and one civilian, of unknown age, was injured.[3]

For the period 1992–2016, BHMAC recorded a total of 8,379 mine/ERW casualties. Of these, 6,354 casualties occurred from incidents during the war period, 1992–1995. In the post-war period, the number of casualties was 1,751, out of which 612 were killed. For 274 casualties, the year of incident is not known.[4] The total number of demining casualties was reported to be 127, of which 51 were killed.[5]

Cluster munition casualties

One casualty as the result of an unexploded cluster submunition of the KB-1 type was reported in 2016.[6] No new cluster munition casualties were reported in 2015.

For 2016 BiH reported having identified 232 cluster munition casualties, of which 43 were killed.[7]  BiH also reported 226 cluster munition casualties, of which 45 were killed and 181 injured for 2016. BiH reported that information on these casualties was not complete, but noted that five were deminers.[8] In each case it was not reported how many of these casualties were included in the general BHMAC mine/ERW casualty database  nor was it specified if these casualties included casualties from attacks.[9] At least 86 casualties during cluster munition strikes in 1995 were identified in BiH.[10] These 86 casualties have been subtracted from the higher 232-total, pending clarification on how many casualties occurred due to cluster munition attacks in contrast to unexploded submunitions.

Action points based on findings

• Improve the quality and sustainability of services for survivors and other persons with disabilities, including by upgrading community-based rehabilitation (CBR) centers.
• Simplify the process of applying for new prosthetic devices, including by allowing for electronic applications.
• Set minimum standards of social welfare payments for persons with disabilities.
• Make greater efforts towards realizing the economic inclusion of mine/ERW survivors and their families.
• Address persistent discrimination based on the category of disability and make adequate assistance available to civilians with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
• Identify sustainable national resources for assistance and international funding opportunities for victims’ representative organizations.

Victim assistance commitments

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is responsible for significant numbers of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. BiH has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V, and has victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

BiH ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 12 March 2010.

Victim Assistance

Since 1992 there were more than 6,000 mine/ERW survivors in BiH. [1]

Victim assistance since 2015

A sharp decrease in the number of victim assistance projects and services provided by NGOs, mainly linked with the ongoing decline in international funding, left service providers with well-established capacity lacking the resources to implement much-needed programs. The largest survivor representative organization (operating since 1997) closed, another indication of the extreme lack of national and international funding where it is most needed for direct assistance to victims. Some other formerly active NGOs were no longer readily contactable.

Victim assistance coordination stalled, and efforts to reestablish a coordination body again resulted in a meeting of key actors under a new title in 2017.[2] Indicative of the sharply decreasing number and reach of projects, there were 20-times fewer recorded beneficiaries of victim assistance in BiH in 2016 compared to 2015.[3]

No specific funding was allocated to victim assistance at the national level, as a result, there was no clear and concrete support for mine victims and their representative organizations.[4]

Assessing victim assistance needs

The BiH Mine Action Center (BHAMC) reported that its casualty database was regularly updated with information on registered mine/ERW incidents, clearance accidents, and assistance projects.[5]

Victim assistance coordination[6]

Since 2014, BiH has reported that until the process of reforming an independent working group appropriate for all action encompassed by assistance for cluster munition victims is completed, BHMAC will be the body temporarily documenting information about the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[7] BHMAC is not authorized to monitor government activities in regard to the implementation of relevant legislation.[8] In 2016, BHMAC adopted the Decision on Forming the Coordination Group for mine/ERW victim assistance.[9] An initial meeting of the multi-stakeholder coordination group was held in April 2017 involving the following bodies and organizations:

• Amputee Organization (Organizacija Amputiraca Republike Srpske, UDAS)
• Red Cross/ Crescent-Federation of BIH; Red Cross-Republika Srpska; Red Cross/Crescent of BiH
• ECO Sport Group
• Hope 87
• Posavina Without Mines
• STOP Mines
• Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB)
• Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled People in Republika Srpska
• Vocational Rehab Fund and employment of persons with disabilities in the federation
• Council for Persons with Disabilities of BiH

The coordination group requires approval by the BiH Council of Ministers in order to be formalized.[10] However an informal coordination working group could still provide some effective measures for cooperation and planning between key actors.[11] Previous coordination through the Landmine Victim Assistance (LMVA) Working Group, hosted by BHMAC, had primarily consisted of information sharing by victim assistance actors.[12]

As of 2016, the problem of BiH defining a body responsible for the coordination of victim assistance issues had persisted for more than a decade.[13]

The Victim Assistance Sub-Strategy 2009–2019 was revised in 2012 as the Victim Assistance Sub-Strategy 2014–2019.[14] There is no institution or body with a mandate to monitor the implementation of the sub-strategy. As of March 2017, the mine action strategy was being revised in cooperation with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). The revised strategy was reported to include a chapter on victim assistance.[15]

BiH did not make a statement on victim assistance at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster munitions in September 2016 or the Mine Ban Treaty Fifteenth Meeting of States Parties in December 2016. BiH provided information on victim assistance in its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 reporting for calendar year 2016 and in its reporting for the CCW Amended Protocol II.[16] However it did not complete the specific victim assistance form (Form E a) on steps to implement the relevant provisions of Article 8(2) taken by States Parties to the CCW Protocol V that have ERW victims.[17]

Participation and inclusion in victim assistance

Mine/ERW survivors and their representative organizations were included in the newly established “Working Group for Mine Victims Assistance and CCM”[18] and survivors were included in the implementation of services through NGOs. However, support to victims’ representative organizations led by survivors was not sufficient. As a result, the level of participation of survivors in mine action activities remained low.[19]

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the Republika Srpska employed a mine survivor as the national coordinator to improving the healthcare of persons with disabilities for the entity. They also worked closely with disabled persons’ organizations within the framework of a cross-sectoral working group coordinated by the ministry. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare supports(UDAS) activities through a three-year agreement, from 2017 to 2019.[20]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[21]

In 2016 through 2017, UDAS and other local survivors’ organizations continued to provide some of the assistance previously coordinated by the NGO Landmine Survivors Initiatives (LSI). After more than 18 years of continuous operation, LSI closed in May 2016, citing that it was “Unable to carry on with a demanding and comprehensive approach to empowerment of mine victims and other persons with disabilities.” Since starting in 1997 as a branch office of the US-based Landmine Survivors Network (later rebranded Survivor Corps), the operation in BiH had supported more than 3,100 mine survivors and families through income-generation activities, rehabilitation access, and other services including peer support.[22]

Medical care and rehabilitation

As of April 2017, BiH had 63 community centers for mental and physical rehabilitation. The centers continued to provide services to mine/ERW survivors.[23] In addition to these 63 CBR centers, some additional local rehabilitation centers also provide services to mine/ERW survivors, such as making and fitting prostheses.[24] Health insurance covers the costs of basic prosthetic devices, but more needed to be done to address persisting differences in coverage of other rehabilitative costs, based on the origins and category of disability.[25] Mine/ERW survivors are entitled to new prosthetic devices every four years.[26]

The International Trust Fund: Enhancing Human Security (ITF) ran a rehabilitation project for mine/ERW survivors from October 2016 to January 2017 and provided prosthetic devices to 24 landmine survivors.[27]

Hope 87 conducted a nine-month capacity-building project, training more than 170 health professionals in occupational therapy.[28]

While provision of orthopedic and other devices and assistive technology is mandated by law, the extent to which these entitlements can be accessed was severely limited, because the associated regulations were not enforced and services for persons with disabilities are often treated as dispensable in times of economic hardship. Bureaucratic obstacles often prevented survivors from accessing prostheses that they were entitled to. Even in the case that they had medical documentation proving their requirements, applications for new prostheses were frequently rejected. The burdensome process for gathering the required paperwork—considered by many to be excessive especially in the absence of a centralized system—was another significant obstacle to accessing rehabilitation services. Survivors’ organizations, including UDAS, assisted their members in these processes.[29]

Economic and social inclusion

In 2016, BHMAC reported that four victim assistance projects were implemented, which benefitted 44 survivors.[30] This marks a sharp decrease from the 899 survivors who received such assistance in 2015 through eight projects.[31] The four projects were carried out by UDAS and Stop Mines.[32]

In 2016, 40,000 BAM were allocated in support of organizations of persons with disabilities. The same amount will be allocated in 2017.[33]

From 2013 to 2015, ASB provided socio-economic opportunities for mine/ERW survivors through a business and empowerment project funded through the European Union’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).[34]

Laws and policies

BiH ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2010, but NGOs have complained about the lack of effective implementation of laws and programs to help persons with disabilities.[35] NGOs also reported that in the period since BiH ratified the CRPD in 2010, “the state has yet to make concrete steps towards eliminating the discrimination against persons with disabilities.” Such discrimination still exists in both entities of the country, the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska. Laws concerning the rights of persons with disabilities, including legislation regulating rights to healthcare and rehabilitation, labor and employment, social protection, and education, lack the legal mechanisms necessary for their implementation, which impeded their execution.[36] With regard to victim assistance, BiH reported that disability rights were relatively well regulated by legislation but was not actually implemented in practice.[37]

In 2016, the rights of many persons with disabilitieswere still not effectively protected, making this section of the population very vulnerable. The existing status-based approach to disability continued to result in significant financial inequalities among different categories and detracted from the financial sustainability of social protection.[38]

There was clear discrimination between different categories of persons with disabilities and entitlement to rights and benefits for persons with disabilities is still based on status, instead of on needs. The European Commission (EC) reported that as a result, persons with some categories of disabilities did not receive adequate benefits.[39] In 2016, no steps were taken to change the entitlement system to base it on needs.[40] In particular, persons with disabilities resulting from military service during the 1992–1995 conflict were given a privileged status above civilian war victims and persons who were born with disabilities or acquired impairments by other means.[41] The distinction between war veterans with disabilities, civilian victims of the war, and between those groups and other persons with disabilities was made at all levels and in all areas of BiH social protection structures.[42]

BiH has reported that “Bosnia and Herzegovina with its entities implements standard procedures related to care on persons with disabilities. In these government programs, cluster munitions victims are equal with other disabled people and they receive help that is regulated by legal acts of governmental institutions for this field. Discrimination in this matter does not exist.”[43]

Although legislation at all levels prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities, in practice there was discrimination against persons with disabilities in all the areas of employment, education, access to healthcare, transportation, and the provision of other state services.[44]

Discrimination on the basis of disability was explicitly forbidden by the previous labor and employment laws in both entities, but new laws passed in 2015 no longer contain such provisions.[45]

In August 2016, amendments to the law on prohibition of discrimination were adopted to include disability (and age, sexual orientation, and gender identity) as grounds for discrimination.[46] Nevertheless, discrimination based on disability continued. The EC previously stated that persons with disabilities “are not adequately protected,” by anti-discrimination regulations at state, entity, or cantonal levels, or in the Brčko District.[47]

There is generally poor awareness of the necessity of applying accessibility standards throughout the whole system of designing, building, and supervising construction resulting in inaccessible buildings, with only partial access to some of the facilities. There were physical obstacles to access most institutions of primary healthcare in both urban and rural environments.[48] Architectural barriers remain a major problem in exercising any rights of persons with disabilities.[49]

BiH has legislation to ensure physical access to persons with disabilities, but it was rarely enforced. Human rights NGOs continued to report that many new public buildings continued to be built without being made accessible for persons with disabilities.[50]

In December 2016, the Federation of BiH adopted a strategy for persons with disabilities for the period 2016–2021,[51] while in April 2017 the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska adopted a 2017–2026 strategy to improve the social position of persons with disabilities.[52] At the national level, the national strategy for the inclusion of persons with disabilities 2016–2020 was before the National Assembly as of March 2017.[53] The legislative framework on social protection needs better implementation in both the Federation and Republika Srpska.[54]