Back Online course on hate speech now available for civil servants of Bosnia and Herzegovina and as an open source to public

Online course on hate speech now available for civil servants of Bosnia and Herzegovina and as an open source to public

The Civil Service Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Agency) with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe, launched in April 2024 the first online course for civil servants on recognising and responding to cases of hate speech.

The course, based on an earlier developed Manual, consists of three modules focused on: recognising hate speech; defining regulation of hate speech in international and domestic legislation; and the role of civil servants when it comes to hate speech.  By passing a final quiz, a certificate is generated for those successfully completing the course. Beside the basic notions, the course consists of many interactive parts, videos, and additional literature. The main advantage of the Agency’s Learning Management System is that all the self-paced courses are open to the public and therefore not only civil servants can register and complete the course but any other individual too.

This initiative is in line with a foreseen set of activities institutions are to implement within the document Mapping responses to hate speech in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A situational analysis and mapping report’, in order to challenge paradigms on impunity for hate speech and bias used for hate speech. This document was adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 27 November 2023, at the proposal of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The course likewise follows a previously developed Manual for civil servants in Bosnia and Herzegovina for recognising and dealing with hate speech cases that, among others, includes findings of the conducted research among civil servants from Bosnia and Herzegovina when it comes to their knowledge, experience and perceptions of hate speech. Some of the key findings of this research were that hate speech is partially and insufficiently known/recognised by civil servants and that many of them underlined the need for further training on this topic.

This course was developed with the support of the action "Towards an equal, inclusive and tolerant Bosnia and Herzegovina", which is implemented within the framework of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye".

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina April 2024
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The action “Towards an equal, inclusive and tolerant Bosnia and Herzegovina” offers assistance in enhancing the implementation of anti-discrimination mechanism on combating intolerance, hate speech and inequality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It intervenes in line with the latest trends in the field of racism and intolerance in Europe as outlined in the Annual Reports of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

The technical support is provided as part of the beneficiaries’ EU accession process, in line with European standards – notably those from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and its recommendations (2016) on Bosnia and Herzegovina– as well as with the CoE Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states on combating hate speech (CM/Rec 2022/16) and combating discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity (CM/Rec 2010/5).

This action is implemented within the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” running from 2023 until 2026.

What are the goals and objectives of the action?
  • to improve fight against discrimination and hate speech
  • to promote the equality, in line with European standards, including to better protect sexual and other minorities as well as irregular migrants
Who benefits from the action?
  • national, entity and local authorities and institutions
  • civil society organisations engaged in promoting and protecting human rights
  • vulnerable communities, including sexual and other minorities and irregular migrants
  • population in Bosnia and Herzegovina
How does the action work?
  • through provisions of expertise and capacity building initiatives
  • by supporting local self-government and/or civil society organisations to tackle intolerance, promote inclusion and build their capacities through sub-grant schemes
  • through awareness raising initiatives on combating discrimination and hate speech as well as promoting diversity within local community and the general population
  • by adapting existing tools and methodologies of the Council of Europe and combining them with relevant EU standards
  • by supporting inter-institutional dialogue on issues of pertinence to equality and to foster co-operation among partners
  • it builds on the results achieved under the previous phase of the Horizontal Facility programme and the actions on Promotion of diversity and equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the regional on Promotion of diversity and equality in the Western Balkans
What do we expect to achieve?
  • relevant state and entity institutions improve their responses to combat discrimination against LGBTI people
  • relevant state and entity institutions and local communities improve their responses against hate speech in the framework of the guidelines being developed as well as other initiatives supported by the Horizontal Facility programme
  • people in Bosnia and Herzegovina become more aware of the dangers of hate, intolerance and racism to cohesion of societies and the way to address them, including in the context of the ongoing migration crisis
What is the budget of the action?

The total budget of the actions is 850 000 EUR.

The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

How to get more information?
About the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye

The “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe that enables the Western Balkans Beneficiaries and Türkiye to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with the European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.


 

ACTION AT A GLANCE

Duration: 48 months (January 2023 to December 2026)

Beneficiaries:

  • Citizens and others living in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Public authorities and institutions relevant for preventing discrimination and hate speech
  • Local self-governments
  • Civil society organisations
  • Different communities where hate speech and violence should be combated, including those involved in sports

Funding: The European Union and the Council of Europe

Budget: 850 000 EUR

"BLOCK THE HATRED"
PROJECT TEAM

Maja Lukic-Schade, Project Officer, Sarajevo

Beti Colak, Project Assistant, Sarajevo

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