A Protocol on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders was signed in Sarajevo

Today, on November 20, 2018, a Protocol on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders was signed in Sarajevo between the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of B&H and non-governmental organizations, as a final result of the project "Stay Safe - the Security Network for Human Rights Defenders and activists against gender-based violence in BiH ", which was realized in the past period.

The protocol was signed by the Minister of Human Rights and Refugees of B&H Semiha Borovac with the presidents of the Foundation for Local Democracy and the Policewomen's Network Association Jasmina Mujezinović and Kristina Jozić.
The project was implemented by the Foundation of Local Democracy in cooperation with the Policewomen's Network Association, with the financial support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Within the project, a Security Risk Analysis to which human rights defenders of different categories have been exposed was conducted and the Standard of Behavior for Human Rights Defenders in situations of risk in their work has been created. When it comes to policewomen, a research  titled "Human Rights Defenders in Police Structures of B&H - Mechanisms for Protection against Discrimination" was conducted, in which recommendations for further work in this area were defined.

Minister Semiha Borovaca has indicated that the foreseen mechanisms refer to the standards of the European Union, which are reflected in the recognition of the status of human rights defenders, as well as the protection of the rights of others. "This is the first step in the institutions to protect persons providing protection to those who need this protection," Borovac said.

The signatories committed to establish an advisory committee consisting of representatives of the  Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of B&H, state-level institutions and human rights defenders.

The signing of the protocol was also attended by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to BiH, Reinout Vos, who expressed satisfaction with the undertaken activities and said that the protocol will provide mechanisms that will provide protection to human rights defenders, which is of great importance, especially considering that one of the three Women in the European Union are exposed to some type of violence.