CAT/C/BIH/CO/2-5
(a)
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 24 October 2008;
(b)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional
Protocol on 12 March 2010;
(c)
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human
Beings on 11 January 2008.
6.
The Committee notes the State party’s ongoing efforts to revise its legislation in
areas of relevance to the Conventions, including:
(a)
The adoption of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum in
(b)
The adoption of the Law on Prevention of Discrimination in 2009;
2008;
(c)
The adoption of the International Assistance Law in 2009 aimed at
strengthening international cooperation, in particular through bilateral agreements with
neighbouring countries, to ensure the protection of victims and the prosecution and
punishment of alleged perpetrators.
7.
The Committee also welcomes the efforts being made by the State party to amend its
policies and procedures in order to ensure greater protection of human rights and give effect
to the Convention, including:
(a)
The adoption of the Strategy for Dealing with War Crimes Cases in 2008;
(b)
The adoption of the revised Strategy for the Implementation of Annex 7 of
the Dayton Peace Agreement in 2010 aimed at improving the living standards of the
remaining internally displaced persons and returnees in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
(c)
The adoption of the third National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking
and Illegal Migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2008-2012;
(d)
The adoption of the National Strategy to Combat Violence against Children
for the period 2007-2010;
(e)
The adoption of the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating
Domestic Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2008–2010;
(f)
The establishment of a working group to prepare a State strategy for
transitional justice aimed at improving the situation and protection of all war victims.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Definition and offence of torture
8.
While noting that the State party envisages amending the Criminal Code and
harmonizing the legal definition of torture in the State and entity laws, the Committee
remains concerned that the State party has still not incorporated into domestic law the crime
of torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention and has not criminalized torture inflicted
by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other
person acting in an official capacity (arts. 1 and 4).
The Committee, in line with its previous recommendations (CAT/C/BIH/CO/1,
para. 9), urges the State party to speed up the process of the incorporation of
the crime of torture, as defined in the Convention, into the State party laws as
well as the harmonization of the legal definition of torture in the Republika
Srpska and Brcko District with the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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