Ombudsmen.gov.ba - Children of fallen soldiers should enjoy the same rights at the whole territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Press statement | 16.06.2016

Children of fallen soldiers should enjoy the same rights at the whole territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Children, Illustation

Ombudspersons of Bosnia and Herzegovina have discussed the issue of giving priority in employment and enjoyment of social rights by the children of fallen soldiers on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the applicable legislation of the Republic of Srpska the rights arising from the social status of a family member of a fallen soldier are earmarked only for family members of the fallen soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Srpska, but not soldiers of other armed formations that participated in armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Similarly, at the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, legislation also provides for additional entitlements to the ex-soldiers and their family members or their descendents (exclusively for the soldiers of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatian Defense Council, but not for the soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Srpska).

Analyzing the situation in the whole Bosnia and Herzegovina it could be concluded that some persons cannot enjoy certain rights on the territory where they have a permanent residence or where they work (for instance, a child of a fallen soldier of the Army of the Republic of Srpska in Glamoč or Drvar, or a child of a fallen soldier of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Srebrenica or a child of a fallen soldier of the Croatian Defense Council in Derventa) for territorial limitations of the validity of the relevant legislations. Ombudspersons think that it is about the persons who are in the same difficult situation whose loss is equally painful and who are entitled to the mentioned social status, but they are not in situation to enjoy these rights without their fault.

For the above reasons, Ombudspersons issued their Recommendations no. P-259/15 dated 30.11.2015 in which they ask the relevant public bodies to take necessary measures to change positive legislation in order to enable children of fallen soldiers to enjoy their social status and all the rights arising from it on the whole territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina regardless to which armed forces their fathers belonged.

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