International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina
·
United Nations Mission to Bosnia and
Herzegovina (UNMIBH)
·
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
·
Serbian-American Alliance of New
England (SANE)
The World Bank Group has
contributed to the reconstruction and development of Bosnia-Herzegovina in
infrastructure, social sectors, agriculture and other sectors after the war
through several projects. The 1996-99 Priority and Recovery Program has
repaired most of the war-damaged economic and social infrastructure and spurred
economic growth, while the economic reform program works to reform the labor
market, create a functioning banking system, privatize and restructure enterprises,
reshape pension and health systems, implement a simplified customs system, and
liberalize the trade regime in Bosnia. The World Bank is also involved in
projects that will promote more efficient and less costly trade flows across
Southeast Europe, and reform the social sector in Bosnia to create new jobs and
improve the living standards.
AI is a worldwide voluntary
activist movement working for human rights. AI works to free all prisoners of
conscience, ensure fair and prompt trials for political prisoners, abolish
torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, end political killings and
“disappearances,” oppose abuses by armed political groups, assist
asylum-seekers, and cooperate with other organizations to further human rights.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, AI works and reports on issues concerning the return
of refugees and internally displaced persons to their pre-war communities,
prosecutions for war crimes, arrests, political violence, disappearances,
attacks on the independent media, unfair trials of political prisoners,
ill-treatment by police and impunity.
·
Institute for
Strengthening Democracy in BH
The Institute works to preserve
Bosnian social science and scientists, to encourage research projects, books,
articles and conferences concerning Bosnia, to inform the public about the
situation in Bosnia, to cooperate and offer its services to all institutions of
the international community, and to aid the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina in
searching for a democratic and peaceful solution and restoring civil society.
·
International IDEA: Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance
IDEA works to promote and advance sustainable democracy and to improve and consolidate electoral processes in countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. It provides a forum for discussions and action among individuals and organizations involved in democracy promotion. It aims to help countries build the capacity to develop democratic institutions and to increase knowledge about elections.
Read the case
study on Bosnia-Herzegovina.
UNHCR leads and coordinates
international action for the world wide protection of refugees and the resolution
of refugee problems by safeguarding the rights and well-beings of refugees and
assisting refugees to return to their own country or settle in another country.
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, UNHCR has directed humanitarian operations to help more
than 4 million people in Bosnia, surrounding regions, and in Western Europe. It
has also established an air bridge, which provided Sarajevo with food and
necessities for 4 years. The agency’s major task is to help the displaced
people in Bosnia repossess old properties or settle permanently in new areas.
In order to do this, UNHCR has shifted its focus from post-conflict assistance
to protection and advocacy tasks, such as implementing property laws, bus
services that cross ethnic lines, and supporting community based activities. To
read more about UNHCR’s activities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, click 1, 2, 3, or 4.
The Bosnian Institute provides
education and information on the history and culture of Bosnia-Herzegovina,
with an emphasis on the development of its social, economic, governmental,
legal and cultural conditions, organizations, and institutions. The institute
actively encourages the growth of a pluralist democratic society in Bosnia and
its neighbors. The Bosnian Institute also runs a series of international
seminars on Bosnia, has a cultural program to inform the British public about
Bosnian culture, and publishes a bi-monthly magazine called the Bosnia
Report.
·
International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC)
ICRC works to protect the lives of
victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. In
Bosnia-Herzegovina, ICRC has been involved in the Mine/UXO awareness programme,
has worked to facilitate reform within the primary health care system, to
provide adequate food supplies to people throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
to strengthen humanitarian law. To learn more about ICRC’s activities in
Bosnia, click here
or here.
·
UNICEF
UNICEF works to advocate for
children’s rights and help meet their rights worldwide. In Bosnia and
Herzegovina, UNICEF has provided emergency assistance to women and children in
health, education, and social service sectors. Since the end of the war, UNICEF
has introduced new approaches in primary health care, in teaching practices,
education of children with special needs, social and psychosocial protection of
children traumatized by war, returnee, and refugee children. To learn more
about UNICEF’s activities and the condition of women and children in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, click
here.
Freedom House is a non-profit
organization that advocates democracy around the world. It conducts research,
advocacy, education, and training initiatives that promote human rights,
democracy, free market economics, the rule of law, independent media, and U.S.
engagement in international affairs. One of the programs of Freedom House in
Bosnia is the Bosnia-USA Business Exchange program, a training program designed
to enhance the business, entrepreneurship and governance skills of Bosnian
businesspeople and government officials. To read more about Freedom House’s
research on Bosnia, click (1)
or (2).
HRW, the largest human rights
organization, conducts investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of
the world and publishes these findings in annual reports. It also meets with
government officials to urge changes in policy and practice and in some cases
presses for the withdrawal of military and economic support from governments
that violate human rights. To read HRW’s reports on Bosnia, click (1) or (2).
ReliefWeb is a project of the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and is
regarded as the premier online source of information on natural disasters and
complex emergencies. By providing timely information, ReliefWeb aims to
strengthen the response capacity of the humanitarian relief community. To read
about ReliefWeb’s latest news on Bosnia, click here or here.
OSCE works to promote democratic
values, monitor and further the development of human rights, organize and
supervise elections, and implement arms control and security-building measures
in Bosnia-Herzegovina. For more information on OSCE’s mission in Bosnia,
click here.
NATO works to promote peace and stability in Bosnia. Its main goals have been to maintain a continued military presence in Bosnia, to return displaced persons to their homes, and to take steps to promote reconciliation between the armed forces.
For NATO’s role in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, click (1)
or (2).
·
Mercy-USA for Aid and Development
M-USA is a non-profit relief and
development organization, whose projects focus on improving health and
promoting economic and educational growth around the world. In Bosnia, M-USA
has been involved in the agriculture revitalization program to promote economic
growth and to generate income, has provided medical supplies to hospitals and
helped repair damaged health care facilities, and has provided food and shelter
to displaced persons. For more information on M-USA’s projects in Bosnia,
click here.
UNDP aims to help countries build their own capacity
to achieve sustainable development by focusing on poverty eradication,
environmental regeneration, job creation, and the advancement of women and to
help rebuild societies in the aftermath of war and humanitarian emergencies.
The RBEC administers the UNDP’s prgrammes in Bosnia and the rest of Europe to
promote sustainable human development. To read the 1998 Human
Development Report on Bosnia, click here.
SFOR works to implement the military aspects of the Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the legal successor of IFOR. SFOR’s role has been to prevent new threats to peace in Bosnia through the maintenance of stabilizing troops in the area and to support civilian organizations.
CARE is a private international relief and
development organization that aims to strengthen countries’ capacity for
self-help, provide economic opportunity, provide relief in emergencies and
address discrimination. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, CARE has been involved in
the distribution of emergency relief supplies such as food and medicine, in
helping displaced elderly people and children and in an emergency water
purification project. To learn more about CARE's programs in Bosnia,
click here.
World Vision’s role of relief assistance to displaced
persons in Bosnia has shifted to structural rehabilitation of war damaged
infrastructure and agricultural assistance after the end of the war. Its
programme in Bosnia consists of four components, which include the integrated
return activities, psychological support for traumatized children, civil
society initiatives aimed at reconciliation between different groups, and the
economic development, job creation, and micro credit programme. Learn more
about World Vision's
activities in Bosnia here.
PDF is an American, private not-for-profit organization implementing self-help programs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and works mainly in the sectors of public health, clean water supply and sanitation and household economic and food security. PDF’s work in Bosnia has focused on agricultural, economic and environmental development, reconstruction, shelter and winterization, health, and promotion of ethnic reconciliation.
For more information on PDF's work
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, click here.
Compiled by Ender D. Kavas
August
2001