Number: 01-02-2-1381/16
Sarajevo: 24.5.2016.
Bearing in mind that the right of freedom of expression, and thus freedom of thought, freedom to
receive and spread information and ideas without interference of a public authority and regardless
of the frontiers, the basic human rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental freedoms;
Expressing concern over the increasingly pronounced hate speech which includes all forms of
expression, including speech, photos, videotapes that spread, incite, promote, openly calls or justify
hate between races, xenophobia, anti-semitism or other forms of hate based on intolerance,
including: intolerance expressed in aggressive nationalism and ethnocentricity, discrimination and
hostility against minorities, immigrants and people of immigrant origin;
Aware of the damage that hate speech products if transferred through the media and the impact on
all categories of society, especially young people;
Emphasizing the importance and special need to combat increasingly present hate speech that
spreads, incites, promotes and justifies terrorism;
Condemning the behaviours that lead to radicalism and extremism of every kind;
Inviting, supporting and advocating for consistent implementation of domestic but also
international instruments that seek to prohibit and sanction hate speech such as the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, the Council of Europe’s Recommendation on Hate Speech, Convention on
Cybercrime and Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime; and
Pursuant to Article IV. 4 (e) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 165, paragraph
(2) item a) of the Rules of Procedures of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary
Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH Official Gazette, no. 79/14, 81/15 and 97/15), the House of
Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly Bosnia and Herzegovina, at its 30th session held on
24.05.2016; has adopted
DECLARATION ON CONDEMNATION OF HATE SPEECH
In this declaration on condemnation of hate speech we:
1. condemn hate speech and express our readiness to make more engagement in the fight
against it, we call all institutions to make efforts with aim to prevent and sanction it;
2. call members of legislative organs from all levels to follow our example of condemnation of
hate speech, as well as holders of all public functions, aware of their influence, to restrain
from and to fight against hate speech;
3. call the Council of ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement congruously the
international documents, especially the Additional Protocol to the Convention on
Cybercrime, ratified in 2006, with aim to prevent and to sanction the hate speech;
4. point at the need to implement congruously the penal legislation and to eventually enhance
the provisions in penal laws regarding the criminal acts committed by hate;
5. call media to fight comprehensively, interdisplinary and interactively against hate speech
and, aware of their public role and influence to the public, to control maximally their content
and to prevent the cases of abuse of their media space in order to expand hate speech, and
to give their contribution to raise awareness about what is hate speech and how is it
sanctioned;
6. especially point at the rising problem of abuse of internet with aim to expand hate speech;
7. point at the need of raising awareness of the public, civil society and all government
institutions about criminal acts committed by hate and about adequate response to it;
8. accept the civil society organizations as partners in the fight against hate speech and we
encourage them in the activities they do to fight the hate speech;
9. call Bosnia and Herzegovina’s institutions to implement laws and judiciary institutions to
make maximum of efforts, in accordance with legal competencies, to prevent and to
sanction the hate speech;
10. express the particular concern because of increasing hate speech which expands,
encourages, promotes and justifies the terrorism – today’s biggest security threat, thus we
require full engagement of institutions and society as a whole, with aim to prevent and
sanction such activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Speaker of
House of Representatives of
Parliamentary Assembly
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mladen Bosić