Recommendations to BiH Institutions on the Protection of LGBT human rights based on the First Regional LGBT Conference "Advancing the Human Rights of LGBT People in the Western Balkans (Sarajevo Open Centre, 2014)
Sarajevo Open Centre and Open Society Fund BiH hosted a conference on December 16th, 2013 with the aim of sharing best practices for improving LGBT human rights in the Western Balkan region. Representatives from LGBT organizations and ombudsperson offices in BiH, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia were present, as well as those from international organizations, such as the OSCE Mission to BiH, the United Nations office in BiH, and some representatives of foreign embassies. We also invited all relevant BiH institutions such as Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees, the three members of the Presidency, human rights committees from multiple levels of parliaments, and the gender agency and entity gender centers. However, we received few responses and no one attended. We present a summary of lessons learned as a first step to transferring this experience to the local context, recognizing the fact that utilizing European Union integration processes is key for accomplishing all of the following recommendations