ZAÅ TITA PRAVA U BOSNI I HERCEGOVINI - Solidar

Socio – economic rights study in Bosnia and Herzegovina
legal area of the ex Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SRBaH). An
additional problem is created if there are pensioners who realized the right to pension
in some of the new states created after the breakup of ex-Yugoslavia (SFRJ) or had
realized that right in BaH and then moved to live in one of those states. Automatically,
the problem of realizing the right to pension raises the issue of their healthcare since
health insurance cannot be transferred.
The healthcare system in BaH goes along the territorial and administration
scheme of the entities and cantons so there are 13 ministries of health in the country
and 13 health insurance funds. The system in place, however, impedes an adequate
approach of citizens to this right. Citizens have a different approach given the territory
where they live as the right to healthcare is not transferable and can only be realized in
the place of residence. This principle is harmful for citizens who temporarily live outside
of the place where they have been reported, such as mentally challenged persons, for
instance, who are placed in institutions outside of the territories where these patients
have health insurance. Pensioners and students have a similar problem. Furthermore,
many people in BaH do not have health insurance. According to 2005 estimates, 54% of
the RS population had health insurance while at the same time in the BaH Federation,
this amount was slightly larger amounting to 80% (4) . In most cases paying co-payment
for healthcare is necessary even for those who have insurance. This further aggravates
approach to healthcare especially to those with irregular income.
Socio – economic rights study in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The education system in BaH is also divided by the entities, or, in the BaH
Federation by the cantons. For the time period between the percentage of literacy in
BaH was estimated to 96,7 (5) , which is a fairly high percentage and is attributed to
the legacy of a well developed system of education that was in place before the war.
Still, there is a negative tendency of those students who fi nish primary school to give
up on education too early, which is going to have negative consequences for their
future position on the job market and may result in poverty. According to the GTZfi
nanced report on youth in BaH, (6) the net rate of high school enrolment is 76.2%, and
only 54% of students fi nish their high school education with the given time period. The
higher education enrolment is 24%, and only 10% of all enrolled fi nish higher education
(college, university).
4 “Social Protection and Social Exclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, p. 119
5 United Nations Educational, Scientifi c, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics. 2006.
World Education Indicators, Literacy Statistics, Paris: UNESCO, cited in „Social Protection and Social
Inclusion in Bosna and Herzegovina“, p. 24.
6 Analysis of youth position in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Commission for Youth Issues in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, May 2008, cited in „Social Protection and Social Inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina“, p.24.
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