Abstract
This article provides an analysis of the conditions under which migration has taken place in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the consequences of this migration. The latest mass migration, the major focus of this article, resulted from the war of independence that began in 1992. The war and nationalistic politics in the postwar period dramatically changed the demographic picture of the country. Half the total population had been forced to leave their prewar homes. Some returned after the war, but many have not and are not considering returning because of limited access to many social and human rights. These limitations are primarily a function of the majority–minority discourse that permeates policymaking and its implementation. More than two decades after the war, discrimination against ethnic minorities when they return to their prewar place of origin is a major issue. Although restitution of property has been almost completely implemented, other problems remain: housing, unemployment, education, health care, social protection, and pensions. Access to such services presents numerous challenges in the daily lives of displaced persons and returnees and increases the challenges for professional social workers in the area.
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During the war, 1.2 million sought their safety outside the country, and 1 million were displaced inside the country. In the postwar period, more than 1 million returned to their homes, 450,000 refugees and 580,000 displaced persons. Among all groups, 72% returned to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 26% to the Republika Srpska, and 2% to the Brčko District (Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees 2010).
Census figures for 1991 showed Bosnia and Herzegovina had 4,377,033 citizens, with 1,902,956 Bosniaks (Muslims), or 43.4%; 1,366,104 Serbs, or 31.2%; 760,852 Croats, or 17.4%; 242,682 Yugoslavenians, or 5.5%; and 104,439, or 2.5%, Other. The 2013 census showed that Bosnia and Herzegovina had almost 1 million fewer citizens (3,531,159). The ethnic makeup of the country had also changed, with 1,769,592 Bosniaks, or 50.11%; 544,780 Croats, or 15.43%; 1,086,733 Serbs, or 30.78%; and 96,539, or 2.73%, Other (Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2016)
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the 2013 census, has a population of 2,219,220. The census showed 1,562,372 (or 70.40%) Bosniaks; 497,883 (or 22.44%) Croats; 56,550 (or 2.55%) Serbs; and 79,838 Other. A total of 18,344 are not identified by ethnicity. Republika Srpska has a total of 1,282,423 inhabitants, comprising 171,839 (or 13.99%) Bosniaks; 29,643 (or 2.41%) Croats; 1,001,299 (or 81.51%) Serbs; and 15,324,34 Other. Ethnicity was not identified for 8189. The Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a total of 83,516 people, of which 35,381 (or 42.36%) are Bosniak, 17,252 (or 20.66%) are Croats, 28,884 (or 34.58%) are Serbs, and 1377 (or 1.65%) are Other (Agency for Statistics of Bosna and Hercegovina 2016).
The Dayton Peace Agreement was ratified in Dayton, Ohio, November 1–21, 1995, and signed in Paris December 14, 1995, to terminate the 4-year war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By this agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two entities (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska) and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement brought peace, but was largely criticized for the division of the country along ethnic lines and for the complex and expensive administrative arrangement of the country.
The displaced person is displaced within the territory of the Federation due to conflict, persecution, justified fear of persecution, or human rights violations in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and there are no conditions for safe and dignified return to their place of residence, nor did they voluntarily decide on the choice of a new place of living (Article 4.) The returnee is a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina or a displaced person who has expressed a willingness to return to his/her former place of residence and is in the process of returning, as well as refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and a displaced person who returned to their former place of residence. Returnees cease to be expired within 6 months, counting from the day they re-settled in their earlier place of residence—address of residence (Article 5.) A refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the sense of this Law, is a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who is outside Bosnia and Herzegovina who was expelled from his place of residence due to the conflict or left his/her place of residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and fled abroad after 30 April in 1991, he fears that he will be persecuted for his race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group, or political opinion, and who is not able to return safely and dignifiedly to his former place of residence, nor did he voluntarily decide to permanently arising out of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Article 6.)
During the process of additional registration, one quarter of the refugees stated they did not want to return to their prewar residences (Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees (2010).
According to UNHCR information in 2012, there were 158 registered collective centers with 8581 beneficiaries (Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees 2016)
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Šadić, S. Social Rights of Displaced Persons and Returnees in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina. J. Hum. Rights Soc. Work 4, 45–54 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-018-0075-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-018-0075-2