Citizens Against Hate in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Super Citizens on alert

Twenty years after the end of the war in BiH, ethnic tensions are still a matter of concern and a priority area for the OSCE Mission. Incidents of vandalism and hate speech are fairly common in BiH, although violence between communities is rare. Returnees are particularly vulnerable as targets as are Roma and other national minorities.

The Super Citizens initiative was established by the OSCE Mission to BiH in 2013 as a response to hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents. “Citizens submit anonymous reports that we verify and then add to the database,” says Sladjana Milunovic, the OSCE Mission Project Officer who oversees the Super Citizens programme. “Incidents of hate as well as peace initiatives are shown on the Super Citizens mapping feature, which shows where incidents are occurring and what is being done by communities in response.”

Several offences have been reported to the database by citizens. In Visoko, for example, vandals broke into an Orthodox church and spray-painted nationalist slogans on the wall. In Doboj, graffiti appeared on a sidewalk calling for Bosniaks to be attacked. In Mostar, graves at a Catholic cemetery were vandalized after a student was severely beaten by two young men as they yelled out anti-Muslim remarks.

A screenshot of the Super Citizens online database – an interactive tool that tracks bias-motivated incidents and local initiatives in support of tolerance and community cohesion.

Super Citizens online database

Citizens across Bosnia and Herzegovina are standing up against hate. They’re united in reporting bias-motivated incidents and local initiatives in support of tolerance and community cohesion via the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina - supported the Super Citizens online database – an interactive tool that tracks bias-motivated incidents and local initiatives in support of tolerance and community cohesion.

Access the database

Calming Nerves, Establishing Trust

Since the project was founded, there have been 94 reported hate-motivated incidents and 139 efforts for reconciliation dating back to 2009. The reports are categorized by type, from negative developments like “physical violence” and “the desecration of graveyards” to positive initiatives such as “graffiti removal” and the creation of “friendly environments” for different ethnic groups.

“In extreme cases, we’ve made interventions to calm the tense situations,” said Milunovic. “We received some very concerning reports through the platform and were compelled to contact other relevant institutions who then investigated the reports and intervened to prevent the situation from escalating.”  

Civil society organizations and individuals in 19 towns across BiH have registered with the Super Citizens programme, and form the basis for local Coalitions Against Hate.

Coalitions in Action

“Each part of BiH has this problem of ethnic division, but it is expressed in different ways depending on the city and region,” said Mirela Geko, head of the Sarajevo coalition Ignore Differences. “The local coalitions address incidents in Doboj differently than they do in Vitez, or Srebrenica, or Sarajevo.”

Coalitions ease tensions in their communities in creative ways. In Doboj, the Tolerant and Positive coalition has organized efforts to remove nationalist graffiti in the town, while in Prijedor, the coalition First Tolerance brings together Republika Srpska Army veterans and Bosniak camp survivors. In Srebrenica, the Rebel Against Hate coalition organized a football match with religious community leaders and police authorities and held other events with local businesses to support diversity and cohesion.

“You definitely see changes now that the Super Citizens programme and local coalitions are in place,” said Milunovic. “The media reports more on hate incidents, and we see more public condemnations. Citizens are becoming increasingly frustrated with the incidents and are more vocal about the need for tolerance.”

Most recently in Zvornik, the local coalition was among the first to condemn the deadly 27 April terrorist attack on the police station and called for a proper investigation and for citizens to refrain from hate speech, especially on social media. As news of the attack reverberated across BiH, coalitions from all parts of the country quickly issued a joint statement in support of the Zvornik coalition, and further condemned the attack calling for tolerance and stability.

Civil society groups and local authorities – especially the Zvornik Mayor and Municipal Assembly Speaker – have played an important role in reinforcing strong community relations in the wake of the attack.

Involving all players

The Super Citizens initiative has become a valuable resource for civil society organizations and domestic institutions – including the BiH Ministry of Security’s contact point on hate crimes – which use the data to help address persistent problems at the community level.

The OSCE Mission is also active in providing training courses for judges, prosecutors and police investigators on hate crimes. Incidents continue to not be properly documented by police; prosecutors are not always able to properly recognize relevant indicators and to file charges accordingly; judges still struggle to recognize bias motivation when adjudicating cases.

I judge people by their character, not their nationality, regardless of the past. We are trying to instil this way of thinking into the heads of young people. This is the only way forward.

Mirela GekoHead of the Sarajevo coalition Ignore Differences

“Clearly, a comprehensive approach to tackling hate crimes is needed,” said Milunovic. “Capacities within the police forces and the judiciary need to be strengthened while simultaneously bolstering the role of civil society.”

Coalitions across the country like Culture of Peace in Zavidovići and First Tolerance in Prijedor are assuming the difficult task of bridging divides and strengthening relations among different groups. Despite often grim personal experiences from the past, coalition members are coming together today under common objectives to help build better futures for their communities.

“My infant sister was killed by artillery shelling during the war, and I was wounded by a piece of shrapnel to the stomach,” said Geko of the Sarajevo coalition. “But what can I do but move forward? I judge people by their character, not their nationality, regardless of the past. We are trying to instil this way of thinking into the heads of young people. This is the only way forward.”

Super Citizens United in Countering Violent Extremism

Violent extremism thrives on divisions, marginalization, bigotry, discrimination, and other human rights violations. Together with the OSCE United in Countering Violent Extremism campaign, the Super Citizens initiative says ‘No’ to the intolerance and hatred that nurture terrorism as they fuel other forms of violence.

Learn more about the #UnitedCVE campaign