After the first training, the Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI) Sarajevo successfully implemented the second training within the project “Fighting against hate speech and hate crime”, sponsored by the international organization for protection of human rights Civil Rights Defenders (CRD). The second training under the aforementioned project was held on June 24, 2013, at the Hotel „Grand“ in Sarajevo, starting at 10am, titled “Monitoring and Reporting on Hate Crimes”.
The training was attended by 21 participants representatives of organizations/institutions providing support to persons with disabilities, returnees/displaced persons, activists active in the field of human rights protection, as well as representatives of the Association for Democratic Initiatives. The trainer was Jasmina Omićević, Cantonal Prosecutor – Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office of Sarajevo Canton. Mrs. Omićević introduced the notion of hate speech and hate crime, and the importance of effectively sanctioning hate speech and hate crimes. Also, participants were presented with international documents that treat the notion of hate speech; Relevant BiH legislation; Criminal Code in BiH; How to take advantage of the existing legal framework to protect victims from perpetrators; Rights and opportunities of victims of hate speech and hate crimes; Trial monitoring and review of stages of criminal proceedings. Since the majority of the training participants were from the non-governmental sector, the trainer also indicated to the attendees what the NGO’s capabilities are when it comes to fighting hate speech and hate crimes. After completing the five-hour training and summarizing the participants’ impressions, we can conclude that the participants are able to recognize hate speech and hatred as a motive for committing crimes, and are familiar with the relevant legal norms.
As part of the project “Fighting against hate speech and hate crime”, the Association for Democratic Initiatives will hold another training for the same group of participants in September 2013, titled “Advocacy for Punishing Hate Crimes”.
The training was also supported by the media (FENA, Radio Mostar – Herceg-Bosna, Radio Free Europe), and a part of the atmosphere from the training was broadcasted to the general public. The agenda of the training can be downloaded here: Program_rada_za_trening_24062013_Sarajevo
