Electronic monitoring of protective measures in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the focus of a meeting organized in Sarajevo by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the aim of strengthening the protection of victims of violence and more effective implementation of protection measures.
The meeting brought together the federal minister of justice, federal minister of the interior, cantonal ministers of the interior, police commissioners, representatives of police agencies and international partners. The next steps for the introduction of electronic monitoring of the implementation of protective measures in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were discussed.
This initiative comes as a response to challenges in the application of the new Law on protection against domestic violence and violence against women, especially when it comes to the imposition and supervision of protective measures. The goal is to increase the safety of victims, improve the work of institutions and reduce the risk of repeated violence and femicide.
The Head of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rick Holtzapple, said that the regulatory framework has already been established, but that attention must now be focused on political will, coordination and the necessary resources. He emphasized that the electronic monitoring of protective measures is not only a matter of acquiring technology, but of developing an operational model that will work in practice.
UN Women BiH pointed out that the protection of victims does not only depend on legal regulations, but also on their effective application, responsibility and coordinated action of institutions. Electronic surveillance, as emphasized, can help institutions react more quickly in cases of violations of protective measures.
Federal Minister of Justice Vedran Škobić emphasized the importance of practical application of laws and by-laws, so that protection measures are not only legally guaranteed, but also actually implemented. Federal Minister of the Interior, Ramo Isak, stated that significant by-laws have been passed that relate to police action in cases of violence, including mandatory risk assessment and more effective implementation of measures against perpetrators of violence.
During the meeting, commitment to the full operationalization of electronic monitoring of protective measures was confirmed. Coordination was agreed between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the cantons, under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Justice and with the support of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, in order to develop an application model, analyze the necessary resources and plan costs.
The OSCE mission in BiH and UN Women BiH will continue to monitor and support the implementation of the agreed activities, with the aim of strengthening the institutional response and the real protection of victims of violence, writes RTV Slon.
