YouSaid · the spoken record

Irena Hasić

lines on the record
10
first
2020-05-06
most recent
2020-05-06
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “Such an intense atmosphere risks triggering violence and escalating into conflict. So, please, I am asking the Council not to disregard and misinterpret the red f lags that Bosnia and Herzegovina and its people are sending it. The pandemic the world is facing right now has taught us one thing — we cannot survive without help from others. The future of humankind lies in humanity and solidarity. After 25 years of transitional justice, peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives, Bosnia and Hercegovina remains a topic to be discussed and assessed, an issue to be resolved. It remains a question mark. It is time to find answers together. I thank the Council for its dedication and time.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  2. “The current administrative configuration is far from sustainable; instead of being invested in the country’s development and economy, education and culture, our wealth is spent on an ineffective administration and bureaucracy. That directly affects Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ordinary citizens, who are held hostage by political corruption, a lack of accountability and nationalism. With the highest percentage of youth unemployment in Europe, an increasing number of young people are emigrating abroad in search of prosperity and better, safer living conditions. There is an urgent need for reforms and investment and, according to us, a definitive need to update the Agreement. For that, we need help from outside. It has been demonstrated again and again that the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is getting frustrated.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  3. “Therefore, it is up to civil society to create programmes to advance human rights and democratic values so that we can create a better future for and with young people. It is up to civil society to restore Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country with a rich and vibrant past and an even brighter future. It has been 25 years since the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed. The Agreement ended the war and the ethnic cleansing. It also transferred the conflict onto the political stage, leaving all sides unsatisfied, albeit at peace. Today, we are faced with an administrative machinery that is not only soaking up our gross domestic product but is also unable to come to joint decisions on economic and administrative reforms.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  4. “However, in this battle to foster change and improvement, civil society organizations continuously face not only financial but also institutional obstacles. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education of Republika Srpska deprives us of access to schools on the territory of Republika Srpska. In the Federation, we must obtain permission to work from every canton because each one has its own ministry of education. Civil society in Bosnia has played a major role in providing a more solid foundation for democratization, the reconciliation process, freedom of the media, the fight against hate speech and fund transparency. The current political elite, the educational system and local communities will never foster cultural and ethnic diversity; rather, they portray diversity as a weakness, as a weed to be uprooted.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  5. “The objective was to hear their thoughts about the obstacles they are facing in their local communities, what they need to overcome those problems and how we, as an organization, can assist them. Their recommendations were clear: young people need a proper political education and must be made aware of the importance of voting and their trust in institutions must be restored. They are aware of f laws and irregularities in the election process. It is time to modernize it. Young people need information on how they can contribute to change and the tools and mechanisms to bring their ideas to life. They need help from us to build that capacity and to motivate their peers to become more engaged. I must say, in brief, that young people lack a voice in their communities. They need us to be the link as they do not feel strong enough themselves.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  6. “It takes time for young people to accept facts and each other, as most of their pre-existing values are based on stereotypes, inherited ethnocentric narratives and the inability to accept anything that is different from what they have known. But it is not impossible to change. In a safe and comfortable place, we create an opportunity for young people with different religious and ethnic backgrounds to interact, learn and grow. Last summer we organized a youth forum and invited young people from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate. They held open discussions on three topics, namely, youth and the political situation, activism in formal education and reconciliation.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  7. “They grow up isolated from other ethnic groups, surrounded by convicted war criminals who are celebrated as national heroes, and are, on a daily basis, subjected to historical revisionism. That is precisely where Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina has a role to play. In the years that we have been in operation, we have welcomed over 20,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 30 as participants in our programmes. They come from segregated and homogeneous communities from both the Federation and Republika Srpska. We organize alternative schools, open discussions, visits, exchanges and cultural events, in which we present young people with facts and enable them to connect and join forces beyond their ethnicity.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  8. “It is a well-known fact that young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are divided in and by the school system. For instance, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have 56 schools operating under the “two schools under one roof” paradigm. This paradigm was established as a temporary solution to overcome conflict, but it has since become permanent. Students in these schools are not only divided by ethnicity, they are also divided by their textbooks. Their histories, languages and cultures are separate. They even enter the school building through different doors. That is why, to advance reconciliation and interethnic dialogue, it is crucial to promote interethnic socialization among young people. The youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina consider segregation to be a natural state of living. And how can we blame them?”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  9. “Our main goal is to contribute to the creation of a peaceful society where all citizens are equal, regardless of their socioeconomic, national, ethnic or religious background — a society in which human rights, democracy and the rule of law are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are at the core of our work, our vision and our mission, and we strongly believe that young people can contribute to the realization of the aforementioned type of society. To accomplish this end, however, young people need to be properly equipped. Filling the gaps in our educational system is crucial to offering Bosnia and Herzegovina youth the tools they need to become active and responsible citizens and promoters and drivers of change.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source

  10. “It is an honour and a privilege to be invited to participate in today’s debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Security Council. My name is Irena Hasić. I am the Executive Director of Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, an organization that was established in 2007 and has since operated at the national and regional levels as a part of Youth Initiative for Human Rights. The founding idea of the organization was to provide new generations with an educational alternative on human rights and democratic values and to promote objective learning about the past wars that took place in the former Yugoslavia.”

    2020-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/379 (2020) · source