Although Bosnia and Herzegovina has many laws and regulations that protect the rights of persons with disabilities, in practice these regulations are often not implemented. Persons with disabilities face multiple barriers, ranging from denied access to education and employment to the lack of support services necessary to perform everyday activities.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has ratified the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and adopted a unified policy in this area. The “Strategy for Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 2011-2015” was adopted at the Federation level. However, the practical implementation of these legal regulations is almost non-existent, as persons with disabilities face numerous obstacles in their daily functioning. Among other things, they are denied unhindered access to education and other fundamental rights of every human being. Denying access to the environment and preventing them from moving freely is not only an act of discrimination against persons with disabilities, but also a violation of the human right to participate in society on an equal basis with others.

"Healthcare services for people with disabilities are not available in the same way as they are for others. Social protection and security for people with disabilities is at a very low level and because of all this, these people are discriminated against, their rights are threatened and they cannot realize themselves as individuals and live independently," says Suvad Zahirović, president of the Information Center for People with Disabilities "Lotos" Tuzla.

Unhindered movement of persons with disabilities through the streets, as well as unhindered access to various facilities and access to public transportation, are problems that these persons face in our environment.

"We very often have a situation where people park their cars improperly on sidewalks, thus preventing not only people with disabilities, but also other people from moving freely," points out Zahirović.

Persons with disabilities are also denied access to information in certain public services for issuing documents, given that the counters are often not adapted, especially for blind and visually impaired persons.

Taken from: www.rtvslon.ba; Author Merima Tokić