Hindus urge Bosnia-Herzegovina for Reform

Hindus urge Bosnia-Herzegovina for constitution reform reflecting complete equality

Hindus have urged Bosnia-Herzegovina to urgently modify its constitution to reflect that all its citizens are treated equally.

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg (France) reportedly ruled on Tuesday that Bosnia’s constitution discriminated against Roma and Jews because it prohibited them to run for parliament or presidency.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was moral duty of Europe (which prided itself for its human rights record) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (a country of age-old cultures and fabulous mountain vistas) to take care of their minorities who had participated together with the majority in continent building. Europeans should leave the ethnicities behind and build a better Europe working together, Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, added.

Structuring European and world societies on the principles of pluralism would be a step in the right direction, Rajan Zed argued.

According to an ECHR press release: The Bosnian Constitution, in its Preamble, makes a distinction between two categories of citizens: the so-called “constituent peoples” (Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs) and “others” (Jews, Roma and other national minorities together with those who do not declare affiliation with any ethnic group). The House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly (the second chamber) and the Presidency are composed only of persons belonging to the three constituent peoples.

Tuesday’s judgment was given by the Grand Chamber of 17 judges, with Jean-Paul Costa (France) as President. ECHR, an international court to deal with violations of civil and political rights established in 1959, has delivered more than 10, 000 judgments.

Although in Europe, Bosnia-Herzegovina is still not part of European Union.

ENDS

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