CEC BiH Member Vanja Bjelica-Prutina Attends Conference on Combating Hate Speech
Sarajevo, 1 November 2024 - Ms. Vanja Bjelica-Prutina, a member of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, attended the conference titled “Enhancing Responses to Hate Speech in Public Discourse,” held in Teslić on 31 October 2024.
This conference is the result of the activities undertaken by the Citizens' Forum Tuzla within the project “Combating Hate Speech and Divisive Narratives in the Political Discourse of BiH.” The initiative is implemented in collaboration with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Perpetuum Mobile from Banja Luka, and the Nansen Dialogue Centre from Mostar, with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom.
The conference facilitated an analysis of the challenges faced by institutions in combating hate speech in public discourse, as well as the exchange of experiences and best practices from their ongoing efforts. Bjelica-Prutina highlighted the challenges confronting the Central Election Commission of BiH and their impact on the operations of this institution.
The event brought together representatives from courts, prosecutor's offices, police administrations at all levels in BiH, the Central Election Commission of BiH, the Regulatory Agency for Communications, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, the Centre for Education of Judges and Prosecutors in FBiH and RS, Associations of judges and prosecutors in FBiH and RS, non-governmental organizations, and the academic community, all of whom are actively engaged in combating hate speech and destructive narratives.