Establishment of the Movement for Civic Bosnia and Herzegovina

Establishment of the Movement for Civic Bosnia and Herzegovina

A Call to Citizens, Intellectuals, and Organizations to Join the Struggle for a Civic State of Equal People

Gothenburg / Sarajevo, October 23, 2025

In the spirit of universal values of freedom, equality, and the rule of law and following the Bosnia and Herzegovina Nordic Forum held in Gothenburg on October 4–5, 2025, attended by numerous citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the diaspora, representatives of civil society, academia, and political activists the Movement for a Civic Bosnia and Herzegovina has been established.

The Movement emerged as a response to the deep institutional and social crisis, exacerbated by ethnic divisions, political blockades, and discriminatory constitutional arrangements that have, for decades, prevented the creation of a functional, democratic, and legally regulated state for all its citizens regardless of ethnic, religious, or political affiliation.

In partnership with the Association of Independent Intellectuals “Circle 99” (“Krug 99”), the Movement for a Civic State will work on drafting and promoting constitutional reform proposals aimed at:

• abolishing ethnic prefixes in political representation,

• establishing equality of all citizens throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

• strengthening the rule of law and state institutions, and

• creating the conditions for a democratic, European, and secular Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Objectives of the Movement:

1. Civic Bosnia and Herzegovina as a political ideal a state where all citizens are equal, regardless of collective identity.

2. Constitutional reforms harmonizing the constitutional order with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (Zornić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina and others).

3. Mobilizing civic energy uniting all progressive forces, at home and in the diaspora, around the idea of a civic state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

4. International cooperation and advocacy engaging with the EU, UN, and other relevant institutions to support the transformation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into a civic state.

CALL TO CITIZENS AND ORGANIZATIONS

The Movement for a Civic State invites all free thinking citizens, members of the academic community, civil society organizations, the diaspora, and political actors who share these values to actively join our work to unite and organize in the struggle for a civic Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Contact and further information:

1. 📧 pokretzagradjanskubosnu@gmail.com

2. 🌐 Website and social media channels are under development – to be launched soon.

Sarajevo – Gothenburg – Across the Diaspora

Bosnia and Herzegovina can and must be a state of all its citizens – equal and free. Let’s build a state shaped by people, not ethnic elites. Join us!

Board of the Movement for a Civic Bosnia and Herzegovina

Edin Osmančević, President