14 July 2016 – Bosnia & Herzegovina became the first country in south-east Europe to provide explicit protection for intersex people in all spheres of life. This is one of the several amendments to the anti-discrimination law which makes the legal framework on anti-discrimination stronger and more advanced in relation to LGBTI rights.
Sexual orientation and gender identity are also explicitly mentioned in the Law, with correct legal terminology – in local language seksualna orijentacija and rodni identitet. The law also explicitly states “sex characteristic” as a prohibited ground of discrimination.
The amendments, which were adopted yesterday by the House of People of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly introduce several significant improvements such as:

Inclusion of age and disability on which grounds discrimination is also, from now on, explicitly prohibited (Article 2);
Prohibition of discrimination based on the relation with a protected group/ground (Article 2);
Improved definition of harassment and sexual harassment (Article 4);
Clear definition of aggravated forms of discrimination (Article 4);
Improved procedural aspects, related to urgent procedures (Article 11), specific actions for protection of discrimination (Article 12), judiciary jurisdictions and procedure deadlines (Article 13), judicial security measures (Article 14), burden of proof (Article 15), third party participation (Article 16), and collective lawsuits (Article 17);

 
These legal amendments were the result of direct involvement of LGBTI groups and organizations present in the country. Prior to these changes, in early 2015, Sarajevo Open Centre, published an analysis on the Alignment of the Anti-Discrimination Law in BiH with EU acquis. A working group was formed in mid-2015 to draft the concrete amendments to the anti-discrimination law which were also presented to Semiha Borovac, Minister of BiH for Human Rights and Refugees and to the ministerial working group.
At the end of the year Sarajevo Open Centre will also publish a commentary to the Law and in 2017 trainings will be offered to civil servants, judges and prosecutors.
ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association wishes to congratulate the LGBTI organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina for their great efforts in making these legal changes possible. What is also important to keep in mind is the follow up and implementation of these laws and their effective utilisation by the LGBTI community.
One major obstacle observed across the Western Balkans is the weak implementation of laws and lack of trust among community members to report cases of discrimination and violence. This demands a more effective engagement of LGBTI organizations in monitoring implementation, engaging politicians and government leaders, strengthening capacities of public administration and raising public awareness on discrimination and the consequences suffered.
Source: http://soc.ba/en/better-protection-of-lgbti-persons-through-the-amendments-to-the-anti-discrimination-law-of-bih/