Publishing names of persons in isolation will cause more harm than benefit

(Patria) - The Initiative for Monitoring European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina condemns the order of the Civil Protection Headquarters of Canton 10 which published the names of persons in home isolation in this canton, and we call on all authorities to abandon further application of such measures.

"We warn the public and the competent civil protection headquarters in BiH that publishing the names of persons subject to isolation measures could lead to labeling, stigmatization, and potential calls for lynching, both of those who do not comply with the measure and those who do.

We remind that supervision of persons subject to isolation measures is exclusively the responsibility of the competent police authorities, not citizens, neighbors, family, or friends.

This measure has no legal basis that would remove the protection of personal data or limit the right to privacy regarding the health status of individuals, and it represents a violation of the Law on Personal Data Protection of BiH, a violation of the right to privacy as a fundamental human right, and a violation of entity laws on patients' rights.

Although certain human rights and freedoms may be limited or suspended in exceptional emergency circumstances, such measures must pass the public interest test. Publishing personal data in these circumstances will cause more harm than benefit to the citizens of BiH and the competent institutions. According to data from the Ministry of Security of BiH, of the total number of citizens issued decisions on home isolation, only 2.8% have been penalized for non-compliance so far.

We are particularly concerned that this measure could discourage citizens who have symptoms of coronavirus from reporting to the competent services and undergoing testing, in an effort to avoid public stigmatization and the publication of their names.

We offer full support to all competent inspection and police authorities in BiH in carrying out their powers in accordance with legal and other regulations, which include regular supervision of persons subject to isolation measures while respecting their right to privacy and prescribed sanctions for those who do not comply with the measure," they stated in the announcement.