FBiH Government Adopts Draft Law on Rights of Demobilised Veterans

MOSTAR, (Patria) - The FBiH Government today, at its session in Mostar, adopted the Draft Law on the Rights of Demobilised Veterans and Members of Their Families and forwarded it to the parliamentary procedure under urgent procedure. The House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH, by a conclusion of 28 May 2018 from the thematic session held on 23 May 2018, tasked the Federal Ministry for Veterans and Disabled Veterans of the Defence-Liberation War and the Government of the Federation of BiH to submit the Draft Law on the Rights of Demobilised Veterans and Members of Their Families to urgent parliamentary procedure.

During its adoption, it was emphasised that there is an urgent need for a swift systemic resolution of the rights of demobilised veterans and members of their families.

This law regulates the rights, conditions, and procedure for exercising the rights of demobilised veterans and members of their families. According to this law, a demobilised veteran is considered a member of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croatian Defence Council, and the police of the competent internal affairs authority, who participated in the preparations for defence and in the defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period from 18 September 1991 to 23 December 1995. A demobilised volunteer veteran is also considered a person who, as a minor, voluntarily joined the Armed Forces during this period.

Under the conditions stipulated by this law, they can exercise 15 specific rights, including, among others, the right to a veteran's allowance. Demobilised veterans and members of their families can exercise the right to health protection; treatment abroad, spa and climate treatment, one-time financial assistance for treatment, priority in using health institution services; treatment in another canton; ensuring more favourable conditions for employment and priority in employment; assistance in case of death; veteran's allowance; early more favourable retirement; longer annual leave based on participation in the Armed Forces; housing; subsidy for payment of utility fees; subsidy for the obligation to pay fees for allocated urban construction land and fees for land development; allocation of funds for sustainable return; free connection to infrastructure networks (water, electricity, gas); priority in placement in retirement homes and gerontology centres, ensuring more favourable education conditions, and the right to issuance of a demobilised veteran identification card.

This law also prescribes the public disclosure of the Unique Registry of Veterans and Beneficiaries of Rights in the Field of Veteran and Disability Protection on the website of the Federal Ministry for Veterans and Disabled Veterans of the Defence-Liberation War.

For implementation, financial resources in the amount of 14,000,000 KM are required, provided in accordance with the signed Agreement of the Government of the Federation of BiH, representatives of veteran associations, organisations, and associations on the achieved level of funds in the Budget of the Federation of BiH, under the position of this ministry for each year.

Rights envisaged for financing at the cantonal level will be defined by cantonal regulations. In a majority of cantons, these are covered by Laws on Supplementary Rights, and funds for their implementation are regularly planned in cantonal budgets.

At the municipal level, subsidisation of the rights of demobilised veterans as provided for by this Law is envisaged. These rights are also mostly covered by cantonal laws on supplementary rights.

This law aims to ensure the financing of these rights in all cantons with the goal of equalising the rights of demobilised veterans and members of their families.

It is proposed that the Law be applied from 1 January 2019.

Veterans had already expected the holding of the FBiH Parliament session yesterday, but due to a lack of materials, i.e., the fact that the Government had not adopted the proposal, it was not possible to hold the session.