National Human Development Report 2020: Social Inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina

National Human Development Report 2020: Social Inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina

April 26, 2021

The National Human Development Report 2020: Social Inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina was produced by the United Nations Development Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina with support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina aiming to assess and to trigger a debate on social inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The National Human Development Report 2020 was commissioned to assess what has been achieved over the past decade. It does so by focusing on the structural dynamics of inclusion (instead of a static measurement to assess the characteristics of exclusion) when assessing the performance of the networks of social institutions whose proper function is to ensure the well-being and participation of all members of society.

The report approaches social inclusion from the perspective of the dynamics of the interaction between an individual and his or her social, legal and economic environment. Asking whether a person is able to participate equally in society leads to the identification of gaps and barriers to participation.

The assessment of social inclusion in this report is connected to the concept and measurement of human development and to the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’ that is enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This NHDR on Social Inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a continuation of the research undertaken through two previous human development reports. In 2007, UNDP produced a National Human Development Report on Social Inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina that provided unique insights into those population groups that remained vulnerable to social exclusion more than a decade after the end of the conflict. The National Human Development Report on Social Capital followed in 2009, exploring in detail how individuals assessed their social relationships in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina. By recording citizen perceptions of social life and institutions, these two reports established a baseline of social data from which it was possible to measure the direction of social change in the country.