22 years have gone since the last population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina was held. It was conducted when the country was still one of the six member republics of Yugoslavia. The current census, which is being held since the 1st of October and is ending tomorrow, will most likely depict a different landscape in terms of national identity. Both because the country's independence will have an impact, but also -and, in most cases- because the effects of the 1992-1995 war, including ethnic cleansing of many regions and casualties.

The census form has sparked controversy over the issue of ethnic labels. The legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina recognises three peoples as the "constituent" ones of the country: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. And these are the three "ethnic/national affiliations" that are already written on the forms that citizens must fill in. Indeed, citizens can also declare a different ethnic or national identity, but they can only do this by explicitly asking the census-taker to write it in the box provided (see left picture; click on to enlarge). Opponents to the way census is asking about the ethnic and national identities argue that this system pushes citizens to declare a Bosniak, Serb or Croat identity -because it is the easiest and fastest way to complete the procedure- and that it discriminates against all others.

The issue is further complicated as Bosnia and Herzegovina is mostly ruled under a system of ethnic quotas that was put in place after the Dayton Agreement in 1995. Public sector jobs are allocated on the basis of such quotas, as are also the seats in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina's upper chamber, the House of the Assembly. Reuters reports that Bosniak, Serb and Croatian leaders are urging people to declare their specific ethnicity so that their own ethnic group is best placed for political power.

According to RFE/RL, Bosniaks are the most likely to lose from the census. Even if this will be the first time that they will be able to declare a Bosniak ethnicity (in the most recent Yugoslav times, they were listed as "Muslims by nationality"), some Bosniak leaders fear that the ethnic group will be split between those declaring themselves "Bosniaks", "Bosnians" and "Muslims". This could signal that Bosniaks as a unique, self-declared group are no longer the largest ethnicity in Bosnia and Hercegovina (in 1991 they were the largest one, as 43% of citizens called themselves Muslims by nationality, 31% Serbs and 17% Croats), even if the addition of the three categories of "Bosniaks", "Bosnians" and "Muslims" could well be above the 50% threshold.

Is it impossible to be a national of one's own country?

On the other hand, other citizens that would like to see Bosnia and Herzegovina overcoming its ethnic divisions say that it is unacceptable that the census forms do not include a direct option to declare a "Bosnian-Herzegovinian" national affiliation. This the opinion of the civil society organization Jednakost, which is calling against the "dictatorship of the constituent peoples". Campaigners are asking citizens not to declare a Bosniak, Serb or Croat identity if they do not wish so. Some voices in Jednakost propose to simply declare a "Bosnian-Herzegovinian" national identity -which they see as being a civic, non-ethnic one- while others go far beyond and simply are asking people not to declare any ethnic or national affiliation because this is also one of their civil rights.

Other voices recall that, if Bosnia and Herzegovina is also the country of smaller ethnic or religious groups, those groups are discriminated against because of the "Bosniak-Serb-Croat"-only official policy. This is what Dervo Sejdic (a Roma) and Jakob Finci (a Jew) argued for years until the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2009 that the two men were right. Subsequently, the European Union asked Bosnia and Herzegovina to amend the country's Constitution to put an end to such a discriminatory situation. The amendment has not been done, but earlier this year the Canton of Sarajevo changed its own Constitution so that non Bosniaks, Serbs or Croats can be represented in the canton's institutions.

Further information:

• Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso: La nuova Bosnia
• Balkan Insight: Census Likely to Seal Multi-ethnic Bosnia's Demise