ARE HUMAN RIGHTS PROVIDING EMPOWERMENT POSSIBILITIES FOR SOCIAL WORK WITH VULNERABLE GROUPS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA

Vulnerable groups represent special categories that are at a higher risk of being socially excluded, vulnerable, and sensitive to a spectrum of risks, including poverty. Disabled persons, children, youngsters, women, elders, victims/survivors of violence, illiterate people, people living in rural areas, members of certain minority groups, refugees and displaced persons, members of LGBTIQ+ communities, etc., are considered to be vulnerable. Human rights as a universal concept are guaranteed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which guarantees the implementation of human rights for all citizens of BiH. The obligation to implement the international documents that secure the standards, obliging the state to enforce guaranteed human rights is also anticipated by the Constitution. Human rights are the foundation and the framework for social work and social policy when it comes to working with and in favour of vulnerable groups, however, in reality of social work practice, these groups remain on the margins of society.


INTRODUCTION
The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work define social work as a "practice-based profession and academic discipline that promotes social change and development", which includes the resolution of conflicts in interactions, empowerment and liberation of people that need support, in order to fulfill their capacities and enhance wellbeing.Defining the social work profession as such results in having different but overlapping domains of practice, such as: providing support and assistance to service users in resolving problems concerning fulfilling basic needs, issues concerning social functioning and in crisis, reducing social and other inequities, development of human rights policies, increasing standards and availability of certain and specific social services and allowances, and influencing changes in social policies and realization of social justice (IFSW 2014).
Social work as a profession with specifically defined social roles and functions in contemporary circumstances is facing difficult challenges due to the impacts of different social circumstances and power imbalances.The whole world has been facing difficulties due to global economic crises and other social crises causing social problems with direct implications on different aspects of societal life, such as an increase in poverty, unemployment, an increase in social and personal difficulties, a decrease in GDP index, mass migrations, etc.All of the abovementioned have a direct impact on the social work profession, shifting the focus more on large social groups and social problems, and less on individual issues and problems (Ćuk and Savović O N L I N E F I R S T 2019).Chenoweth and McAuliffe (2011,16) summarise the purpose of social work as "positioning human rights and social welfare as a primary social responsibility, acknowledging that humanity exists in balance with the environment and to celebrate and nurture the diversity of humanity".
Therefore, the task of social workers can be interpreted as taking responsibility for raising public awareness about values, opinions, behaviors, and social structures that are important factors in marginalization and social exclusion of vulnerable individuals, groups, and communities in a given society.
Marginalized groups represent a specific category that is considered to be at a high risk of being socially excluded, vulnerable, and sensitive to a spectrum of risks, including poverty.In different societies, different groups are being considered as vulnerable.This is why vulnerable groups are determined using standards and specific indicators, where the selection of indicators is dependent on the development of each community.A very important factor in recognizing vulnerable individuals and groups is the level of availability and accessibility to basic development resources (Muratbegović et al 2017).The Laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not define who are marginalized groups.Also, in the Law on Gender Equality of BiH (2010) the term "marginalized groups" is not mentioned nor defined.The term used in the Law on discrimination prohibition is "endangered groups", which can be interpreted as groups at risk or marginalized groups.People with disabilities, children, women, elders, victims/survivors of violence, illiterate persons, persons living in rural areas, members of minority ethnical groups, refugees and displaced persons, and members of the LGBTIQ+ communities have been selected as marginalized groups in BiH and the Republic of Srpska for the purpose of research analysis and writing of this article.The abovementioned groups represent a vast majority when it comes to being service users and beneficiaries of social work and social protection systems.

LITERATURE REVIEW NAD THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Human rights as a key principle of social work basically refer to the fundamental purpose of providing social services through fighting oppression, empowering and liberating people in need, in order to achieve their goals and fulfill their potential.Chenoweth and McAuliffe (2011) emphasize the unbreakable connection between valuing individuals and their right to self-O N L I N E F I R S T determination, which are included in the professional ethics of social work, and grounded in the human rights discourses.As described by Connolly andWard (2008, 18 in Chenoweth andMcAuliffe 2011, 43) human rights can serve as a good protective zone for all people, which offers space for conceptualization of what one may consider to be a "good life", without any interference from others.Ife (2008) considers the human rights perspective as an extremely important and powerful framework for social work practice, especially bearing in mind the fact that having three generations of human rights throughout the history of our civilization speaks for itself about the importance of the social work profession based on the principle of protection of human rights.The concept of "power" and "use/misuse of power" has a central place in theories and practice of critical social work.The misuse of power has been an "evergreen" topic in social work discussions.The most recent literature on the topic shows the importance of unpacking the term power in the context of a given society, respecting historical, ideological, cultural, and all other differences of a specific society.According to Tew (2002, in Pease et al 2009), critical perspectives in social work that emphasize modernistic ideas and the importance of structural analysis (such as Marxist, feministic, and anti-racial approaches) have identified domination patterns and oppression in social relations.This means that one social group is in a privileged position compared to other groups, using/misusing economic, discursive, and emotional power in its favor.Mullaly (2010) sees such a traditional interpretation of "power" as a concept that "lives" in big social structures (state institutions, religious institutions), therefore can be changed only in big protests and social activities at the biggest scale.Some other authors (Mullaly 2002;Pease 2002a;Tew 2002, in Ferguson 2008) suggest that postmodern perspectives defining "power" and privilege as a concept that exists in different social locations, situations, and contexts (schools, social and health organization, mammy groups), meaning "fluid and open for changes" (Allan in Pease et al 2009, 73), can be seen in a different light.This means that "power" doesn't have to be exclusively oppressive, but can be used as a resource that can offer social opportunities (depending on how it is used).The differences in power exist in the social worker-client/service user relationship.It is extremely important for social workers to always assume that the power is in their hands, first of all deriving from the fact that social work practitioners have professional knowledge.The knowledge and position holding need to be in service of empowering oppressed, vulnerable, and marginalized individuals and groups (Rees 1991;Healy 2005;Mullaly 2002in Pease et al 2009).

O N L I N E F I R S T
The concept of "empowerment" can and has been differently defined in the literature, depending on the theoretical perspective used and the context in which it is defined (Fook and Morley 2005).DuBois and Miley (2005) define empowerment as a process with the aim to increase personal, interpersonal, and political power in order to improve their situation.Empowerment is also connected to social justice and the democratic ideal that every citizen has the right to make decisions in their life.Rose (2000 in Chenoweth andMcAuliffe 2011) suggests that empowerment can be contextualized at five levels: personal (individual), interpersonal, political, professional, and organizational.From the social work stance, the essence of the empowerment concept is placed in the relationship between social worker and client/service user through the approach that sees clients/service users as individuals with potential.The aim of the social worker is to activate existing potentials and by doing so, empower the client/service user to believe in their potential and come out from the dark and oppressed position.Mullaly (2007, in Pease et al 2009, 74) defines empowerment as "...process of change in which subordinated groups cross over from the passive position to an active participating position…in order to gain more control in their lives and social environment".
Empowering vulnerable and marginalized individuals and groups requires deeper critical analysis, including policy analysis.According to Fook and Morley (2005), the empowerment concept on its own cannot provide answers to big and complex questions considering empowerment, such as: who are we empowering and to whom is it important?Another important question can be asked here: How can a social worker (from the critical social work perspective) empower clients/service users in contemporary and restraining political contexts?An even more complex question can be asked, and this is the research question of this paper: Valuing social justice and human rights as we as social workers do in our contemporary society, how can we make structural changes?In order to make a first step, we need to analyze the legal framework that is the social work framework in practice with vulnerable and marginalized groups.Fraser (2001 in Pease et al 2009) points out two key factors of the empowerment perspective and approach in social work: wider distribution of resources and society without discrimination; and empowerment strategies that need to be applied within the structural and critical analysis.More recent literature (Baines 2017;Mullaly 2007;Ife 2008), emphasizes the importance of a few more elements: help and support to marginalized individuals and groups in activities with the aim to have their voices heard and raising awareness about the ways in which dominant structures/groups using dominant O N L I N E F I R S T discourses, stereotypes, and popular culture oppress and/or misuse the position of marginalized (Pease et al 2009).Ferguson (2008) and Baines (2007) exploring the questions concerning empowerment and social work practice suggest that regardless of the limitations in applying the concept of empowerment in social work practice (using the critical social work framework), social workers must not forget the ethical obligation of the profession to empower clients/service users.Literature also recognizes the existence of many different obstacles and organizational barriers (including procedural, managerial, etc.) that social work practitioners face on a daily basis.Fook (2012;2023) summarises the importance of critical theories as theories that recognize domination as something that is experienced (personal) and structurally created.This means that social change needs to be personal and collective at the same time.Another important aspect that Fook (2023) emphasizes is that such interpretation of domination included recognition that knowledge is often empirical (grounded in reality), but at the same time, the knowledge that is used or interpreted can be constructed (socially and personally).Therefore, social or personal change cannot take place without having dialogues and communicating, trying to reach new and common understandings.

RESEARCH DESIGN, METHODS AND DATA COLLECTION
In line with the methodology type and subject of this research, a range of research methods were used for the purpose of this paper, including analytical-deductive, hypothetical-deductive, and comparative methods.As for the basic scientific methods, the methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, and the method of generalization were used in this research.A specific method that was dominantly used in the empirical part of this paper was the method of content analysis.Content analysis was used for the purpose of data collection and data analysis, as well as for the purpose of providing a theoretical framework for understanding the topic and research question.The coding system was applied for the content analysis of documents relevant to the research subject, developing a categorial framework for the purpose of classification and data collection and data analysis, including causal relations (Creswell 2002).
The analysis covered documents that regulate and guarantee human rights in BiH and the Republic of Srpska, with special attention paid to the Social Inclusion Strategy of the Republic of

O N L I N E F I R S T
Srpska 2021-2027.The Strategy was used as a key document search for the answer to the main research question: Are human rights providing empowerment possibilities for social work with vulnerable groups in the Republic of Srpska?

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Social work is fundamentally grounded in the protection of human rights, therefore social work and social policies represent the core framework for issues related to the protection of human rights, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups.The reality in social work practice is that these groups are on the margins of society.In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) the inconsistency between the social work practice and legislation regarding human rights and the social position of marginalized groups in society is noticeable.
The human rights of all citizens of BiH are prescribed by the Constitution of BiH ("Official Gazette of BiH" No. 25/09), by international agreements and conventions ratified by the BiH, but also by the laws that regulate this topic at the state and entities' levels.The Preamble of the Constitution of BiH states its determination to ensure full respect of international humanitarian laws, as well as the commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international agreements on civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, and the Declaration on rights of persons that are members of national or ethnical, religious or language minorities, and other mechanisms in favor of human rights.The Constitution of BiH anticipates the direct implementation of the European Convention on the protection of human rights and fundamental liberties, and its Protocols, which serve as a guarantee that BiH and its both entities and District

O N L I N E F I R S T
States established on the basis of national principles mean that they provide security of property and personality, where personality is understood as "life itself, honor and liberty" (Bodrožić 2023, 102).The Constitution of the Republic of Srpska (2005), in the section referring to human rights and liberties, guarantees the achievement and protection of human rights and liberties to all citizens of the Republic of Srpska, in accordance with the principle of social justice.
The principle of social justice has become in the EU system the international and regional priority, serving as a framework and assigning main goals for all states trying to develop a more advanced (RS Government 2020, 4).This Strategy also anticipates achieving six defined goals in the defined period of time, being: improving the social status of children, young people, and families with children; fighting poverty; equal opportunities and non-discrimination of people with disabilities; safe old age; full gender equality and development of tolerant society for all.The goals defined in such a wide manner include the majority of marginalized groups.
People with disabilities are marked in the Strategy as the most vulnerable groups in the Republic of Srpska.Special attention is paid to discrimination of people with disabilities based on differences seen as a risk for social exclusion.Enabling equal opportunities to all (access to community life, access to social services, adequate housing, sensible health protection, labor market, public administration services), being the essence of social inclusion of people with disabilities also includes permanent promotion of abilities of persons with disability.In the Republic of Srpska, at the operational level, there is no unique access to disability policies, which results in different practices of implementation of international standards.Noticeable consequences can be seen in discrimination and violation of the human rights of persons with disabilities.
The belief that "society owes to a child the best it can offer" has been embedded in the UN Convention on Child Rights, accepted by 169 countries in the world, and by defining the minimum standards and rights for children (Gavrilović and Jugović 2012) 2021), the main and core legal discrepancies concerning the application of systemic social welfare special protection measures for vulnerable children can be seen as the lack of a "universally accepted definition of family life", as well as other key aspects of what is considered to be the "minimum quality standards of care" (Stojaković Zlatanović 2021, 145).The state analysis presented in the Strategy reveals data that unemployed youth in the Republic of Srpska represent 3% of the total population, while every fourth of young unemployed persons is absolutely poor.It has been estimated that the real youth unemployment rate is around 50%, while the general unemployment rate is around 20% in the past ten or more years (Gajić 2020).These are only a few important indicators of the social exclusion of children and youth in the Republic of Srpska.
Women are present in the Strategy in the section concerning gender equality, as another marginalized group, highlighting the basically observed differences between women and men leading towards social exclusion.More specifically speaking, this concerns the burden of women in family roles, lower representation in labor, lower wages for the same jobs compared to men, lower representation (regardless of obvious increase) in political life and decision-making sphere, and higher representation of women in total number of victims of domestic violence, being over 90%.Due to the complexity and factors of social exclusion affecting women, one of the strategic goals is directed towards the improvement of the status of women in the above-mentioned spheres of social life.
The Strategy is only one of many documents in the Republic of Srpska that recognizes elders as persons who need special attention in the Republic of Srpska.The people in the "third life age" are being socially excluded on many bases, which puts them in the category of socially O N L I N E F I R S T most vulnerable citizens.First of all, elders' social exclusion is conditioned by their economic and health state.Reduced ability to work, health conditions, financial deprivation, and dependency on family and intergenerational solidarity can be seen as the most important determining factors of the elders' status in society, which also means reasons for social exclusion.The data that 17% of elders in the Republic of Srpska are in the category of absolutely poor is in line with the abovementioned.
Deserved attention is also dedicated by the Strategy to the members of minorities.Social exclusion of minority groups results from the relations and social discourses towards specialties and differences from the majority group.Cultural, social, racial, religious, national, health, or sexual orientation differences can be bases for social distancing of the majority from the minority groups.Also, possession or practicing "different" values, habits, and behaviors can trigger the need among minority groups to isolate themselves from the majority.
According to the Republic Institute of Statistics, people living in rural and less developed communities and areas in the Republic of Srpska, which represent a significant number, as well as illiterate persons (6.7% of women and 1.7% of men), can be considered as marginalized groups (Republic of Srpska Institute of Statistic 2021).However, the Strategy does not include these groups.It is also worth mentioning that the Strategy recognizes members of the LGBTIQ+ community as minority groups, but not marginalized groups (without specific explanation).The Strategy also does not recognize refugees and displaced persons as marginalized groups, regardless of the complex political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina that has pushed these groups into marginalized positions since the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.

CONCLUSIONS
We started this research with the question of whether human rights can provide empowerment possibilities for social work with vulnerable groups in the Republic of Srpska.
Researching both the literature relevant to empowerment in the social work profession (using critical social work perspectives) and documents that served as data for this research, looking for the legal grounds for working with vulnerable and marginalized individuals and groups, several important conclusions can be summarised in this article.

O N L I N E F I R S T
Legal documents that were subjected to this research, starting from the Constitutions of BiH and the Republic of Srpska, as well as the laws adopted for specific categories of clients and service users of social work, show that marginalized individuals and groups do have rights that can be exercised and achieved in the society of the Republic of Srpska.Analyzing the Social Inclusion Strategy of the Republic of Srpska 2021-2027, which serves as a framework for different sectors (employment/labor market, social insurance, and other types of social protection) that provide services to marginalized and socially excluded individuals and groups, results show that that there is space for introducing and applying empowerment approaches in these sectors.
The analysis also provided findings that most of the observed vulnerable and marginalized groups for the purpose of this research do exist in the Strategy, which can be interpreted as the basic preconditions for empowering opportunities for social work with vulnerable individuals and groups.However, an important finding is that there are three vulnerable and marginalized groups that are not recognized as such by the strategy but are in social work science and practice.These are the following: illiterate persons, refugees and displaced persons, and members of the LGBTIQ+ community.This finding implies that social work practitioners face difficulties finding opportunities for empowering these individuals and groups.
Regardless of the obvious fact that social workers who provide social services cannot easily influence or make structural changes, it can be considered rational thinking if trying to undermine and tackle inequality at the structural level throughout social work practice on a daily basis, working with vulnerable and marginalized individuals and groups (raising awareness on human rights, social justice and ways that can provide their voices to be heard).However, as noted by Djurić and Stojanović (2020, 169), the social system can increase its ability to adjust to the environment through a "process of internal differentiation", meaning by establishing subsystem autonomy, but "each of these different, autonomous system levels must have its own purposes and goals" (Djurić and Stojanović 2020, 166).On the other note, Stojiljković (2018) argues that already existing reduction of democratic values, together with the increasing economic inequalities are leading societies towards the "erosion of legal and political equality" (Stojiljković 2018, 58).
Critical reflection as part of the social work practice can have a valuable role in making necessary changes in the daily practice of social workers.Fook (2009, 444;2023, 58) Brcko will ensure the highest level of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental liberties.The Constitution of BiH also anticipates the protection of human rights via the Commission for Human Rights, which consists of two bodies: the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsmen of BiH and the Council for Human Rights.The Annex 7 of the Constitution of BiH represents the Agreement on refugees and displaced persons, with a special part dedicated to the protection of human rights.Special administrative bodies were established within the state administration system, with the role to continuously promote and improve the system of human rights protection (Council for Children, the Agency for Gender Equality, the Board for Romas, the Council for People with Disability, etc.).