Threats or provocative behavior towards returnees are unacceptable and the Office of the High Representative (OHR) will not tolerate them – the OHR warned in a statement to Fena regarding the current events in the Republika Srpska entity, where attacks on returnees are becoming more frequent.
“The law enforcement authorities in BiH have the obligation, as well as the capacity and ability, to investigate all incidents that occur, find the perpetrators and make sure that such incidents do not happen in the future,” the OHR said.
They remind that the right to return is a basic principle of the Dayton Peace Agreement, as stated in Annex VII of the Agreement. According to that agreement, the parties undertook to enable refugees and displaced persons to return safely, without risk of harassment, intimidation, persecution or discrimination, especially because of their nationality, religious beliefs or political opinion.
Also, the OHR states that the parties further undertook to create political, economic and social conditions where they are in power that favor the voluntary return and harmonious reintegration of refugees and displaced persons, without favoring any particular group.
Commenting on the demands of the victims’ association to finally implement police reform in the RS and to ensure the employment of a greater number of Bosniaks and Croats in the MUP of the RS, the OHR says that the authorities have this obligation.
“Authorities have an obligation to apply the constitutional principle of proportional representation of the constituent peoples and Others in the appropriate public authorities, including within police structures,” they stressed.
As they point out, Bosnia and Herzegovina has come a long way since the end of the war, it is now a country with candidate status on the way to the European Union, and its institutions are capable of applying high security standards throughout the country and ensuring the representation of everyone in all security institutions, especially in returnee areas.
“We cannot and will not tolerate any attacks on returnees. The High Representative will continue to be very engaged in this matter,” the OHR said in a statement to Fena.
