Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres forwarded the 65th report of the High Representative on the implementation of the Peace Agreement in BiH to the President of the UN Security Council, Pedro Komizari Afonso. The report covers the period from October 16, 2023 to April 15, 2024. High Representative states that the reporting period was marked by the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards integration into the European Union, but also by unprecedented attacks on the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP).
The report states that the European Council’s decision to open negotiations with BiH was a welcome contribution to efforts to protect the country’s stability in the light of geopolitical and internal challenges, and to give impetus to its accelerated progress. It should also be seen as a recognition of the efforts – above all by the political parties based in Sarajevo that make up the coalition, the so-called Troika – to engage responsibly and constructively for the common interest, i.e. the advancement of BiH’s EU aspirations and thus the welfare of all its citizens. The ability to overcome individual, party, ethnic or entity interests for the common good is not a weakness but a strength. It must be encouraged and not punished or exploited. It must be set as a standard for political leadership in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The decision of the European Council is a game-changer in terms of the opportunities that are opening up for BiH. The High Representative worked intensively to support this decision in terms of the conditions that must be met.
However, this is insufficient to counter the threats to the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina entities of the Republika Srpska (RS), led by the president of the RS and the leader of the SNSD, Milorad Dodik, are actively undermining the state of BiH, its jurisdiction and institutions, and thus the GFAP.
Their threat to paralyze state bodies by blocking their work and decision-making is a threat to the functionality of the state and its ability to fulfill its responsibilities. Their threat to continue with the unilateral withdrawal of the RS from the constitutional, legal and institutional framework of the state – including the BiH Armed Forces and the state tax, judicial and electoral system – represents a threat of establishing a parallel framework for the RS. All political actors must express their unconditional commitment to the GFAP, and to BiH and its statehood and territorial integrity.
– This obligation is partially missing – warns Schmidt.
Unprecedented pressure on judicial institutions continued. In addition to promoting the abolition of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ruling RS coalition is undermining the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the guardian of the constitutional and legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Challenges to the institution and mandate of the High Representative also continued unabated. This includes inflammatory rhetoric, but also actions to undermine respect for the international ad hoc institution of the High Representative, and thus his ability to implement the GFAP mandate. The representatives of the ruling coalition of the RS are blatantly abusing the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in furtherance of this goal. The final authority for the interpretation of the GFAP is fully vested in the High Representative, not the entity.
These actions of the parties of the ruling coalition in the RS go hand in hand with their legislative initiatives in the RS itself, which limit civil space in order to silence, discourage, threaten and ultimately punish different political opinions.
If they continue, these actions could lead to the de facto if not de jure disintegration of the state of BiH, for which the president of the RS, Milorad Dodik, is continuously advocating. This would be a scenario with dire consequences.
The entire political environment is fertile ground for threats to transitional justice. There is a backsliding in public efforts to confront the past and an alarming level of ethno-nationalist historical revisionism, denial of genocide and other war crimes, and glorification of war criminals. These trends were closely related to the general decline of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, which increase mistrust and polarization within society. And a sign of this is the steady decline in relations between the communities in Srebrenica over the past two years.
Incidents against returnees continued. There was a constant flow of reports of violence or provocations against the returnee population, which further fuels the feeling of insecurity among this population, according to, among other things, the report of the high representative to the UN Security Council, BHRT writes.
