Newsroom
OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina responds to latest ICG report
SARAJEVO 3 November 2000
SARAJEVO, 3 November 2000 - The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina has several comments to make with regard to the latest ICG report "Who are the People in Your Neighborhood?" which was released earlier this week. The report urged that the OSCE ban the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) from running in the BiH general elections to be held on November 11, as well as not to allow people suspected of having committed war crimes to run for or hold office.
There has to be a particularly egregious violation of the Provisional Election Commission (PEC) Rules and Regulations to decertify any party from running in the elections. spokesperson for the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is important to stress that the SDS has not done anything during the pre-election period to warrant banning it, and in fact, had been particularly careful not to commit violations during this pre-election campaign. The OSCE is already implementing ICG's second proposal, which suggests that if the SDS is not banned that it should be put on notice that it will be held to certain standards and carefully monitored. It would be an oversimplification, however, to attribute all obstruction to one party in one entity. All political parties will be expected to live up to their pledge to respect and implement the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The requirements with regard to war crimes allegations embedded in Article 105 of the PEC Rules and Regulations are based on Annex 4 of the Dayton Peace Agreement (Article IX of the BiH Constitution). The Rules and Regulations state that candidates cannot be openly indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The Rules and Regulations also state that anyone who has been "green-lighted" by ICTY for local indictment and has failed to appear in local court when ordered to do so cannot stand for or hold office.
The ICG report named four people who it said had been certified to serve as municipal officials in spite of having been "green-lighted" for local indictment. The OSCE is currently investigating this charge to determine whether it is true, and if so whether the persons in question were ordered to appear in court and failed to do so.
The PEC cannot replace the judiciary as the final arbiter of one's guilt or innocence. People cannot be denied the right to hold office based on the basis of allegations of possible crimes - to do otherwise would be to violate the due process guaranteed in the European Convention of Human Rights.
Regarding the final ICG recommendation- that the OSCE rigorously monitor the financial assets of candidates - this year, for the first time, the PEC is accepting complaints regarding the financial disclosure forms of both parties and candidates, and using complaints, if substantiated through investigation, to penalize parties or candidates. These disclosure forms are available to the public on the OSCE website and through the OSCE's various offices, and have already been extensively reported on in the local media.
For more information please call OSCE Spokesperson Luke Zahner at ++387/(0)33 292-449 or at ++387/(0) 66 144-311.
The OSCE established its present Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 1995. In accordance with the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), the OSCE Mission activities are to: promote Democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society, foster the development of professional journalism and monitor the rights of journalists, monitor and advance the Human Rights situation, supervise the conduct of Elections, and encourage Regional Stabilization through arms control and confidence and security-building measures. The OSCE Mission continues to work closely with other international organizations and local institutions to implement the Dayton Peace Accords.
There has to be a particularly egregious violation of the Provisional Election Commission (PEC) Rules and Regulations to decertify any party from running in the elections. spokesperson for the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is important to stress that the SDS has not done anything during the pre-election period to warrant banning it, and in fact, had been particularly careful not to commit violations during this pre-election campaign. The OSCE is already implementing ICG's second proposal, which suggests that if the SDS is not banned that it should be put on notice that it will be held to certain standards and carefully monitored. It would be an oversimplification, however, to attribute all obstruction to one party in one entity. All political parties will be expected to live up to their pledge to respect and implement the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The requirements with regard to war crimes allegations embedded in Article 105 of the PEC Rules and Regulations are based on Annex 4 of the Dayton Peace Agreement (Article IX of the BiH Constitution). The Rules and Regulations state that candidates cannot be openly indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The Rules and Regulations also state that anyone who has been "green-lighted" by ICTY for local indictment and has failed to appear in local court when ordered to do so cannot stand for or hold office.
The ICG report named four people who it said had been certified to serve as municipal officials in spite of having been "green-lighted" for local indictment. The OSCE is currently investigating this charge to determine whether it is true, and if so whether the persons in question were ordered to appear in court and failed to do so.
The PEC cannot replace the judiciary as the final arbiter of one's guilt or innocence. People cannot be denied the right to hold office based on the basis of allegations of possible crimes - to do otherwise would be to violate the due process guaranteed in the European Convention of Human Rights.
Regarding the final ICG recommendation- that the OSCE rigorously monitor the financial assets of candidates - this year, for the first time, the PEC is accepting complaints regarding the financial disclosure forms of both parties and candidates, and using complaints, if substantiated through investigation, to penalize parties or candidates. These disclosure forms are available to the public on the OSCE website and through the OSCE's various offices, and have already been extensively reported on in the local media.
For more information please call OSCE Spokesperson Luke Zahner at ++387/(0)33 292-449 or at ++387/(0) 66 144-311.
The OSCE established its present Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 1995. In accordance with the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), the OSCE Mission activities are to: promote Democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society, foster the development of professional journalism and monitor the rights of journalists, monitor and advance the Human Rights situation, supervise the conduct of Elections, and encourage Regional Stabilization through arms control and confidence and security-building measures. The OSCE Mission continues to work closely with other international organizations and local institutions to implement the Dayton Peace Accords.