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Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Last reviewed: 22 September 2009

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POLITICS

Elections

General elections were held in BiH on 1 October 2006. The OSCE confirmed that they were generally conducted in line with international standards with no major incidents. Voter turnout was reported at 54.48%, approximately 235,000 more people than voted in the 2004 elections. The next national elections are scheduled for October 2010.

The previous Prime Minister, Haris Silajdzic (SBiH) won the race for the Bosniak slot of the Tripartite Presidency by a wide margin, with 41% of the vote. Nebojsa Radmanovic (SNSD) won the Serb slot with 55% and Zeljko Komsic (SDP) was elected for the Croat seat on the Presidency with 14% of the vote. 

At state-level, the SDA (predominantly Bosniak) led by Sulejman Tihic, have the largest representation in the BiH House of Representatives (9 seats). Other big winners, who have all made notable gains on the 2002 elections, include SBiH (Bosniak) with 8 seats (+2) and SNSD (Serb) with 7 seats (+4). HDZ 1990, the Bosnian Croat party gained 2 seats, but HDZ are still the largest Croat party overall with 3 seats (despite a loss of –2). Parties with notable losses include the Bosnian Serb parties PDP, who now have 1 seat (-1) and SDS with 3 seats (-2). 

On 4 January 2007 a state-level coalition government was formed. It consisted of SDA and SBiH (Bosniak), SNSD and PDP (Bosnian Serb) and HDZ, HDZ 1990 and NSRzB (Bosnian Croat). Nikola Spiric (SNSD – Bosnian Serb) was appointed as state level Prime Minister. The Bosnian Parliament confirmed the new state level Council of Ministers on 9 February and the majority of Ministers took up office on 12 February. The only exception to this was Defence Minister Selmo Cikotic, who took up his position on 23 April once the necessary three years had passed since his retirement from the military. 

On 1 November 2007, PM Spiric resigned in protest over former High Representative Lajcak’s changes to the procedures of the Council of Ministers. Following resolution of this standoff Spiric was reconfirmed as Prime Minister.

Municipal elections for mayors and municipal assembly posts were held across BiH on 5 October 2008. The elections were seen to have been conducted in a fair and orderly way in line with international standards. Voter turnout was reported at approximately 55% across the country. Of all the parties, the Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) did particularly well winning 39 of the municipalities in the RS and 3 in the Federation. The Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) struggled, losing half of their Mayors returning only 16 Mayors out of 33. The Party for Democratic Action (SDA) emerged as the strongest Bosniak party while the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) emerged as the strongest Croat party.

After a split of the SNSD and PDP coalition at entity level in February 2009, the PDP then withdrew from the ruling state level coalition as well. Mladen Ivanic, PDP leader resigned as the Speaker of the BiH House of Peoples. The remaining two PDP officials within the BiH Council of Ministers, also left their posts in April.

High Representative/EU Special Representative (EUSR)

On 26 March 2009, former Austrian Ambassador to Slovenia, Dr Valentin Inzko succeeded Dr Miroslav Lajcak as the double-hatted High Representative and EU Special Representative to BiH. He has extensive experience in the Balkans having served as Austria’s first Ambassador to BiH post the 1992-1995 conflict.

Closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR)

At its meeting in February 2008, the Bosnia Peace Implementation Council Steering Board (PIC SB) agreed to maintain the OHR and Bonn Powers. While the security situation in BiH remains stable, the PIC SB noted with concern ongoing political instability; a lack of progress on key reforms; and continued challenges to the Dayton Peace Agreement. Closure of the OHR will now depend on the achievement of five conditions and two objectives. Key amongst these is the need for a positive assessment by the PIC SB of the political and security situation in BiH, based on full compliance with Dayton.

The international community remains committed to the transfer of authority to the Bosnian authorities as soon as conditions allow.

Constitutional Reform

Bosnian political leaders signed a commitment to pursue constitutional reform in Washington on 21 November 2005. Discussions had been ongoing, facilitated by the international community, with the goal of improving the functionality of BiH institutions. The leaders of the largest political parties agreed to a constitutional reform package on 18 March 2006, which would have established a rotating Presidency with a single President and two Vice Presidents (as opposed to the previous, tripartite structure); built a more effective Parliament and enhanced the protection of human rights. This would have been an important first step for improving the functionality of BiH’s government. However, the agreement was blocked in the BiH House of Representatives on 26 April 2006, largely due to opposition from SBiH and HDZ-1990. Constitutional reform remains crucially important for BiH and progress on this issue will requirement compromise by all political parties.

Military Reform

One of the successes of recent years has been military reform. In 2005 agreement was reached on a package of defence reforms that would establish a NATO compatible single military force. Implementation has been underway since January 2006. The Presidency approved detailed proposals for the new Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 5 July 2006, which enabled BiH to begin the process of forming a single NATO compatible military force.

Taking into account progress made so far, BiH, along with Montenegro and Serbia, was invited to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council on 29 November 2006 at the Riga Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government. The then Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic, signed the Framework Document of the Partnership for Peace at  NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 14 December 2006. PfP is an important step on the path to closer integration with NATO and seeks to promote defence reform, increase stability, diminish threats to peace and build strengthened security relationships between individual Partner countries and NATO.

BiH was granted Intensified Dialogue (ID) at the NATO Summit in Bucharest on 2-4 March 2008. ID is a further step forward towards NATO accession, and the BiH MoD awaits a Membership Action Plan as the next important step in the NATO accession process.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Srebrenica Memorial

On 31 March 2003, the burial of 580 victims of the Srebrenica genocide took place in the purpose-built Potocari Cemetery outside Srebrenica. This was the first stage in the establishment of a larger memorial that aims to provide solace for the victims' families and increase awareness of the terrible events that took place at Srebrenica, in which at least 8,000 people were killed.  In July 2005 the then Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, and other senior figures from the international community and the region, attended commemorations to mark the tenth anniversary of the massacre.  

British experts from the Imperial War Museum worked with NGOs in BiH to develop the memorial at the Potocari site, which was opened on 11 July 2007.  

Refugee Returns

Substantial progress has been made in helping refugees and displaced people to return home. Statistics from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicate that by February 2006 over 1 million refugees and internally displaced persons had returned to their pre-war places of origin. While this is encouraging, around 50,000 refugees from BiH remain in Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, and almost 200,000 are still internally displaced within BiH. Incidents of return-related violence are rare, but do still occur. Returnees continue to face a lack of education facilities, unresolved property issues and poor economic prospects. The failure to bring to justice all war crimes indictees has also reduced confidence in the return process.

War Crimes

During the last two years there has been significant progress in arresting persons indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Zdravko Tolimir was arrested on 31 May 2007 and Vlastimir Djordjevic was arrested on 17 June 2007. On 12 December 2007 Dragomir Milosevic was found guilty by the ICTY of war crimes on counts of murder, terror and inhumane acts; he has been sentenced to 33 years imprisonment. Dragomir Milosevic was the commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps (SRK), which laid siege to Sarajevo for approximately 15 months during the 1992-1995 conflict. The SRK carried out a campaign of shelling and sniping resulting in injury and death to many civilian citizens of Sarajevo.

On 11 June 2008, Serbian authorities arrested Stojan Zupljanin on the outskirts of Belgrade. Zupljanin is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the laws and customs of war and breaches of the Geneva Conventions. He has now been transferred to The Hague, where he awaits trial.

On 21 July 2008, Serbian authorities in Belgrade arrested Radovan Karadzic, the former President of the Republika Srpska. He is charged with genocide; crimes against humanity; violations of the laws or customs of war and grave breaches of the Geneva conventions of 1949. Karadzic was transferred to The Hague on the 29 July 2008 for trial. On the 30 August Karadzic refused to enter a plea, the court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

Further details of the indictments against both Stojan Zupljanin and Radovan Karadzic can be found on the ICTY website: www.un.org/icty.

The continued presence at large of ICTY indictees – most notably the Bosnian Serb Ratko Mladic - represents an obstacle to lasting stability, reconciliation and prosperity in BiH and the wider region.

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Contacts

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, British Embassy

Address:

British Embassy
Tina Ujevica 8: HMA, Chancery, MoD, Political and Press sections
Petrakijina 11: Visa, Consular, Management, Commercial and DFID
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Telephone:

(387) 33 282 200

Fax:

(387 33) (28) 2203 Chancery, Press, MoD
(387 33) (20) 4780 Management /Consular/Visa
(387 33) (28) 2265 Commercial/DfID

Email: mailto:britemba@bih.net.ba

Office hours:

GMT:
Mon-Thurs: 0730-1600
Fri: 0730-1330

Local Time:
Mon-Thurs: 0830-1700
Fri: 0830-1430

Website: http://ukinbih.fco.gov.uk/en/

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Banja Luka, British Embassy Office


Bosnia and Herzegovina