Grant aims to reinforce role of Bosnian ombudsmen

Date: 19/09/1996

By Rory Watson

THE EU is preparing to buttress the activities of a network of local ombudsmen in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a two-year grant of 400,000 ecu.

The financial support, due to be announced soon, will be used to help pay wages and provide badly needed equipment and facilities for the ombudsmen appointed a year ago by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Reports from the ombudsmen in the run-up to last weekend's Bosnian elections highlight the scale of human rights violations still taking place in the federation more than six months after the Dayton Peace Accord was signed.

Their first assessment earlier this year concluded that the federation's constitution was not being implemented by the authorities and that politics still prevailed over the rule of law.

Since then, they note, “there has been no improvement in its civilian implementation, while the human rights situation worsened”.

The ombudsmen point to the increasing difficulties of freedom of movement, conclude that “the police are the greatest violators of human rights”, complain about illegal non-recognition of identification documents and report that in many areas the authorities refuse to evict people illegally occupying apartments or businesses.

The need for EU help for the local ombudsmen from the Phare Democracy Programme was identified by a Union mission to Bosnia in April. It also resulted in a 200,000-ecu emergency aid package to promote social and democratic development in the country, with a further 350,000-ecu programme now making its way through the EU pipeline in Brussels.

Peter Ashman, the director of the Brussels-based European Human Rights Foundation, was one of the team which recommended Democracy Fund aid for Bosnia after visiting the country in April.

“We have received almost 100 applications, which is incredible given the difficulty facing organisations. The combined programmes mean that almost every organisation in Bosnia which prepared a reasonable proposal will be funded to do it. In terms of empowerment this is incredible,” said Ashman.

The range of proposals put to the Union has surprised Democracy Fund administrators.

“I thought we would get a lot of requests to help orphans and war victims. But instead we have received many on civil society and democracy, which just shows that you should not approach such situations with preconceived ideas,” says Ashman.

A number of projects have got off the ground with unusual speed. They include a 10,000-ecu scheme for radio programmes in Tuzla to inform the public about the election rules and to organise question and answer sessions with candidates.

Others focus on computer training, compiling a register of human rights violations, providing essential equipment for a number of non-governmental organisations, public awareness campaigns on the protection of minorities and the concept of federalism, and a civil development programme in the Sarajevo suburbs involving local residents, refugees and returnees.

A new round of Democracy Programme-backed projects in Bosnia is expected to be announced next month alongside a separate package of similarly funded schemes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Phare will be called on to be an integral part of the Union's new strategy of a two-year peace consolidation drive in Bosnia. The Democracy Programme's structures will be used to help Bosnians get accustomed to the new institutions created by Saturday's elections - a national parliament as well as a Muslim-Croat house of representatives and the Bosnian Serb assembly - and to help solidify the new Bosnian three-seat presidency consisting of one Muslim, one Croat and one Serb.

It will be tough going, though. Observers fear that although the three ethnic groups went to the polls together, they have different ambitions for their new nation. Bosnia's Muslims wanted the vote to unify a country that would come under their control, while Serbs and Croats chose leaders who advocate continued partition and independence from Sarajevo.

There is, however, one good sign already, with the news that Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic will meet Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in Paris soon to discuss diplomatic relations and commercial links.

Such ties may help unite Bosnia's ethnic factions and will ease the way for EU efforts in the Balkans.