Powers Gather to Discuss Bosnia Engagement

OHR

The two-day meeting of the Peace Implementation Council, PIC, - a group of 55 countries and international organisations that sponsor and direct the peace implementation process in Bosnia – follows weeks of intense diplomatic efforts to persuade the local leaders to accept a reform proposal put forward by the EU and US.

 The PIC is expected to discuss the fate of the powerful international envoy’s office in Bosnia, but a decision on its closure appears to be highly unlikely given the seemingly irreconcilable views between Bosnia's Croat, Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and Serb ethnic communities.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Tuesday in Brussels that the PIC is unlikely to decide to close the Office of the High Representative, OHR, and described the Balkan country as a “political risk”, local media reported.

Bosnian Serbs have recently also stepped up their opposition to the OHR’s continued presence in Bosnia accusing the top international envoy, currently Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko, of abusing his powers.

The OHR, which was created under the 1995 Dayton peace agreement for Bosnia, has wide powers to make and shape the country’s laws and to remove obstructive officials.

Under the agreement, Bosnia was split into two highly independent parts – the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) federation, each with its own government, parliament and president. The two are linked by week central institutions whose strengthening continues to be obstructed by Bosnian Serbs.

Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik reiterated his views ahead of the PIC meeting, where representatives will also hear addresses by the country's ethnic leaders.

"The OHR is a cheerleading group led by the High Representative which fulfills the wishes of Bosniak leaders," Dodik told journalists on Tuesday adding that the PIC has “lost all legitimacy".

Dodik said that his government has informed the UN Security Council of its objections, including that the OHR and its “illegitimate“ activities are holding Bosnia back from making any progress.

However, the Serb’s position is in sharp contrast with that of Bosnia’s Muslim and Croat communities who want the OHR to stay until an agreement is reached on how to revamp Bosnia’s constitution and make the country more functional.

Over the past week, representatives of the three communities have been engaged in intense negotiations with Western technical experts who hope to win their acceptance of a reform package proposed in October by the EU and US.

Local leaders rejected the package after a series of meetings with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg in Sarajevo in October, with Serbs describing it as too demanding and Bosniaks and Croats as insufficient.

However, the West hopes that the local leaders could be persuaded to reverse their positions through ongoing negotiations at the level of technical experts.

“Despite having to deal with such urgent international issues like Iraq, Afghanistan, and the global economic crisis...we, and our European colleagues, have thrown ourselves entirely into this current reform process,“ US ambassador to Bosnia Charles English said on Tuesday.

However, English warned that the high-level international attention could not be sustained over the long haul.

“We therefore believe that now is the time for Bosnia and Herzegovina to seize the opportunity to make progress towards a European and Euro-Atlantic future… but our vision is slowly being dimmed by the growing possibility that our proposal will not be accepted," he said.  

In its report ahead of the PIC meeting, the International Crisis Group think-tank warned the international community that they should not be delaying decisions on a new kind of engagement in Bosnia.

“This is a sensitive and potentially dangerous moment, and much could go wrong," ICG said in its report.

“If the PIC continues the OHR’s mandate past the early months of 2010 but does not substantially reinforce it, Bosnia will be faced with a confrontation between Republika Srpska and the OHR from which no one will emerge undamaged," it added.

The OHR was due to be phased out in 2007 and replaced with the office of the European Union Special Representatives who would not have executive powers.

However, its mandate was extended because of political instability and the failure of Bosnian politicians to agree on necessary reforms.

ICG warned that abandoning Bosnia would be a costly mistake. However, they said that the preferable solution for Bosnia was to announce that the transition to a reinforced EUSR will start on 1 January 2010.

During the transition, the High Representative should work with Bosnian leaders to resolve remaining objectives identified by the PIC, if necessary using his executive powers.