BOSNIA - GBIH OPTS FOR UNILATERAL ACTION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 003209 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KJUS EUN BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - GBIH OPTS FOR UNILATERAL ACTION ON DECERTIFIED POLICE ISSUE REF: A. USUN 2168 ¶B. USUN 842 ¶C. 04 USUN 416 Classified By: Ambassador Douglas McElhaney for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NF) Summary: After several years of lobbying the United Nations to revise its stance on police officers decertified by the United Nations International Police Task Force (UNIPTF),the Bosnian Government has opted for unilateral action. Rather than accept a UN proposed compromise to allow the decertified policemen to work in non-executive police jobs and in private security firms, the Bosnian government decided to set up its own council to review the UNIPTF decisions. OHR staff tell us this action violates Bosnia's international obligations to honor its commitments under Annex 11 of the Dayton Peace Accords and several subsequent UN Security Council resolutions. They have also told us that rather than clearly instruct the Bosnian Government to stop this course of action, High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling has chosen to wait in order to see if the Bosnian decision will pressure the UNSC to make further concessions. OHR staff are concerned that the High Rep's approach may constitute a failure to carry out his duties as per Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Accords, and would set a dangerous precedent. We plan to raise the issue at the December 22 Steering Board Ambassadors meeting. We will urge that the High Rep deliver a clear unambiguous message that unless the Council of Ministers reverses course, the High Rep will act to protect the Dayton Accords. End Summary Background on Decertified Police -------------- ¶2. (U) As part of its Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1996-2002, the United Nations International Police Task Force (UNIPTF) conducted a vetting process for police officers. The officers, who met the criteria, were given a UN Certificate. Any police officer that failed the process was decertified and could no longer work for any law enforcement agency in Bosnia. According to UN estimates approximately 16,000 police were certified and 600 decertified. Prior to the expiration of its mandate at the end of 2002, UNIPTF provided decertified police officers with a limited closed session appeal process of their cases. Current figures indicate that approximately 250 decertified police officers wish to challenge the UNIPTF decision. Some have filed claims with Bosnian courts and the Bosnian Human Rights Commission since 2002. However, it was then unclear whether domestic courts could exercise jurisdiction over UNIPTF decisions. ¶3. (U) The absence of an appeal process for the decertified police officers and the difficulties they have had in finding employment has been the subject of many demonstrations and complaints by human rights organizations. In December 2004 Bosnian Prime Minister Adnan Terzic requested assistance from the Council of Europe's advisory body on constitutional matters, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission). In October 2005 the Venice Commission ruled that UNIPTF had failed to provide the relevant police officers with a public, adversarial, impartial, and independent examination of their rights and that the UNIPTF review process was inadequate under provisions of international human rights law. It also concluded that neither the courts in Bosnia nor any other domestic Bosnian authority was competent to review or reverse the IPTF decisions. Recent Developments -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Since his arrival in January, OHR High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling has been a vocal advocate on behalf of the decertified police officers. He raised the issue with the UNSC on April 18 and November 8, 2006 (Refs A and B). In November he also met with UN officials to present a proposal to form a UN authorized Review Body to review those contested UNIPTF decertification cases. In a November 15 letter to Schwarz-Schilling, Jean-Marie Guehenno, Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) rejected this proposal, but said the UN would consider issuing a clarification that the decertified SARAJEVO 00003209 002 OF 003 policemen could work for private security agencies and could hold non-executive (administrative) positions in the police forces. Bosnian Minister for Human Rights Mirsad Kebo along with the Federation and RS associations of decertified police rejected the UN proposal as inadequate. Kebo also announced he would stage a hunger strike as of December 21, if the UN did not create a mechanism for reviewing the decertified police officers' cases. (Note: Kebo has sinced announced that friends and family had persuaded him not to go on hunger strike. End Note). At the same time, a group of decertified police officers staged a two-day protest in front of the offices of the Council of Ministers. OHR inaction in the face of Dayton Violation? -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Dissatisfied with the UN compromise solution, the Bosnian government has threatened to take unilateral action. On December 14 the Council of Ministers (COM) announced it would create its own domestic committee to review the contested cases of UNIPTF decertification. Though the Prime Minister has not yet signed the order creating the Committee, it would impact the approximately 250 decertified police officers who had challenged the IPTF decision in Bosnian courts. On December 15, OHR High Representative Schwarz-Schilling sent a letter to DPKO Undersecretary Guehenno, citing the planned commission, the protests, and the possible hunger strikes, and warned that the situation was getting increasingly difficult to manage. He also proposed a new solution: The UN would lift the employment bans stemming from all IPTF decisions and allow decertified individuals to apply for positions in any law enforcement agency. Decisions about hiring these individuals would be made by Bosnian authorities based on eligibility criteria enshrined in Bosnian law. ¶6. (C) OHR staff tell us that they warned the High Rep that the Council of Minister's December 14 proposal to unilaterally review UNIPTF decisions directly violates Bosnia's international obligations to comply with the terms of Annex 11 of the Dayton Peace Accords and several UN Security Council resolutions (Ref C). At the December 15 Steering Board Ambassadors meeting, Schwarz-Schilling asserted that he has raised these concerns with the Council of Ministers, and on December 19 he sent a letter to Minister Kebo stressing that a solution to the IPTF issue "has to be resolved in keeping with Bosnia and Herzegovina's international obligations." OHR staff tell us the High Rep plans no direct action against the COM decision because he as he sees it as a tool for leveraging additional concessions from the UN. (Note: Indeed, Schwarz-Schilling's message to Kebo was to submit the CoM proposal to the UN. End Note). Several OHR staff expressed concern that High Rep's warnings to the Council of Ministers have been too mild in the face of what they view as a clear threat by the CoM to violate Dayton. OHR staff worry that the HighRep's approach could set a dangerous precedent, particularly with regard to ICTY removals. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C/NF) Schwarz-Schilling arrived in January 2006 already persuaded that the decertified police officers had been wronged by the international community (i.e. the UN and the previous High Rep). While some may well have been treated unfairly, Schwarz-Schilling's decision to make this one of his cause celebre is difficult to justify, given OHR's other responsibilities. It has also had the effect of hardening the positions of the decertified officers and the Bosnian government, making it more difficult for the latter to negotiate an acceptable compromise with the UN. The political pressure generated by the decertified officers is one reason the Bosnian government cites for its rejection of the UN November 15 proposal and it threat to create its own domestic review process. More disconcerting are OHR staff claims that Schwarz-Schilling is unwilling to deliver a strong, clear message -- consistent with his responsibilities under Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Accords -- about the CoM's handling of the IPTF issue. From our perspective, the HighRep has allowed himself to become an advocate for the decertified police officers and a defacto informal advisor to the Bosnian government. By adopting this role on an issue SARAJEVO 00003209 003 OF 003 which would best be worked out directly between the Bosnian government and the UN, he has allowed this issue to distract him from other priorities and his larger responsibilities. We plan to make a forceful intervention at the December 22 meeting of the SBA expressing USG concern about the COM action and the High Rep's handling of it. End Comment MCELHANEY