BOSNIA GETS SINGLE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

UNCLAS SARAJEVO 000769

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR D (SMITH),P (BAME),EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE
(ENGLISH, FOOKS, MITCHELL, SAINZ),NSC FOR BRAUN, OSD FOR
FLORY, USNIC FOR WEBER AND GREGORIAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA GETS SINGLE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION



1. On April 3, Bosnia's state-level Parliament adopted the
law establishing a single Ombudsman institution composed of
three members (a chairman and two deputies). The members will
likely represent BiH's three constituent peoples (Bosniaks,
Serbs and Croats),although theoretically members of national
minorities (Roma, Jewish, Albanian etc.) could be appointed.
The new law abolishes the existing plethora of similar
offices by year's end. According to the new law, the
Ombudsmen will be appointed by Parliament for a six-year
term, with the chairman position rotating every two years.


2. The new Ombudsmen will be selected by an ad hoc commission
within the state Parliament, and both houses will confirm the
apppointment. The law also requires that the existing
Ombudsmen institutions reduce their staff by 30 percent and
field offices by 50 percent. The new institution would then
absorb the remaining staff and assets at the end of the year.

COMMENT


3. After a number of delays, changes, and various political
gambits, BiH will finally have a single Ombudsman
institution. The current state-level Ombudsmen, although not
known for effective human rights advocacy, fought hard but
unsuccessfully to extend their current mandate--despite shaky
credentials. For example, the current Serb member of the
state Ombudsmen, Vitomir Popovic, is now on trial for
racketeering, and served as a Vice Premier in the wartime
goverment of then-RS President Radovan Karadzic. The
streamlining of the Ombudsmen's institution is long overdue;
we hope that Parliamentarians after the October 2006
elections will select people who are not tainted by the past
and who will advocate forcefully for the citizens they
represent.


MCELHANEY