2009-2010 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA INCSR REPORT (PART I)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 001241 SIPDIS DEPT FOR INL (LYLE); EUR/SCE (FOOKS) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM BK SUBJECT: 2009-2010 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA INCSR REPORT (PART I) REF: STATE 97228 SARAJEVO 00001241 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (U) Below follows the 2009-2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) Part One for Bosnia-Herzegovina. ¶I. Summary Narcotics control capabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Bosnia") remain in a formative stage and have not kept pace with developments in other areas of law enforcement. Bosnia is still considered primarily a transit country for drug trafficking due to its strategic location along historic Balkan smuggling routes. Weak state institutions, lack of personnel in counternarcotics units, and poor cooperation among the responsible authorities also contribute to Bosnia's vulnerability. The political will to improve narcotics control performance exists in some quarters of the Bosnian government. However, faced with ongoing post-war reconstruction issues, the government has to date focused limited law enforcement resources on investigating and prosecuting war crimes, counterterrorism and combating trafficking in persons and has not developed comprehensive antinarcotics intelligence and enforcement capabilities. Despite some improvement in cooperation among entity and cantonal law enforcement agencies and substantial legal reforms, the current political divisions which hamper reform efforts have contributed to poorly coordinated counternarcotics enforcement efforts. Narcotics trade remains an integral part of the activities of foreign and domestic organized crime figures that operate, according to anecdotal evidence, with the tacit acceptance (and sometimes active collusion) of some corrupt public officials. Border controls have improved, but flaws in the regulatory structure and justice system, lack of coordination among police agencies, and a lack of attention by Bosnia's political leadership mean that measures against narcotics trafficking and related crimes are often substandard. In 2009, Bosnia finally took several steps to fulfill the terms of a 2005 law designed to create a state level coordination body and a strategy to improve BiH's ability to combat trafficking in illegal drugs. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies, often in cooperation with neighboring countries, succeeded in making some substantial heroin-related arrests and seizures. Bosnia is making efforts to forge ties with regional and international law enforcement agencies. Bosnia is party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. II. Status of Country Bosnia is not a significant narcotics producer, consumer, or producer of precursor chemicals. Bosnia does occupy a strategic position along the historic Balkan smuggling route between drug production and processing centers in Southwest Asia and markets in Western Europe. Bosnian authorities at the state, entity, cantonal, and municipal levels have been unable to stem the transit of illegal migrants, black market commodities, and narcotics since the conclusion of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords. Traffickers have capitalized in particular on a developing justice system, public sector corruption, and the lack of specialized equipment and training. Bosnia is increasingly becoming a storehouse for drugs, mainly marijuana and heroin. Traffickers "warehouse" drugs in Bosnia, until they can be shipped out to destinations further along the Balkan Route. One of the main routes for drug trafficking starts in Albania, continues through Montenegro, passes through Bosnia to Croatia and Slovenia and then on to Central Europe. Information on domestic consumption is not systematically gathered, but authorities estimate Bosnia has 120,000 drug addicts. Anecdotal evidence and law enforcement officials indicate that demand for illicit drugs is steadily increasing. The State-level Ministry of Security has created a Counternarcotics Office in its Sector for the Suppression of Serious Crimes. Although this new office has the mandate to collect and disseminate drug related data, its work is hindered by the occasional refusal of local law enforcement agencies to share information with it. III. Country Actions against Drugs in 2009 Policy Initiatives. On November 8, 2005, the Bosnian House of Representatives passed legislation designed to address the problem of narcotics trafficking and abuse. Although there was a delay of three years in implementing this law, in September and October BiH created a state-level counternarcotics coordination body and a commission for the destruction of illegal narcotics. The counternarcotics coordination body adopted a counter-narcotics strategy and action plan; however the by-laws for the commission have not yet been adopted by the Council of Ministers and the Ministry SARAJEVO 00001241 002.2 OF 003 of Finance has not yet allocated operational funds. Bosnia is a state with limited financial resources, but, with USG and EU assistance, it is attempting to build state-level law enforcement institutions to combat narcotics trafficking and organized crime and to achieve compliance with relevant UN conventions. The full deployment of the Border Police (BP) and the establishment of the State Investigative and Protection Agency (SIPA) have improved counternarcotics efforts. Telephone hotlines, local press coverage, and public relations efforts have focused public attention on smuggling and black-marketeering. Law Enforcement Efforts. Law enforcement agencies made some significant drug-related arrests during 2009; however, overall counternarcotics efforts remain inadequate given suspected trafficking levels. Cooperation among law enforcement agencies and prosecutors is primarily informal and ad hoc, and serious legal and bureaucratic obstacles to the effective prosecution of criminals remain. Through September 2009 (latest available statistics),law enforcement agencies in Bosnia-Herzegovina (including the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA),the Border Police, Federation Ministry of Interior, Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior and Brcko District Police) have filed criminal reports against 1029 persons for drug related offenses. These agencies also report having seized 35.27 kg of heroin, 9,37kg of cocaine, 76.11 kg of amphetamines, 150.3 kg of marijuana, 3,118 cannabis plants, 2,639 cannabis seeds, 499 Ecstasy tablets, and 800 grams of hashish. The Border Police (BP),founded in 2000, is responsible for controlling the country's three international airports, as well as Bosnia's 55 international border crossings covering 1,551 kilometers. The BP has been considered one of the better border services in Southeast Europe and is one of the few truly multi-ethnic institutions in Bosnia. However, declining relative wages vis-a-vis other local and entity law enforcement agencies along with harsh working conditions have led to sustained personnel shortages in the BP. There are still a large number of illegal crossing points, including rural roads and river fords, which the BP is unable to patrol. Moreover, many official checkpoints and many crossings remain understaffed. SIPA, once fully operational, is supposed to be a conduit for information and evidence between local and international law enforcement agencies, however, several local law enforcement agencies, including the Republika Srpska police, have at times refused to cooperate with SIPA. Cultivation/Production. Bosnia is not a major narcotics cultivator. Officials believe that domestic cultivation is limited to small-scale marijuana crops grown mostly in southern and eastern Bosnia. Bosnia is not a major synthetics narcotics producer or refiner. Corruption. Bosnia does not have laws that specifically target narcotics-related public sector corruption and has not pursued charges against public officials on narcotics-related offenses. Organized crime, working with a few corrupt government officials according to anecdotal evidence, uses the narcotics trade to generate personal revenue. There is no evidence linking senior government officials to the illicit narcotics trade. As a matter of government policy, Bosnia does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Agreements and Treaties. Bosnia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and is developing bilateral law enforcement ties with neighboring states to combat narcotics trafficking. Bosnia is also a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol; the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances; the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against migrant smuggling, trafficking in persons, and trafficking in illicit firearms, and to the UN Convention against Corruption. A 1902 extradition treaty between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Serbia applies to Bosnia as a successor state. Drug Flow/Transit. While most drugs entering Bosnia are being trafficked to destinations in third countries, indigenous organized crime groups are involved in local distribution to the estimated 120,000 drug users in the country. Major heroin and marijuana shipments are believed to transit Bosnia by several well-established overland routes, often in commercial vehicles. Local officials believe that Western Europe is the primary destination for this traffic. Officials believe that the market for designer drugs, especially Ecstasy, in urban areas is rising rapidly. Law enforcement authorities posit that elements from each ethnic group and all major crime "families" are involved in the narcotics trade, often SARAJEVO 00001241 003.2 OF 003 collaborating across ethnic lines. Sales of narcotics are also considered a significant source of revenue used by organized crime groups to finance both legitimate and illegitimate activities. There is mounting evidence of links and conflict among, Bosnian criminal elements and organized crime operations in Russia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Austria, Germany, and Italy. Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. In Bosnia there are only two methadone therapy centers with a combined capacity to handle about 160 patients. The limited capacity of the country's psychiatric clinics, also charged with treating drug addicts, is problematic, as the number of addicts and drug-related deaths in the country is rising steadily. It is estimated that between 70 to 80 percent of drug addicts who undergo basic medical treatment are recidivists. The Bosnian government currently pays for the basic medical treatment of drug addicts, but there are no known government programs for reintegrating former addicts into society. As part of an overall public campaign to promote a "122 Crime Stoppers" hotline that citizens can use to report crimes in progress, the Federation police included a short video that encourages citizens to report any drug deal they witness. The Citizen's Association for Support and Treatment of Drug Addicted and Recovered Persons (UG PROI in local language) maintains a private facility to help drug addicts near Kakanj. During the year UG PROI presented anti-drug messages to students through a drama program in elementary schools throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. In what has now become an annual event, UG PROI organized in 2009 a race against drugs involving both a fund-raising event and a large anti-drug abuse demonstration in downtown Sarajevo. The NGO "Prijatelji" conducted programs in Bihac to distribute clean needles to drug addicts and to destroy used needles from hospitals and veterinary clinics to prevent them from being utilized by addicts. The group has been hindered in expanding its activities due to a lack of funding sources. IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Policy Initiatives. USG rule of law policy objectives in Bosnia include reforming the criminal justice system, strengthening state-level law enforcement and judicial institutions, improving the rule of law and de-politicizing the police. The USG will continue to work closely with Bosnian authorities and the international community to combat narcotics trafficking and money laundering. Bilateral Cooperation. The USG's bilateral law enforcement assistance program continues to emphasize task force training, improved cooperation between law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, and other measures against organized crime, including narcotics trafficking. The Department of Justice's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) program, funded by the State Department, provided specific counternarcotics training to entity Interior Ministries, SIPA and BP. The USG Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) program provides equipment and training to law enforcement agencies including the BP and the Indirect Taxation Administration (ITA),which has increased their ability to detect and interdict contraband, including narcotics. The Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance Training (OPDAT) program provides training to judges and prosecutors on organized crime-related matters. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) office in Rome maintains liaisons with its counterparts in Bosnian state and entity level law enforcement organizations. The DEA has also sponsored specific narcotic interdiction training in Bosnia. The Road Ahead. Strengthening state-level law enforcement and judicial institutions, promoting the rule of law, combating organized crime and terrorism, and reforming the judiciary and police in Bosnia remain top USG priorities. The USG will continue to focus its bilateral program on these areas and on related subjects such as public sector corruption and border controls. The USG will continue to provide political support to state-level institutions in the face of significant attacks on them by national forces intent on destroying the state. We will encourage Bosnia to proceed with the full implementation of its national counternarcotics strategy. The international community is also working to increase local capacity and to encourage interagency cooperation by mentoring and advising the local law enforcement community. ENGLISH