In the exercise of the powers vested in the High Representative by Article V of Annex 10 (Agreement on Civilian Implementation of the Peace Settlement) to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to which the High Representative is the final authority in theatre regarding interpretation of the said Agreement on the Civilian Implementation of the Peace Settlement; and considering in particular Article II.1.(d) of the last said Agreement, according to the terms of which the High Representative shall “[f]acilitate, as the High Representative judges necessary, the resolution of any difficulties arising in connection with civilian implementation”;

Recalling paragraph XI.2 of the Conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference held in Bonn on 9 and 10 December 1997, in which the Peace Implementation Council welcomed the High Representative’s intention to use his final authority in theatre regarding interpretation of the Agreement on the Civilian Implementation of the Peace Settlement in order to facilitate the resolution of any difficulties as aforesaid “by making binding decisions, as he judges necessary” on certain issues including (under sub-paragraph (c) thereof) measures to ensure the Peace Agreement throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Entities which “may include actions against persons holding public office”;

Noting that in paragraph X.4 of the Annex to the Declaration of the Peace Implementation Council made at Madrid on 16 December 1998 it was stated that the Council acknowledged that leaders whom the High Representative bars from official office "may also be barred from running in elections and from any other elective or appointive public office and from office within political parties until further notice";

Mindful of the fact that the peace implementation process, which continues to be pursued under the aegis of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina , is not yet complete;

Further mindful of the fact that the peace implementation process requires to be completed in order that a stable political and security environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina is established which is conducive, inter alia, to fundamental economic reform and to the return of refugees and displaced persons;

Recalling that under Article II, Paragraph 8 of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, all competent authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are legally obliged to cooperate with and to provide unrestricted access to the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and are further legally obliged, in particular, to comply with orders issued pursuant to Article 29 of the Statute of the Tribunal;

Recalling further all relevant resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations and in particular Resolution 1503 of 28 August 2003 and Resolution 1534 of 26 March 2004 by which the Security Council called upon all States, especially Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on the Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina, to intensify cooperation with and render all necessary assistance to the ICTY, particularly to bring Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, […] and all other indictees to the ICTY;

Noting hat Bosnia and Herzegovina’s failure to meet its international obligations towards the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia increasingly constitutes an obstacle to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s integration into Europe and that such failure is largely attributable to failures on the part of Republika Srpska;

Further noting, by way of illustration, the Istanbul Summit Communiqué issued on 28 June 2004 by which the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council expressed their concern that Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly obstructionist elements in the Republika Srpska entity, has failed to live up to its obligation to cooperate fully with ICTY, including the arrest and transfer to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal of war crimes indictees, a fundamental requirement for the country to join Partnership for Peace;

Recalling that the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, at its meeting held in Sarajevo on 25 June 2004, noted that Republika Srpska has failed to locate or apprehend even one war-crimes indictee in the nine years since the Dayton Accord and emphasized that Republika Srpska, an Entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina guaranteed under Dayton, is failing to carry out a key obligation under Dayton and international law, for which the relevant individuals and institutions must be held accountable;

Noting that as a result of Republika Srpska’s failure to rise to the challenge of helping the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet its international obligations, the High Representative on 1 July 2004 issued Decisions removing several public officials in Republika Srpska;

Welcoming the fact that, since the issuance of said Decisions, Republika Srpska has, through the issuance of its report on the Srebrenica massacre and through the arrest and transfer of certain local war crimes suspects to the competent domestic authorities in BiH, demonstrated some degree of recognition of its role in ensuring that Bosnia and Herzegovina meets its international obligations; 

Regretting that this modicum of progress is not nearly enough;

Convinced that it lies within the capacity of Republika Srpska to increase the momentum in this direction;

Recalling that the Prosecutor of the ICTY has indicated in her address to the United Nations Security Council on 23 November 2004 that nine years after Dayton, the authorities of Republika Srpska have not apprehended a single individual indicted by the ICTY and that this raises fundamental questions about the willingness of RS leaders to match their pledges to cooperate with the ICTY with firm action and confirms the existence of fundamental systemic weaknesses built into the law enforcement and security structures of BiH, and in particular Republika Srpska.

Recalling furtherthat Republika Srpska’s posture to date has led the PIC Steering Board, at its meeting held on 3 December 2004, to repeat its unequivocal position that continued unsatisfactory compliance by the BiH authorities, especially those in Republika Srpska, with the ICTY will bring progress on Euro-Atlantic integration to a halt and to stress that if a small group of individuals continues to hold the people of BiH back from their European future, further steps will be necessary;

Noting the final communiqué of the ministerial meeting of the NATO North Atlantic Council held in Brussels on 9 December 2004 by which the foreign ministers of the NATO member States expressed their concerns regarding the continued failure by those in the Republika Srpska to fulfill its obligations to cooperate fully with the ICTY including under the Dayton/Paris Accords;

Regretting that a number of persons indicted under Article 19 of the Statute of the ICTY have been able, at least prior to the date hereof, to elude just prosecution, and that such elusion of just prosecution cannot have occurred without the assistance of other individuals and entities;

Mindful that the implementation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been obstructed as a result of such assistance;

Ever conscious of the need to balance in due proportion the public good with the rights of individuals;

For the reasons hereinafter set out the High Representative hereby issues the following 

DECISION

To remove Milorad Bilbija from his position of Deputy Head Operative Administration of the Intelligence and Security Agency in Banja Luka and from other public and party positions he currently holds

and to bar him from holding any official, elective or appointive public office and from running in elections and from office within political parties unless or until such time as the High Representative may expressly authorise him so to do or to hold the same. Any entitlement to receive remuneration or any privileges or status arising out of his post(s) ceases forthwith.

This Decision has immediate effect and will not require any further procedural steps.

Milorad Bilbija must vacate his office immediately and is barred from the date hereof from further entering the same.

This Decision shall be published without delay in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska.

REASONS FOR REMOVAL

Bosnia and Herzegovina has singularly failed to discharge its international obligation to bring closure to arguably the most lamentable chapter of its history.  It has failed especially and egregiously in the territory of the Republika Srpska to apprehend and deliver to just prosecution a number of persons indicted under Article 19 of the Statute of the ICTY.

Said failure could not have occurred without the active assistance of individuals and entities, or indeed without the general culture of both overt and secret complicity and of silence prevalent in the one Entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina where such individuals are believed to have found sanctuary, i.e., Republika Srpska.

Despite its constitutionally mandated duty to fully co-operate with ICTY -- which duty was impressed upon Republika Srpska further by the Resolutions of the United Nations Security Council referenced above -- indicted individuals remain at large within Republika Srpska and have been and are presently assisted in evading justice by individuals in positions of authority and by institutions of a state and political character.  That this state of affairs has continued for nine years following the end of the war is a source of deep and abiding concern not only for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina but for the international community as a whole.

It now falls on the international community to redress this intolerable situation by initiating direct and sweeping action against those public office holders of Republika Srpska who obstruct international law in the Entity. By dint of their nefarious conduct or failure to carry out their functional responsibilities while associated in differing capacities with public institutions, these individuals have demonstrated that they are not worthy of entrustment with public responsibility.

Based on the foregoing and upon solid information and belief, it is deemed necessary to remove from public office Milorad Bilbija. Milorad Bilbija holds the office of Deputy Head Operative Administration of the Intelligence and Security Agency in Banja Luka. Milorad Biblija is, whether through his actions or his failures to act an integral part of the common scheme within Republika Srpska to foster a culture of silence and deceit wherein war crime indictees are protected from justice. 

As a constituent of the current political culture within Republika Srpska, Milorad Bilbija is derivatively culpable for contributing to the failure to purge from the political landscape of conditions conducive to the provision of material support and sustenance to individuals indicted under Article 19, as aforesaid.  Such failings are inimical to stability and the rule of law. Milorad Bilbija, therefore, obstructs the process of peace implementation and must be removed from public office. The principles of proper governance and transparency, protection of the integrity and reputation of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina , and active support for the rule of law and for the international obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina -- so essential to the peace implementation process -- mandate this outcome.