The OHR Political Department provides advice to the High Representative on civilian peace implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this role it engages with a wide range of domestic and international interlocutors, including state, entity and intergovernmental institutions, with the aim of promoting the wide range of reforms the OHR works on.
The Political Department serves as a focal point for coordinating international policy making in BiH, as well as for planning and implementation within OHR itself. The department is organised in four sections and includes a number of EUSR staff some of who are double-hatted (i.e. working for both the OHR and the Office of the EUSR).
The Strategy and Planning Section provides background briefings, political analysis and advice on strategic options to the High Representative and his deputies. It also advises on general strategy and policy implementation over a wide range of issues relevant to the OHR mandate.
The Government and Parliamentary Section liaises with BiH's state and entity parliaments and governments, tracking legislation from the executive to the legislative bodies and lobbying on behalf of laws deemed crucial to the country’s transition towards Euro-Atlantic integration. This section also provides political analysis and briefing materials to the High Representative. The section consists of four small units dealing, respectively, with state institutions, Federation of BiH bodies, Republika Srpska institutions and field office coordination.
The International Community Liaison Section prepares, together with OHR departments and other international organisations, the meetings of both the Peace Implementation Council's Steering Board and the Board of Principals (which brings together the heads of the main international agencies in BiH). The section also provides the necessary liaison with these international organisations. In addition, it organises the High Representative/EUSR’s visits abroad and makes arrangements for dignitaries coming to BiH. The section supports the EUSR in the execution of his mandate through political reporting to Brussels and liaising with EUPM, EUFOR, EUMM, the EC and the EU presidency in Sarajevo on all EU-related issues. Finally, the section organises regular EUSR-coordination meetings chaired by the EUSR and attended by the Heads of EU-state missions in BiH.
The POL/MIL Section provides strategic policy advice on security-sector reform to the High Representative and his deputies. The section is responsible for supervising two of OHR’s key projects, defence and intelligence reform, as well as for offering political and practical support in securing their realisation. The section also provides the High Representative/EUSR with political advice and analysis in regard to the coordination and coherence of the EU's security and defence policy in BiH.
