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The OHR today received the report and annexes
from the RS’s ‘Palic Commission’ as requested by the HR on January 19. The Human
Rights Commission in their final ruling of16 January 2006 found that the RS
authorities have failed to provide adequate details to establish the facts of
the disappearance of Colonel Avdo Palić after the fall of Žepa.
The report details the fate of Avdo Palic and claims to reveal the location
of his mortal remains. If proved accurate, and this information is yet to be
verified, it would mean the RS is close to full implementation of the
HRC chamber decision of 2001. The High
Representative will grant no new deadlines in this case, the exhumation itself
must take place as soon as ground conditions in the location allow. The High
Representative hopes that this information will, in the long term, provide some
level of comfort to Mrs. Esma Palic.
The RS Government’s report itself will now go to the BiH Prosecutors office.
The OHR will not be revealing or commenting the contents of the report as
criminal investigations in this case are currently underway. All other
institutions should similarly respect this process.
Although the case of Colonel Avdo Palić and the continued denial of the human
rights of his wife Esma Palić seems now to be reaching its conclusion, the
culture of cover-up persists. There are some 16 Human Rights Chamber decisions
relating to missing persons which have been ignored by Governments across BiH,
including the Federation Government, in the
HRC’s ‘Sarajevo Serbs’ case. Despite
indicating a willingness to initiate a mechanism to uncover the truth in that
case, the FBiH Government now seems to be backtracking. This is
unacceptable.
All Human Rights Chamber or Human Rights Commission decisions related to
missing persons must be fully complied with and implemented, irrespective of the
ethnic or religious background of the victims or the families.
The governing institutions of BiH must observe the rule of law, and the
instruction of a court is a part of the rule of law - in the
HRC’s case - the highest authority in BiH on
human rights.
Revealing the fate and whereabouts of loved ones is part of the European
Convention on Human Rights; it applies to every individual in
Europe irrespective of his or her ethnic group or
religious background, and must be complied with.
The lesson learned from the Palic case must be that there is no way around
uncovering the truth. The RS seems finally to have made progress in this case.
The OHR hopes this progress will set a precedent for the implementation of all
the other outstanding Human Rights Commission cases. The High Representative
expects all BiH authorities to follow suit.
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