OSCE Mission to BiH, Office of High Representative and Council of Europe welcome the adoption of the amendments to the Law on Ombudsman by BiH House of Representatives. The purpose of these amendments is to restructure the Ombudsmen institutions and achieve a coherent, effective and sustainable system of human rights protection for citizens across
The adoption of the Law is a positive step for the country and will establish a process whereby the present structures – encompassing three separate institutions – are merged into a single national body. In order to have state Ombudsman institution in place we urge BiH House of Peoples to complete this process within a reasonable time.
Restructuring of the Ombudsmen Institutions has been a priority within both the European Commission’s Feasibility Study and the Council of Europe’s post-accession commitments and the parties engaged in restructuring now must work towards its full implementation in accordance with BiH’s international commitments.