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Human Rights
The Principal Deputy High Representative, Ambassador Michael Steiner, wrote to RS Prime Minister Klickovic on 24 April to protest judicial proceedings in the cases of seven Bosniac men in Zvornik, calling the trial and the verdicts a "miscarriage of justice" which "laid bare the [RS's] failure to uphold even minimum fair trial standards." The trial, which lasted only two days and heard short (34 minutes in total length) testimonies from just three witnesses - all for the prosecution - had been consistently and vigorously condemned by the OHR, and other international organisations, including the UN, the OSCE, and human rights groups, as a "farce", a "travesty" and one which was "fundamentally flawed". Three of the seven men were each sentenced to 21 years in prison for murder and for illegal weapons possession; the other four were sentenced to one year in prison for illegal weapons possession, but were released the same day in view of the fact that they had already served most of their sentences.
In his letter Ambassador Steiner stated that the defendants had been denied legal counsel of their choice and that the court-appointed RS lawyers had not given their clients effective legal representation. Ambassador Steiner also reminded Klickovic that he had not upheld his assurances that Federation lawyers would be allowed to act as co-counsel in the cases.
The High Representative, Carl Bildt, had also raised this matter with RS President Plavsic earlier in the day, and she agreed that the defendants had been denied the right to counsel of choice, and that this violation must be remedied. In his letter, Ambassador Steiner noted that the flaws in the trial itself were "numerous and profound". He demanded that the defendants be given a fair trial and that on appeal, the Higher Court remand the case based on the gross procedural violations in the Lower Court proceedings, and that the case be retried. "If the RS is not capable of fulfilling the requirements for a fair trial, then the defendants must be released," he said. "Your Government complains that it has been denied a substantial share of the international economic aid given to BiH. You must be aware that the failure of RS to respect basic democratic standards is, and will be, a key obstacle to assistance" concluded Steiner.
The Human Rights Ombudsperson for BiH issued a Special Report on the Mostar incident that occurred on 10 February 1997. The Ombudsperson found that Mostar authorities had violated the European Convention on Human Rights in failing to carry out an impartial and thorough investigation into the shootings and to conduct a proper trial. She also found that the shooting at the procession by members of west Mostar police, resultant death of a Bosniac, wounding of nineteen other Bosniacs, and beating of procession members by west Mostar policemen violated the right to life and the right not to be subjected to inhumane treatment. The Ombudsperson recommended that the Federation Ministers of Interior and Justice carry out an impartial criminal investigation in accordance with international human rights standards.
In a separate report referring to a case in Prnjavor the Ombudsperson concluded that RS authorities had violated the European Convention when on 14 September 1996 an RS policeman arbitrarily detained a Bosniac man and physically and verbally abused him while he was in police custody. She recommended that the RS authorities financially compensate the man and fully investigate the misconduct of the police officer.
Refugee and Humanitarian Affairs
Under the chairmanship of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Mrs. Sadako Ogata, the Humanitarian Issues Working Group of the Peace Implementation Council, (HIWG) met in Geneva on 23 April 1997.
The main document before the delegates was the revised and updated version of the "Working Document on Repatriation and Return: BiH", which had been presented and broadly endorsed a month earlier in the Consultative Meeting on Planning for Repatriation to BiH. It enjoyed wide support during the 40 odd interventions of the delegates this time.
Also warmly welcomed was the Joint Statement made in the Consultative Meeting in Geneva on behalf of the Ministerial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Government of the Federation and that of the Republika Srpska. Many urged the signatories to follow up their commitments with concrete actions.
The first main speaker, High Representative Carl Bildt, gave an overview of the developments concerning the return of refugees and displaced persons and the successes and obstacles encountered. Although the political process is moving forward, the number of steps that remain to be taken remains considerable.
He presented the report of the Return and Reconstruction Task Force (RRTF) to the representatives of the International Community. This report, the product of OHR, UNHCR and other members of the Economic Task Force culminates in 6 recommendations on how to link return and reconstruction most effectively. Unfortunately it had to identify a funding shortfall in housing of +/- $US 300 million. One possible source of funding might be the Social Development Fund of the Council of Europe.
The second main speaker, Ambassador Kai Eide, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, addressed the problems that the continuing existence of three different police forces - in violation of the Dayton Agreement - pose to the free movement of goods and people. He highlighted the close co-operation with and the support from SFOR, UN IPTF enjoys in executing its manifold tasks. He also dealt with the problems regarding de-mining and removal of unexploded ordnance, both major impediments to the return of refugees in many parts of BiH. Here the need for additional funding was underlined, in order to enable the UN Mine Action Centre to continue its work beyond May 1997.
Prior to the HIWG meeting Mrs. Ogata visited BiH, from 14-16 April meeting with numerous BiH and international officials in Sarajevo, Bihac, Gornji Vakuf, and Brcko. At a press conference held at the office of Bill Farrand, Deputy HR for Brcko, Mrs. Ogata said that this was the year of the return of refugees and displaced persons. The main task of the UNHCR at this moment was to help the Supervisor with his job, especially with respect to the return of refugees, she said.
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