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Background A major impediment to the establishment of an integrated Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is the absence of a viable national border police. Bosniacs, Croats, and Serbs each control portions of the national border and the revenues, legal and illegal, that these areas generate. As a result, BiH lacks a key characteristic of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and international personality normally associated with sovereign nation-states. Madrid Commitments, Objectives The Peace Implementation Council (PIC), in Bonn (December 1997), Luxembourg (June 1998), and Madrid (December 1998), called on BiH local authorities and OHR and UNMIBH to form a multi-ethnic, state-level State Border Service. The Madrid PIC conclusions declared that an initial contingent of the Border Service be operational at selected major border crossings by 01 October 1999. Dimensions of the Border Service: The project will start with an initial force of 400 officers recruited from the professional trades, universities, and from redundant members of police and military organizations. The force will be civilian in nature, will not conscript its members, and require its officers to end affiliations with entity police and military organizations. Finally, the force will establish an appropriate gender, ethnic, and professional balance, and will be self-regulating through the development of strong internal affairs capability. The Border Service must have adequate representation from the three constituent peoples in BiH. Duties of State Border Service: The Border Service shall perform surveillance on and exercise control over BiH borders; control persons and traffic entering/exiting BiH (immigration and asylum); check vehicles and their registration documents; control objects and documentation for possession of objects; and prevent and investigate border-related crimes, including, the illegal entry/transport of aliens and the illegal possession of narcotics, money, vehicles, weapons. The Border Service shall, in its capacity as a state-level authority on the border, ensure the enforcement of the State Laws relating to the integrity of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, including related customs legislation. Present situation - progress to date On the political front, the Border Service initiative suffered the same fate as other issues stalled before the Common Institutions because of the Serb moratorium. Informally, OHR continued discussions with the Council Co-Chairs and with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communication. These discussions were useful but preliminary in nature. On the technical side, OHR and UNMIBH continued preparations for the Border Service initiative. In an initial review of the draft Law on State Border Service, the German Interior Ministry in Bonn found no major problems. UNMIBH has prepared a draft Book of Rules, developed training curricula, organization charts, and deployment schedules. For OHR email addresses and other contact information, please click the Contacts heading. UNMIBH: Michael Chandler, Civil Affairs Officer OHR: Michael Haner, Political Advisor for Policing and Law Enforcement Funding needs |
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Additional information, Remarks: Salaries and benefits for the State Border Service are the responsibility of the State and therefore provision for salaries and benefits is not included in the proposed budget.
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