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Background The Madrid Peace Implementation Council expressed deep concern about continuing corruption and diversion of public funds in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council agreed that a key component of the Office of the High Representative’s (OHR) anti-corruption strategy would be to develop a public awareness campaign to educate citizens about the deleterious effects of corruption on their own lives and on society. If the public is apathetic towards corruption and accepts it as an inevitable presence, efforts to combat corruption, establish an independent judiciary and the rule of law will be futile. Madrid Commitments, Objectives The major purposes of the public awareness campaign will be to change the way the citizenry, especially young people, think about their government and its responsibilities to them, and to build support for more open, less corrupt public institutions and intolerance for abuse of public office. A high-level Anti-Corruption/Transparency Conference, co-ordinated with a Council of Europe or UN/CICP Congress on Corruption, will send a message to those involved in corruption, as well as the public in general, that corruption will not be tolerated in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A series of Focus Groups will be held throughout the country to gain information that will be used to fine tune and guide the public awareness program (What effect do people think corruption and fraud have on their own lives? Where do they get information–-friends, newspapers, radio, and TV. Whom do they listen to and respect?) A Steering Board comprised of 12-15 distinguished public personalities will meet once a month to review program development and make suggestions to enhance the anti-corruption program’s overall effectiveness. Members of the Steering Board will also participate in TV interviews and community discussion groups on issues such as transparency in government functions. A Bosnian version of the "60 Minutes" U.S. TV. program will be produced to educate the public about the effects of fraud and corruption and to expose them to new ideas about government. A year-long radio human interest drama (soap opera) will be aired in which the themes of good government, information about new institutions designed to promote transparency and accountability in the public realm, and anti-corruption messages are repeatedly interwoven during the broadcasts. Present situation - progress to date The Anti-corruption strategy will be implemented in 1999 and a crucial component of its strategy is to educate civil society and the public in general of the nature and costs of corruption. There currently is no public education program in this area and the public awareness is low, resulting in a high tolerance of the public for corrupt activities. For OHR email addresses and other contact information, please click the Contacts heading. OHR: Franz Brüner, Head of OHR Anti-Fraud Unit Funding needs |
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Background The establishment of the Rule of Law is essential for building confidence in the government and the democratic system. As part of its efforts to develop a viable, long-term legal framework which will allow officials to effectively combat corruption, the Office of the High Representative will co-ordinate the formation of a working group of prosecutors and judges from both Entities and experts from the Council of Europe to review existing European anti-corruption laws and develop draft laws for the Entitles and the BH level government. This is critical as current laws are totally inadequate and often make it difficult if not impossible to prosecute corruption cases. OHR will also co-ordinate the establishment of working groups to develop the anti-corruption task force concept in which police and prosecutors work together on corruption cases from the initiation of the investigation through the prosecution stage and prepare task force legislation for adoption by each Entity. This concept has proven successful in other European countries and initial discussions with officials of the Ministries of Justice and Interior/Internal Affairs have been positive. Madrid Commitments, Objectives "2.3 We agree a package of measures to: (…) fight against corruption, fraud and fiscal evasion;" The objective is to put in place strong, proven, independent mechanisms within appropriate legal framework to help combat fraud and corruption in government operations. Present situation - progress to date The OHR initiated the preparation phase and is ready to start co-ordinating the program For OHR email addresses and other contact information, please click the Contacts heading. OHR: Franz Brüner, Head of OHR Anti-Fraud Unit Funding needs |
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Background The current Anti Corruption Strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina requires the Anti Fraud Unit (AFU) to take the lead in implementing a three phased training program. Madrid Commitments, Objectives The Anti Fraud Unit (AFU) intends to provide specialized seminars to prosecutors and police in the following areas: Money Laundering; Organized Crime; Bank Fraud; Tax Fraud; Customs Fraud. These seminars will take place in Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla; Banja Luka and Bjeljina. It is the intent to hold a seminar on each topic in both entities for a total of ten seminars this year. At least six regional seminars will be necessary for the proper introduction and implementation of the new anti-fraud and corruption legislation. Present situation - progress to date The initial trip to Germany in support of the Orientation phase took place in 1998 with high ranking members of the Courts, Prosecutors Offices and Police in both entities. The trip was sponsored by OSCE and was designed to expose and familiarize the Officials to the German system of justice and anti corruption program. In particular, the participants viewed the close working relationship between prosecutors and police which was not a traditional concept in the former Yugoslavia. The 2nd will involve specialized training for police and prosecutors on anti fraud and corruption topics. Some training has already been conducted. The Cantonal and Municipal Prosecutors Office received an informal seminar dealing with prosecution of ongoing customs fraud cases. In addition, a manual on how to conduct a Customs Fraud "Missing Traders" investigation was prepared by the AFU and distributed to prosecutors. Phase three of the training program will involve general and specific training regarding proposed anti corruption statutes that should be enacted during 1999. For OHR email addresses and other contact information, please click the Contacts heading. OHR: Franz Brüner, Head of OHR Anti-Fraud Unit Funding needs |
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