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Weekly Human Rights Update
17 - 23 August 1997
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RIGHT TO RETURN
Returnees' Property Damaged
UN IPTF reported that on 16 August, three
Croat-owned houses in the village of Curcica Lug in the Bugojno (Fed)
area were damaged by explosives and a fourth house was hit by a
rocket-propelled grenade. The owners of the houses were recent
returnees, one of whom was at home at the time of the incidents. A
reconstruction project for returns is currently underway in the village.
The Deputy High Representative Ambassador Wagner visited Bugojno and
the village of Curcica Lug on 19 August and met with the Mayor and
community representatives to discuss the human rights situation and next
steps toward returns. On 14 August, SFOR reported that local police in
Kupres (Fed) forced a group of Bosniak displaced persons (currently
living in Bugojno) to stop conducting repairs to their houses in Kute
and to leave the area. ECMM reported that the Mayor of Kupres had
complained about the presence of Bosniak policemen who have been
providing security to Bosniaks repairing their houses in Kute.
Returns to Jajce Re-Started
On 16 August, 91 Bosniak heads of
household registered for return to the village of Kruscica in Jajce
(Fed) under the terms of an agreement reached on 5 August following
violent incidents during the previous weekend that caused several
hundred Bosniak returnees to flee the area. Some 300 to 400 Bosniak
displaced persons are expected to register to return to the villages of
Lendici, Bucice, Divicani, and Sibenica; two Bosniak returnees were
seriously injured when they stepped on mines in two separate incidents
on 20 August in the village of Divicani. Investigations are underway to
ascertain whether the mines were newly planted or were left-over
ordinance from the war.
Returnee Visits Marred by Assaults, Stonings
On 16 August, two buses
carrying prospective Bosniak returnees to Stolac (Fed) were stoned,
damaging several windows. On the same day, four Bosniaks allegedly
received minor injuries after they were assaulted by a group of Croats
near a river where they were swimming. International agencies have told
the Stolac authorities that the remaining 45 families participating in
the UNHCR pilot project must be allowed to return by the end of
September. Also on 16 August, Bosniak members of the newly formed
cantonal police arrived in Stolac to take up their duties, but due to
"administrative difficulties," were sent back to Mostar. On 19 August,
the Head of OHR South Sir Martin Garrod met with cantonal and municipal
authorities who agreed to conduct an investigation into the incidents
and also reaffirmed their commitment to integrate the police force in
the area. In nearby Capljina (Fed) on 19 August, three Bosniak men
participating in an assessment visit who were boarding the bus back to
Mostar were reportedly accosted by five men who stopped their car next
to the bus. The assailants allegedly punched the three Bosniak men and
unsuccessfully tried to force one of them into their car. A SFOR patrol
in the area intervened and prevented further injury to the Bosniaks, but
the SFOR-escorted bus transporting the visitors back to Mostar was
damaged after it was stoned en route. In other developments, the
Federation Ombudsmen will open offices in Capljina and Travnik next
week.
DPs Support Returns, Rights
On 29 July, displaced persons from Sanski
Most, Banja Luka and other areas in northwest Bosnia met in Banja Luka
(RS) to discuss common concerns. After meeting in closed session, the
group presented their conclusions to the public. Participants agreed
that guarantees for return in Annex 7 of the Peace Agreement should be
upheld without any political restrictions and expressed support for the
work of ICTY, stressing that the arrest and surrender of indicted
persons is a critical prerequisite for full realisation of the Peace
Agreement. The group condemned the tendency to attribute collective
responsibility for crimes committed during the war and advocated the
principle of individual responsibility. On other subjects, the group
advocated for access to mass graves and to possible remaining war-time
detainees, the reform of legislation which prevents returnees from
reclaiming their property, and the facilitation of the return of Serbs
to Croatia (which would open up crucial housing space for minority
returns to northwest Bosnia). The group voiced its strong support for
the "Open Cities" initiative, noting that it could increase
possibilities for return. The group appealed to the international
community to put more pressure on the authorities for the establishment
of inter-entity phone lines, and also decided to form an inter-entity
commission to pressure local authorities on questions related to return
and the rights of displaced persons. A follow-up meeting will take
place in Sanski Most later this month.
INSTITUTIONAL AND POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
Federation Forum Addresses Rule of Law, Returns Issues
On 20 August,
the Federation leadership met at a session of the Federation Forum in
Sarajevo. At the session, participants reconfirmed their commitment to
complete the establishment of the joint police in the Herzegovina
Neretva Canton by 22 August and reconfirmed the 5 August agreement on
the establishment the Central Bosnia Canton police and its full
integration and restructuring by 22 August. All police within the
Federation will be integrated and restructured by 9 September and any
official who obstructs implementation will be held accountable.
Participants welcomed the ongoing process of returns in Central Bosnia
and reaffirmed their commitment to formulate and adopt by 25 August a
program for the return of all refugees and displaced persons in Canton
6. Participants agreed to call on municipal authorities to conduct a
thorough investigation into the events leading up to demonstrations
against returns to Vogosca and to release their findings by 1 September.
The responsible authorities are to prevent future violent
demonstrations from occurring. The Federation Ombudsmen reminded the
Forum of their reports on returns-related issues; participants welcomed
that the Ombudsmen will open their new Travnik office on 25 August.
Federation Forum Sets Basis for Progress on Property Laws
At the
Federation Forum session held on 20 August, Federation leaders made
important progress on the issue of property laws by agreeing to ensure
that the Federation Parliament considers and adopts three draft laws
prepared by the OHR: the Law on the Cessation of the Application of the
Law on Abandoned Apartments; the Law Regulating the Application of the
Law on Temporary Abandoned Real Property Owned by Citizens; and the Law
on Amendments to the Law on Housing Relations. On 10 July, Federation
authorities had stated their commitment to urgent revision of existing
property laws to comply with the Peace Agreement and to eliminate
obstacles to return. At Sintra, the Peace Implementation Council
Steering Board stated that "international support for housing
reconstruction should be conditional upon the fulfilment of these
obligations." On 6 August, President Izetbegovic responded by making a
commitment that property legislation in the Federation will meet these
obligations by 30 September. Federation Forum participants said they
will ensure that local authorities comply with the new laws once they
are adopted and that all returnees are able to return to their pre-war
homes as guaranteed by Annex 7 of the Peace Agreement.
Human Rights, NGO Training Held in Tuzla
On 7 August, OSCE and the
International Human Rights Law Group organised a training session in
Tuzla for local legal professionals on Article 14 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, entitled "How to Prepare a Discrimination
Case." The Tuzla session follows workshops in Sokolac, Foca, Banja Luka
and Mostar. On 25-27 July, the non-governmental organization Human
Rights Office Tuzla, which coordinates a network of 10 NGOs from Mostar,
Zenica, Bihac, Doboj, Jajce, Modrica, Banja Luka and Tuzla via
electronic mail, held a seminar entitled "Network 10." The seminar,
held near Banovici, focused on issues of interest to non-profit
organisations, including drafting project proposals and use of the
electronic mail system. Members of the Anti-war Campaign from Zagreb
and from the New Bosnia Fund in Sarajevo also gave presentations
High Representative Reports on ICTY Issues
In his July report to the
UN Secretary-General covering the period of April to June 1997, the High
Representative reported that the failure of the authorities of Croatia,
FRY and BiH to hand over indicted persons remains a matter of grave
concern. He reported that a number of persons who have been indicted by
ICTY are believed to be working in a public capacity, including in
Prijedor, Samac, Foca and Vitez, and that the responsible authorities
must execute arrest warrants for all indicted persons and surrender them
to the Tribunal. The High Representative noted that at its meeting in
Sintra, the Peace Implementation Council reiterated its expectation that
both Entities fully implement the measures agreed in Rome on 18 February
1996 (the rules of the road, or "RoR") by refraining from arresting or
detaining war crimes suspects except in cases in which the Tribunal has
reviewed the file and found sufficient evidence under international
standards. He reported that the Federation has taken substantial steps
to implement the RoR during 1997, though there are still numerous cases
in which they continue to be violated, notably in Bihac. The High
Representative said that even though there have been few arrests in
violation of the RoR in either Entity in the last six months, "the real
measures of both entities' failure to fully implement the rules lies not
in the number of actual arrests but in the substantial impact the threat
of arrest has on freedom of movement." Local authorities in both
entities have repeatedly referred to "lists of war crimes suspects" to
block return and visits, which are "wholly incompatible with the [RoR]
process," he reported. He has called upon both Entities to release all
persons detained in violation of the RoR and to submit files of all war
crimes suspects to the Hague.
NOTE: The HR Report is based on the most recent information available to the OHR from inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations. Questions on specific items should be directed to the reporting organisation or to the HRCC. Please send information for inclusion in the report to 387-71-447-420, attention Leah Melnick (leah.melnick@ohr.int), Kristina Koch (kristina.koch@ohr.int), or Vladimir Stanisic(vladimir.stanisic@ohr.int).
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