OHR Press Releases

Sarajevo, 9 November 1998 The Principal Deputy High Representative Jacques Paul Klein expressed his disappointment today on behalf of the International Community that the signing of the Agreement on Special Relations between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia, which was scheduled for today, has been postponed. On S [...]

Sarajevo, 6 November 1998 The High Representative Carlos Westendorp continues to be very concerned about inequities in the laws and administrative practices of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina relating to the rights of refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes.

Sarajevo, 5 November 1998 On Wednesday, November 4, Senior Deputy High Representative Hanns Schumacher and officials from the E.C.-funded Customs and Fiscal Assistance Office (CAFAO) met with Federation Prosecutor Suljo Babic and Republika Srpska Prosecutor Vojislav Dimitrijevic to discuss the recently-discovered customs fraud cases. Last month, th [...]

The Co-chairs of the Sarajevo Education Working Group, Ian Martin, Deputy High Representative for Human Rights, and Gabriele Mazza, Head of the Education Department of the Council of Europe, are deeply concerned about recent press reports on the textbook review that is carried out under the Sarajevo Declaration. In an unprofessional manner and with [...]

Sarajevo, 3 November 1998 The High Representative Carlos Westendorp remains disappointed with the progress achieved in implementing the Sarajevo Declaration. It is clear that the target of 20,000 minority returns to the city will not be met this year. However, while estimates of how many minority returns have taken place vary, it is clear that retu [...]

Sarajevo, 28 October 1998 The High Representative, Carlos Westendorp, welcomes the agreement signed today in Paris between the Paris Club creditor countries and Bosnia and Herzegovina.He considers the agreement an outstanding achievement, which takes into account Bosnia and Herzegovina's specific difficulties as well as the efforts of the country's [...]

Sarajevo, 9 October 1998 The High Representative wishes to remind all individuals holding public office in BiH that they must refrain from publicly taking sides, or inciting the population to take sides, should action be taken by the International Community in the event of further deterioration of the situation in Kosovo. Statements or reactions by [...]

Sarajevo, 8 October 1998 The High Representative has written this morning to Dragan Cavic, Vice-Chairman of the SDS, notifying him of his decision to remove him from office in the newly elected Republika Srpska Assembly, using the authority vested in him by the Bonn Peace Implementation Council.

The Office of the High Representative, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe express serious concerns as to the fairness of the trial and the judgement issued on 6 October 1998 by the Sarajevo Cantonal Court in the case of Ibrahim Djedovic. In spite of partial [...]