11.04.1996 OHR Sarajevo

Joint Civilian Commission Meeting

The Joint Civil Commission Sarajevo met on April 11 to continue its work on peace implementation in Sarajevo. The session was chaired by Deputy High Representative Michael Steiner and included representatives of the Federal and city governments and of Serb citizens of Sarajevo. The meeting began with a review of progress on the decisions taken at past sessions and called for further efforts to complete implementation of the decisions of the March 16 JCCS in the areas of property and Freedom of Movement. The April 11 meeting also reached the following decisions:

City Organisation

The participants agreed to work toward a model for the future organisation of Sarajevo as the capital of both Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the Federation that takes into account the interests of Bosniacs, Croats, Serbs, and Others. Further discussions on this subject will include all peoples of Sarajevo.

Professional Workers

Persons employed in professional jobs before the war have the right to return to their former workplaces without any reapplication procedure. They are already qualified. They may be required to submit a registration signaling that they intend to return to their jobs, but upon doing so, they must be re-employed.

Persons hired during the war can be asked to re-apply. Any such process must be carried out without discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, and the principle of employment reflecting the ethnic composition of each area should be maintained.

In cases where workplaces no longer exist, former employees should be placed on a waiting list until jobs are available. Persons placed on such a list will not lose seniority or pension status.

Education

Schools in the Sarajevo area will be part of an integrated Federation education system. Curricula will be established in accordance with human rights standards and obligations under the Rome Statement.

Children in the suburbs recently transferred to Federation control will be allowed to complete the school year program which they have begun with the teachers who have been teaching them. Beginning in September, they will merge into the Federation school system.

For the remainder of the current school year, Federation school authorities can request, through the ombudsman’s office, deletion of specific material in the Serb curriculum offensive to non-Serbs.

Property

JCCS parties will work for immediate compliance with the measures agreed in Geneva, including a six month waiting period before socially owned apartments are declared abandoned.

Any “temporary” use of vacant property should be clearly defined as such for a designated time period.

Public Records

All persons should have access to such public records as property registers and social security records.

All authorities should make available such records as are in its possession to the other upon request.

In cases where records were damaged or destroyed during the war, the central computer files will be considered official up to the beginning of the war.

Provisional decisions on property rights may be made on the basis of currently available data, with a six month period to provide additional documentation.

Freedom of Movement

All persons can drive freely in Sarajevo, provided they have valid title of ownership and a driver’s license. Car owners in the areas transferred to the Federation have three months to change their registrations.

The Federation will facilitate re-registration of vehicles and drivers.