08/30/2000 OHR Sarajevo

Opposition to the Single National Passport Evade Duty

The Office of the High Representative is stunned by the utter irresponsibility displayed by some of the members of the BiH House of Representatives at yesterdays session where the Law on a single passport was tabled for discussion.

After 32 days of summer recess, only 24 out 42 parliamentarians found time to attend yesterday’s session. However, when it came to the moment to vote on the critical issue of the Single National Passport for Bosnia and Herzegovina, that number had dwindled to 21, there was no quorum, and the session wilted like a weed in the summer heat, which Parliamentarians had spent 32 days escaping. As a consequence, the proposed law was never brought to a vote and those unconstuctive and politically opposed to the single passport, for no valid reasons, exited from the session untested.

The net result for the citizens of BiH is yet another delay in this crucial first step in creating a passport system under which all BiH citizens are equal. The existing system is so riddled with abuse and mismanagement that the current BiH passport is internationally discredited. The queues for visas only got longer yesterday. The citizens of BiH should be aware of the way the BiH House of Representatives conducts itself. OHR will continue to watch the actions of this body closely.