OHR

High Representative Acts To Ensure SIPA Development

At the request of BiH Prime Minister Adnan Terzic the High Representative,
Paddy Ashdown, today appointed Sredoje Novic as the Director of the State
Investigation and Protection Agency. The High
Representative has issued this Decision following seven months of
uncertainty over this appointment. In appointing Director Novic the High
Representative has appointed the candidate rated as best qualified by the BiH
Council of Ministers’ own Selection Committee.

A functioning SIPA is a key requirement of the BiH Feasibility Study.
Strengthening this institution to ensure the effective fight against organised
crime in BiH would have been all the more difficult as long as the current
uncertainty over the nomination of the Director persisted. The High
Representative has acted today to complete the process as set out in the
BiH Law on Ministerial and Government Appointments.

The Council of Ministers has, for the last month, been unable to come to a
final decision on whom to appoint. In line with the European Union’s clear
requirement that politics should be removed from policing the High
Representative brought to a conclusion the Council of Ministers’ process of
selecting Sredoje Novic, who scored highest among all the candidates in an open
competition undertaken by the Council of Ministers’ election Committee
under the Law on Ministerial and Government Appointments. The High
Representative appointed the most professional candidate.

It is the first duty of any state to ensure the security of its citizens.
SIPA has a State level responsibility to fight organised crime, illegal
immigration, international terrorism, money laundering, serious economic crime,
and to apprehend indicted war criminals. It is too crucial an institution in
BiH’s overall rule of law effort to allow such a vacuum to exist at the highest
level of the Agency.

Stable KM Sustains BiH Economic Growth

The OHR’s Monthly Economic Report is out today. I have brought along copies.
As you know, the idea of the report is to provide a snapshot of the economy by
tracking key indicators. The statistics are for March – the latest available. As
statistics gathering improves, and we hope it will do so soon, it may become
possible to provide more up-to-date figures. The two-month time lag doesn’t send
a particularly strong message to prospective international investors that BiH is
an efficient modern economy.

The figures themselves, however, are more encouraging. The stable KM
continues to underpin a steady improvement in the economy helped along by almost
zero inflation. The two stock exchanges are performing well, a clear and
consistent indicator of investor interest in BiH, which if it is maintained will
translate into new jobs. Finally, exports, which began rising at the beginning
of 2004 have continued to expand.

The bad news is that this isn’t yet having a noticeable impact on living
standards. This only points up the need for BiH politicians to eliminate
unnecessary obstacles to reform so that the solid progress that has been made in
rehabilitating the economy, creating jobs and ending poverty can be
accelerated.

High Representative Welcomes New SDHR

The High Representative today welcomed Ambassador Dr. Martin Ney, who has
taken up his post as Senior Deputy High Representative.

Ambassador Ney’s portfolio as SDHR will include Defence and Intelligence
reform, efforts to strengthen BiH’s institutions and reform the public
administration, media reform and the establishment of a Public Broadcasting
System in line with EU standards, the development of civil society in BiH, and
issues related to children and young people.

I have brought along a press release with further details, including the fact
that during his military service in the mid 1970s, Ambassador Ney was
co-principle flautist in the First German Airforce Band.

OSCE

OSCE/ODIHR publishes two reports on hate crimes and education on the
Holocaust and anti-Semitism

Two reports giving an overview of
education on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism and the prevention of hate crimes
in the OSCE area have been published by the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights.

The papers are an important step towards
the implementation of commitments made by OSCE participating States in late 2003
and 2004 to fight intolerance and discrimination.

The first report,
Combating Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region: An Overview of Statistics, Legislation
and National Initiatives, addresses violent manifestations of racism,
xenophobia, anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination and intolerance.


It highlights key commitments made by OSCE states in 2004, including the
collection of reliable information and statistics on hate crimes and the
provision of such information to the ODIHR.

Attention is drawn to the
fact that while consistent data collection across the OSCE region is essential
to combating hate crimes effectively, there is a substantial lack of information
on hate crimes in many OSCE participating States.

The report also
recommends developing general guidelines for OSCE participating States in order
to increase the consistency and quality of statistics and information on hate
crimes. It stresses the need for strengthened legislation to combat hate crimes
and recommends states to seek the ODIHR’s assistance in the drafting and review
of such legislation.

It recognizes the crucial role of law enforcement
officers as the first respondents to hate crimes and the need to increase their
capacity to identify, investigate and respond effectively to hate-motivated
offences. Data collection templates and training programmes have already been
developed as part of the ODIHR’s Law Enforcement Training Programme for
Combating Hate Crimes.

The report further recommends the establishment
of a task force on Combating Hate Crimes which would bring together experts
dealing with law enforcement, legislation and criminal justice, education and
data collection to ensure that a comprehensive and regional approach for
combating hate crimes is pursued.

The second report, Overview and Analysis of Approaches to Education on the
Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism, provides background on what is already being
done in this field and identifies good practices.

The first part of the
study is based on information provided by national ministries of education,
national delegations of the Task Force for International Cooperation on
Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF), experts, educators, Jewish
communities and NGOs in response to a questionnaire. With a response from 54 out
of the 55 OSCE states, the importance of Holocaust remembrance and education has
been documented clearly across the OSCE region.

The report identifies
gaps and areas where teaching about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism needs to be
strengthened. A main finding suggests that Holocaust education cannot be used,
either preventively or as a corrective, against all contemporary manifestations
of anti-Semitism. Therefore, it is important that the history of the Holocaust
and present-day anti-Semitism are treated as distinct subjects.

The
second part of the report constitutes a first step in this regard: using country
overviews on four OSCE States, it highlights the need to supplement Holocaust
education in response to new forms of anti-Semitism and provides a number of
recommendations.

Both reports will be presented at the 8 and 9 June OSCE
Conference on Anti-Semitism and on Other Forms of Intolerance in Cordoba, Spain,
along with other projects and initiatives undertaken by the ODIHR to support
OSCE States in implementing their OSCE commitments.

EUPM

The European Union Police Mission (EUPM) Commissioner Kevin Carty received
the letter from Dragomir Andan, RS Police Director, dated 4 June 2005. After
having carefully looked at Mr. Andan’s letter, Commissioner Carty is pleased to
note that Director Andan finally acknowledged that he had no intelligence or
evidence to support the claims he made on 10 May 2005, in reference to the
Madrid terrorist bombing. Furthermore, the Commissioner finds it satisfying that
Mr. Andan publicly recognized that his statement was unprofessional and
misleading.

EUFOR

The EUFOR British Contingent are conducting a Charity Marathon Relay Run from
Banja Luka to Sarajevo from Friday, 11^th June through the night to
arrive early on Saturday morning at Sarajevo Hospital at approximately eight
o’clock.  The run is being undertaken to raise a massive 15.000 Euros to
provide an incubator to save critically ill babies.  The money raised will
be donated to Child Advocacy International who will purchase the
incubator.  This paediatric incubator will be used to replace outdated
facilities in Banja Luka Hospital.

When the runners arrive on Saturday morning at eight o’clock they will be
greeted by the United Kingdom military band of The Parachute Regiment.

The Parachute Band are currently on tour in the BiH from 9^th 
until the 11^th  June performing in Mostar and Sarajevo.

This is one of the principal bands in the British Army that performs
throughout the world.  Their job in the army is as bandsmen and women,
however, they also have an operational role to provide medical support in
military operations.

The press are invited to attend this memorable event on Saturday morning at
eight o’clock to witness the runners completing their 210 km Charity Marathon
Relay Run.

NATO

No statement.

RTQs

Journalist: Question for NATO. Do you have any details on visit of Mr.
Burns to Sarajevo these days?

NATO: I can tell you that he will be meeting with General Schook
today. I have no idea time it’s going to be.