FBiH House of Peoples Can Show EU
Commitment

OHR welcomes the positive vote for the Agreement on Police Reform in the
Federation House of Representatives yesterday and hope that the FBiH House of
Peoples will tomorrow seize the opportunity to show their commitment to Europe
when they vote on this agreement.

The OHR looks to all parties not to obstruct the passage of this
agreement.

We want to underline that this agreement has been
approved and welcomed by the EC and the US Government. It will open the way for
the launch of
SAA talks, and
put BiH on the road to EU  – a road already taken by

Croatia
and

Serbia
and

Montenegro
and
all other countries in the region.

This agreement does not undermine the rights of any BiH Peoples but it will
lead to a much more effective policing system.

The OHR will be looking to the BiH Ministry of Security to lead the Directors
in planning the implementation of this agreement and all levels of BiH’s
authorities, including the Cantons, will be represented within the Directorate
itself.

This agreement will provide the people of BiH with policing based on the
three principles laid down by the European Commission.

• No political interference with operational policing
  
• All legislative and budgetary competencies for all
  police matters must be vested at the State level.
  
• Functional local police areas must be determined by technical policing
  criteria, where operational command is exercised at the local level.

This means that there will be only one Ministry of Interior at the State
level; no Ministries at lower levels and Police regions will be based on
technical criteria, not on political criteria, which means that in the few areas
necessary, they will cross the IEBL.

The OHR calls on all parliamentarians to endorse this agreement and open the
way for the launch of

SAA talks and for the
establishment of a modern, democratic and efficient single structure of
police in BiH.