OHR

Police Reform, like Functioning SBS, Means Greater Security for
Citizens

This afternoon the High Representative will attend a ceremony
marking today, June 6, as SBS Day.

The mission of the SBS – which is to secure BiH’s borders and make sure
that citizens have complete freedom of movement – is a challenging
one, and the fact that it has become an effective organisation capable of
fulfilling this mission is something that should reassure citizens.

The SBS is an autonomous governmental organization with a clear command
and control system and with the resources that are necessary to patrol
BiH’s borders. Reaching this stage, as you know, required a huge amount of
– often acrimonious – political debate. Then, as with police reform
now, there were arguments, particularly from the RS, that despite the
obvious benefits to citizens of creating an efficient organisation to protect
their interests, the strategy of solving a state-level problem with a
state-level solution represented some kind of weakening of Entity integrity.

But BiH’s State Border Service is now seen in a positive
context.  It works. It serves citizens. It is tackling the scourge of
criminal networks that engage in trafficking, smuggling, money laundering, tax
evasion and other crimes. And, the RS has not been undermined, as many
politicians once claimed it would be.

Thanks to the SBS, and other agencies such as SIPA, thanks to a fully
computerised system of control and issuance of visas to foreign
citizens, thanks to key reforms in the judicial sector, and the
introduction of secure personnel documentation it is now possible to lobby the
EU for a facilitation of visa requirements, so that it will become
easier for BiH citizens to travel in Europe – something which, as you know, the
High Representative has been doing, and continues to do, in a very vigorous
way.

The result has been that the EU has agreed to treat BiH in the first wave of
States from the region to come up for consideration for
visa liberalization.

The EU’s sensitivity about visas is simple: they want to ensure
that BiH can effectively secure it’s own borders and fight crime across its
entire territory before they will consider dropping their own
safeguards.

In order to win visa facilitation, the BiH authorities must
demonstrate that they are serious about security.

Which brings me to Police Reform. If ever a reform had clear benefits it
is surely this one.  It will reinforce BiH’s ability to fight crime;
this will have an obvious and very large positive impact on everyday life in
this country; it will also send a positive signal about the intentions and the
determination of the authorities.

That is why the decision by RS representatives in the Police Directorate to
withdraw their active participation is so disappointing. This reform will
help fight crime and help bring about visa facilitation – and attempt to
sideline it for the sake of perceived political advantage is simply
irresponsible.

Regional Development Agencies Need Better Cooperation from
Authorities

The High Representative and the Head of the European
Commission’s Delegation, Michael Humphreys, will take part at a roundtable in

Sarajevo

tomorrow with the
directors of BiH’s Regional Development Agencies. The roundtable will be chaired
by Principal Deputy High Representative Larry Butler.

The five RDAs have each drawn up development strategies highlighting the
particular strengths and economic possibilities of their own regions, and each
is actively engaged in business development and investment promotion. While they
have enjoyed some success, much still has to be done in order to transform
regional development into job creation, as has happened in other Transition
economies. The focus of tomorrow’s discussion will be on the experience of the
RDAs – what has worked and what has not worked – and the needs of the RDAs,
particularly with a view to getting better cooperation and working more
productively with the various levels of government.

We will issue a media advisory later today.

High Representative to Remind Politicians of Job Creation
Priority

The High Representative will also be speaking tomorrow at the assembly of the
BiH Foreign Trade Chamber. Among other things he will point out that BiH is
enjoying strong export growth despite the slow pace of progress in
improving the business environment, despiteinadequate administrative
support for exporters and despite a physical and transport
infrastructure desperately in need of upgrade. He will highlight the fact that
the economy is growing at a steady and substantial rate and so are exports –
so imagine what could be achieved, in terms of creating jobs and raising
living standards, if the political authorities were to listen to the people who
run businesses and start enacting and implementing economic reforms with visible
urgency and commitment.

Among the reforms which the High Representative will allude to are
the Law on National Fiscal Council, the Law on Obligations, the Salary
law, the Pharmaceuticals Law and the centralisation of banking supervision, all
of which could be set in place by the end of the summer. This will be done if
politicians care as much about job creation as their constituents do.

OSCE

The Media – Key to Democratic and Transparent Elections

In light of the upcoming general elections in
Bosnia and Herzegovina , the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH,
in cooperation with the OSCE Mission to BiH, is hosting a two-day workshop for
more than 30 journalists across the country and Public Relations Officers from
public institutions. These journalists report regularly from
BiH
State and Entity Parliaments.

In democratic societies, no elections can be run without the media. The media
represents an essential element as it provides information about parties and
candidates and about the election process itself.

Representatives of the BiH Central Election Commission, Communications
Regulatory Agency and the Press Council will present the Election Law and new
amendments related to the Press Code. They will also emphasize the importance of
cooperation between the journalists reporting from different levels of
government. 

Mr. Jan George Frajkor, professor from the

School of

Journalism

,

Carleton

University

in

Canada

, will
also address the participants and share his experiences on the Canadian and
Slovak elections and on press galleries operating within the Parliaments.

EUFOR

The Chairmanship of the EUFOR co-ordination meeting for the disposal of
surplus small arms and ammunition has been transferred to the BiH MOD. The
first meeting under the BiH MOD chair will be held today 6 June
20006.