16/12/2011 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 16.12.2011 - Meeting in Paris on 15 December, the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) reminded Bosnia and Herzegovina that it is time to honour its commitments to the Council of Europe.
On the basis of a report by Jean-Claude Mignon (France, EPP/CD) and Karin Woldseth (Norway, EDG), the committee adopted a draft resolution once again calling upon the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the key political stakeholders to stop obstructionism and work constructively at the level of state institutions. The committee believes that the current situation hampers the completion of much needed reforms in key sectors, such as democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights.
It also called on the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt constitutional amendments without further delay and reiterated that the Sejdić and Finci judgment* was legally binding and must be enforced.
More than 14 months after the October 2010 elections, it also called on all political stakeholders to finally reach an agreement on appointing a professional government at state level.
The draft resolution also stresses the importance of full co-operation by Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Council of Europe and of participation by its representatives in the Council’s various bodies. In this regard, the committee called on the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina to take the necessary measures to nominate candidates for key positions in the Venice Commission, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the bodies of the Framework Convention on National Minorities and others. By 10 February 2012, the Presidency also needs to send a list of candidates for the seat of judge at the European Court of Human Rights.
The report will be debated by PACE on 24 January 2012. It invites the Assembly to consider, if no progress is made on the issues mentioned in this resolution before 15 March 2012, all necessary steps to be taken during the April 2012 part-session, which marks the 10th anniversary of Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the Council of Europe.
*On 22 December 2009, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment in the Sejdić and Finci case, in which it found a violation of Protocol N. 12 (general prohibition of discrimination) and a violation of Article 3 of Protocol 1 in conjunction with Article 14 of the Convention (right to the holding of free elections and prohibition of discrimination in relation with other rights protected by the Convention). Mr Finci (who is Jewish) and Mr Sejdić (who is of Roma origin) both belong to the constitutional category of “others” and, as such, cannot stand for election as President nor as members of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.