Council of Europe anti-corruption body publishes report for BiH: Border Police and SIPA particularly highlighted

(Patria) - The Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), in a report published today, calls on the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to intensify efforts and overcome political blockades that hinder certain reforms aimed at preventing corruption among persons holding the highest executive functions (members of the Presidency and their heads of office and advisors, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, ministers, deputy ministers and their heads of office and advisors) and members of the Border Police and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).

Noting that there is currently a legal vacuum regarding corruption prevention policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, GRECO calls for the adoption of an operational action plan for corruption prevention based on a risk assessment, specifically targeting persons holding the highest executive functions. In addition, clear guidelines regarding conflicts of interest and other integrity-related issues should be developed in the code of conduct for persons holding the highest executive functions. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption (APIK) should also be provided with adequate financial and human resources to effectively perform its tasks.

Regarding transparency and access to information, an independent review of the legislation governing freedom of information should be carried out to address existing problems such as the lack of response from authorities to information requests. The system for managing conflicts of interest of persons holding the highest executive functions should also be revised and strengthened, particularly by ensuring that declarations of interest are subject to regular substantive checks.

In the same vein, all persons holding the highest executive functions should be subject to the same disclosure requirements, regardless of whether they are elected or not, and all declarations should be systematically and easily publicly disclosed and made available online for transparency and accountability purposes.

With regard to law enforcement, a system of regular anti-corruption action plans should be established, with clear objectives based on identified risks and an external evaluation of their achievement. The existing ethical codes of the Border Police and SIPA should be supplemented with practical guidelines that illustrate all issues and risk areas with concrete examples. Ethics and integrity training for new recruits and official staff should be based on practical guidelines to be adopted for ethical codes and be mandatory for all.

"The existing ethical codes of the Border Police and SIPA need to be supplemented with practical guidelines that will illustrate all issues and risk areas with concrete examples. Ethics and integrity training for new employees and staff should be based on practical guidelines to be adopted for ethical codes and be mandatory for all. Measures should also be taken to further promote a more balanced gender representation in all ranks, to ensure that appointments of senior police officials in the Border Police and SIPA are based on merit and guided by open, standardized and transparent competitions," the Report states.

Integrity checks related to police officers must also be carried out at regular intervals during their careers, and a system for reporting assets should be established.

GRECO also calls for further measures to promote more balanced gender representation in all ranks, to ensure that appointments of senior police officials in the Border Police and SIPA are based on merit and guided by open, standardized and transparent competitions, and to introduce an institutional system for rotating police personnel in risk-prone areas. In addition, a legal provision defining non-compliance with police duties should be adopted, and authorized secondary activities should be properly recorded. Furthermore, rules should be adopted to ensure transparency and limit the risks of conflicts of interest when police officers leave the Border Police and SIPA to work in other sectors. Finally, whistleblower protection should be reviewed and strengthened.

GRECO will assess the implementation of the recommendations addressed to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024 through its compliance procedure.