Responsibility for success or failure lies with this nation and the representatives it elects

Ambassador Jonathan Moore, Head of the OSCE Mission in BiH, gave an interview to the BiH news agency Patria, in which he discusses, among other things, the BiH Election Law, education, and the non-implementation of Constitutional Court rulings...

PATRIA: You stated that the BiH Election Law is not perfect and has shortcomings. What specifically did you mean, and do you believe these shortcomings call into question the regularity of the electoral processes in BiH?

MOORE: Thank you. This is a very important question. Following the 2010 elections, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights provided several recommendations aimed at improving the electoral process. Some of these have been implemented, such as the issue of voter registration in Brčko District, better promotion of women's participation, and the introduction of deadlines for party financial audits. However, a number of issues remain unresolved. These include the implementation of the Sejdić and Finci ruling, regular revision and amendment of electoral district boundaries and the number of voters per district, as well as the issue of greater transparency in party financing.

The process of amending the Election Law must take place within official institutions, in parliament, and must be an open process that considers the opinions of all involved parties. The OSCE, together with the constitutional-legal committees of both houses of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, the Central Election Commission, and with the support of OSCE and ODIHR experts, organized a series of debates during 2013 and 2014 dedicated to various parts of the Election Law. These debates contributed to the drafting and adoption of amendments to the Election Law that were necessary for holding the 2014 elections. We believe that introducing amendments to this law is of fundamental importance and we are ready to support all activities in this regard.

PATRIA: Around 300 OSCE observers will monitor the October elections. Is this a sufficient number, and what will be their main task? Specifically, if they notice irregularities at the polling stations, is there a mechanism for them to react immediately?

MOORE: The OSCE's responsibilities began in BiH with the first post-Dayton elections in 1996, and next month we will have over 300 observers. In addition to the core ODIHR team of 11 experts and 20 long-term observers, 300 short-term observers will be deployed across the country, as well as over 30 members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The Council of Europe and several embassies in BiH will also be involved in observation. Thousands of domestic, politically unaffiliated observers will be deployed across the country to ensure fair and transparent elections and to reduce any possibility of electoral fraud. It is important to emphasize that the ODIHR Election Observation Mission, which monitors the regularity of elections in BiH, will in no way influence or interfere with the electoral process. Any information about possible irregularities will be thoroughly reviewed and stated in the final ODIHR report.

PATRIA: The issue of education in BiH is a paramount political issue. Children of Bosniak nationality are unequal compared to their peers of Serb nationality when it comes to their mother tongue and national group of subjects. Can the OSCE expand its observation mission, specifically strengthen its mandate, and directly influence the prevention of violations of children's rights to education, and ensure that politicians finally stop misusing children for their own purposes?

MOORE:There are many unresolved issues in the field of education in both the Federation and Republika Srpska. Within the international community, the OSCE plays a leading role in education. Inequality and discrimination affect all constituent peoples, as well as national minorities in BiH. The OSCE Mission continues to actively support dialogue among stakeholders in education regarding the Konjević Polje and Vrbanjci issues, particularly through our field offices in Srebrenica and Banja Luka, in order to find a solution that prioritizes the interests of children. However, in the long term, it is of fundamental importance to overcome temporary measures, such as the Temporary Agreement on Meeting the Special Needs and Rights of Returnee Children, which regulates the issue of the national group of subjects and the issue of "two schools under one roof," which has been in effect for over ten years.

We are firmly convinced that the time has come to introduce permanent solutions that will ensure full equality for all students in all schools in this country. The formation of new authorities after the elections should provide a basis for progress, and we are ready to provide any support needed to advance this issue.

PATRIA: You are a diplomat with many years of experience in BiH. You are familiar with the complete political situation. How can the awareness of local politicians be changed so that they finally understand that, for example, OSCE reports are not just to be read and put aside, but that they need to be implemented? Or, for instance, the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg?

MOORE: Thank you. I am very pleased to be back in BiH. Allow me to start by saying that the BiH authorities have an obligation to strengthen the functionality of the state and the rule of law, and to address issues of discrimination. For example, there are about 80 decisions of constitutional courts in BiH that various levels of government have not implemented. The OSCE has raised this issue in discussions with domestic actors and recently supported a regional conference on this topic, which discussed how this system functions in neighboring countries and how to strengthen cooperation to enable the implementation of these decisions.

The Sejdić and Finci case is just one of several cases before the European Court of Human Rights in which a ruling was made on systemic human rights violations in BiH. Equal attention must be paid to the implementation of these rulings, which requires amendments to laws and structural reforms.

We are here to adhere to standards and apply them while providing assistance to the people of this country and their representatives. These standards relate to a wide range of issues, such as human rights, the rule of law, arms control and management, and, in fact, reflect the commitments this country has undertaken as an OSCE member. The responsibility for success or failure lies with this nation and the representatives it elects. If success is achieved, the people of this country will be credited for it. But if success is not achieved, I think it will be the citizens' task to assess who is responsible for the failure.

PATRIA: Many local analysts say that you, as an American diplomat who knows BiH politics fantastically well, have taken on this role a month before the elections not without reason. They also believe that with your arrival, it is expected that not only the OSCE will increase election monitoring to prevent electoral fraud, but also the US administration and strong EU member states. How do you comment on this?

MOORE: Little is perfect when it comes to politics or diplomacy! I am quite familiar with the situation in BiH, and my previous experiences in BiH and the region greatly facilitate my current work. I am very honored that the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the Secretariat have appointed me as Head of Mission in BiH. In this capacity, I represent the interests of this organization, which comprises 57 member states. I am also very pleased to be able to support the activities of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in election observation.

As I travel through BiH and collaborate with the esteemed OSCE team within our network of field offices, I particularly appreciate the warm welcome I receive from the people I meet and the communities I visit.