Working Group writes to O'Brien: Please pay attention to the behaviour of Christian Schmidt

(Patria) - A group of Bosnians and Herzegovinians and Americans of BiH origin called the “Working Group for BiH”, which gathers BiH and foreign intellectuals and activists, sent a letter to the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien as a reaction to, as they stated, the actions of the High Representative for BiH Christian Schmidt regarding the ruling in the "Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina" case.

-We, the Working Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina, composed of genocide survivors and advocates, formally request that you pay attention to the recent moves of Christian Schmidt, the High Representative in BiH. Schmidt intervened, with the alleged support of the US Ambassador to BiH, in an inappropriate attempt to overturn the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case 'Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina' – state members of this group in the letter addressed to O'Brien.

They note that in the Kovačević case, the Court found that due to a ''combination of territorial and ethnic conditions'', the applicant cannot vote for a candidate of his choice for the BiH Presidency and the BiH House of Peoples. These restrictions constitute ''discriminatory treatment contrary to Article 1, Protocol 12''.

-The Court found that the existing electoral system in BiH strengthens 'ethnic divisions in the country and undermines the democratic system'. The Kovačević case concerns the exercise of the right to vote as a pillar of democracy – state members of the Working Group for BiH, emphasising that the ruling in the Kovačević case is in line with previous findings of the Court "that the Constitution of BiH violated fundamental human rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights".

Members of the Working Group, in the letter seen by Fena, stress that the BiH Constitution grants the right to run for the highest political office in the country exclusively to members of the three constituent peoples - Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. In the Sejdić-Finci v. BiH case, the Court found that denying the right of Roma and Jews to run for these offices was "discriminatory" and constituted a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court reasoned that, although the concept of "constituent peoples" may have seemed necessary to end the brutal conflict marked by genocide, "discrimination based solely on a person's racial origin cannot be objectively justified in today's democratic society".

Similarly, as the Working Group recalls, if someone does not declare themselves as a member of one of the three constituent peoples, they have no right to run for the aforementioned positions.

In the Zornić v. BiH case, the Court also ruled that such ineligibility is discriminatory. The Court, the Working Group emphasises, insisted that "after more than eighteen years from the end of the tragic conflict, there can no longer be any reason for retaining the contested constitutional provisions". The Court expected that democratic agreements would be reached without further delay and insisted that every citizen of BiH has the right to run for the Presidency and the House of Peoples without discrimination based on ethnicity.

-Given the consistent nature of these rulings, we propose that the High Representative, instead of intervening in an attempt to challenge the ruling in the Kovačević case, should implement the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in order to advance human rights, democracy and the rule of law in BiH. Non-implementation of the Court's rulings not only delays necessary democratic and constitutional reforms, but also caters to ethnonationalist interests and strengthens ethnic divisions that could lead to future conflicts – warn members of the Working Group.

They appeal to the United States of America to support the expectations of the European Court of Human Rights that BiH transitions into a democratic society where human rights and the rule of law are respected. Such democratic and constitutional reforms are, as they assess, necessary for BiH's accession to the European Union.

-In this regard, it would be important for the United States of America, as a member of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, as well as other members of the Steering Board, to advise the High Representative to withdraw from participation in the Kovačević v. BiH case – stated the Working Group for BiH.

Kovačević appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, stating that his active voting right was violated because, as someone living in the Federation of BiH entity, he can only vote for a Croat and a Bosniak when electing members of the BiH Presidency.

The Court ruled that the rights of Slaven Kovačević were violated.

BiH submitted a request for review of the ruling to that court on 5 October last year, and the appeal was submitted by the acting agents of BiH before the European Court of Human Rights, Monika Mijić and Jelena Cvijetić. The Grand Chamber of that court will decide on BiH's appeal, after which a final decision will be made.