BiH Security Sector Without Oversight Since September 2014!

Military, police, and intelligence-security institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina have not been under parliamentary oversight and control for months due to delays in the process of forming government at the entity, or state level, warns the Center for Security Studies, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

- More than two months after the confirmation of the general election results, Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot boast of results in the formation of legislative power, which highlights the inconsistency of democratic norms of the political system in the area of parliamentary oversight. The inability of political leaders to reach an agreement on the formation of cantonal assemblies and create prerequisites for filling the House of Peoples of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina directly paralyzes the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e., the establishment of the House of Peoples, as well as the permanent working bodies of both houses of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.

The prolongation of the formation of legislative power in BiH, and the six permanent joint commissions, as many as operate in both houses of the PA BiH, following a similar scenario from 2010, makes this country less secure, i.e., deprived of the oversight that should ensure that institutions responsible for providing security operate effectively and efficiently within the rule of law. We remind that at that time, the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH was elected more than seven months after the confirmation of the election results, while the formation of commissions, especially the joint ones of both houses of the PA BiH, took several more weeks. It should not be forgotten that some of these commissions, such as the Joint Commission for Defense and Security, exercise oversight and control over 15 defense and security institutions at the state level.

Therefore, we point to the problem that since the end of the mandate of the previous convocation of delegates of the House of Peoples of the PA BiH, we have a situation where no one is overseeing the work of certain institutions and security agencies such as the Ministry of Defense of BiH, the Ministry of Security of BiH, the Intelligence-Security Agency of BiH, the State Investigation and Protection Agency, as well as many other institutions at the state level.

If we add to this that after the establishment of parliamentary oversight mechanisms, almost as a rule, no commission, nor the Parliament, reviews this "empty" period, then the security sector is undoubtedly left to itself. All of this, in a way, places BiH among countries that operate without parliamentary oversight and control of their security sector, and which can be considered only unfinished democracies or emerging democracies.

One of the burning issues related to the lack of parliamentary oversight is directly linked to the international obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Namely, in order to contribute to international peace and security in the world, the first rotation of a infantry unit of the Armed Forces of BiH was sent on a new peace support mission of the coalition forces in Afghanistan on December 26 last year, based on the Decision of the BiH Presidency made three days earlier. Article 6 of the Law on the participation of members of the AF BiH, police officers, civil servants, and other employees in peace support operations and other activities abroad stipulates that if the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH does not confirm the Presidency's decision within 60 days, the decision will be considered rejected and all activities on its implementation will be suspended. Can BiH afford to, due to procedural and irresponsible policies, find itself in a situation where it sets a precedent in fulfilling internationally undertaken obligations? We hope that the competent authorities will not allow such an embarrassment on the international stage.

The issue of the functioning of the state security sector and everything it does must not be neglected in any case, especially the implementation of parliamentary oversight of its work. In this context, we propose that, in order to overcome the existing inconsistencies in this area, decision-makers in BiH find a legal solution in the coming period that will establish the principles of parliamentary oversight and control over security actors, and establish a practice of greater responsibility and transparency in this sector. Therefore, we expect that the observations of the Center for Security Studies will, as soon as possible, encourage a more intensive discussion among responsible parliamentary structures in BiH on this issue.

The importance of parliamentary oversight and control was pointed out many centuries ago by Plato, who in his seminal work "The Republic" posed the question: Who guards the guards?, and in the current situation, the answer to this question would be: NO ONE!