Chairman-in-Office appoints Ombudsmen of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

VIENNA, 4 January 1995 - Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs, Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), appointed the Ombudsmen of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovenia. He announced the appointment on December 30, 1994.

The OSCE is charged under Part IX, Article 9e of the Federation Constitution with the appointment of three Ombudsmen after consultation with the President and Vice President of the Federation. The Ombudsmen are charged to protect human dignity, rights and liberties as provided in the Constitution.

After extensive consultations, the Chairman-in-Office appointed the following candidates:

Mrs. Vera JovanovicNationality: Serbianborn in Sarajevo on January 1, 1947,graduated from University of Sarajevo in 1969,appointed deputy attorney in Sarajevo in 1971,appointed judge of the administrative court in Sarajevo,became judge at the supreme court.

Mr. Esad MuhibicNationality: Bosnian - MuslimBorn in Sarajevo in 1933graduated from Sarajevo Law Faculty and installed himself as one of the few independent lawyers in post-war Yugoslavia. He gained widespread respect in all ethnic groups for gallant defenses against the then communist authorities.appointed deputy minister of justice in 1992. He resigned in March 1993 to allow the nomination of a Croat successor, as the new constitution stipulates that ministers and their deputies should be of different ethnic background.an independent lawyer again, he is mostly concerned with human rights cases.

Mrs. Branka RaguzNationality: Croatborn in Bugojno in 1942graduated from the Sarajevo Law Faculty in 1968appointed judge at the basic court in Bugojno in 1971appointed public prosecuter in 1977,nominated president of the basic court in Bugojno in 1981 (barred from this function for political reasons since 1993)President of the Croat Cultural Association in Bugojno

OSCE Chairman-in-Office Kovacs will formally inagurate the Ombudsmen institution during a visit to Sarajevo scheduled for January 20, 1995.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina has been operating in Sarajevo since 1 November 1994. The Mission was authorized by the OSCE in order to support the work of the three ombudsmen.

There are currently eight Missions of the OSCE working in Latvia, Estonia, Tajikistan, Moldova, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Bosnia Herzegovina. In general, these missions serve as instruments of conflict prevention and crisis management. The Mission in Sarajevo is the first with a specific human rights mandate.