OSCE statement issued following meeting with Croatian officials

ZAGREB, 27 October 2000 - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Robert L. Barry, in his capacity as Chairman of the Provisional Election Commission of BiH, met with officials from the Croatian government Friday afternoon to discuss the recent non-paper of the Croatian government regarding the recent PEC decisions related to the election of members to the House of Peoples of the Federation of BiH.

Following is the press statement released by Ambassador Barry following the meeting.

"I came to Zagreb today to discuss certain concerns expressed by the Government of Croatia regarding the Rules and Regulations of the Provisional Election Commission (PEC) governing the 11 November general elections.

"As you know, on 11 October 2000, the Provisional Election Commission adopted the Rules and Regulations that will govern the establishment of the House of Peoples of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decision of the Provisional Election Commission regarding the Federation House of Peoples has been met with concern from some political parties, but has been welcomed by most parties of all ethnic backgrounds as another step towards democracy.

"As we discussed today in our meeting, the Rules and Regulations concerning the election of the delegates to the Federation House of Peoples by the cantonal assemblies are taken from the draft Election Law for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The draft law was prepared last year but the state parliament unfortunately failed to ratify it. The Peace Implementation Council Steering Board requested that the PEC include these reforms, from the draft law, in the Rules and Regulations governing the upcoming November general elections, and the PEC has done so.

"The reforms essentially call for opening up the process within the cantonal assemblies with regard to electing members to serve in the Federation House of Peoples. As I explained today, this move encourages coalition building and consensus, and in no way imperils one or another ethnic group.

"Indeed, it strengthens their positions by ensuring that a more transparent mechanism is created for filling the mandates in this body.

"I also noted in my discussions this afternoon that this solution addresses the problem created specifically with regard to the recent BiH Constitutional Court decision on constituent peoples. As the President of the BiH Constitutional Court, Mr. Kasim Begic commented publicly on 24 October, the decision of the Constitutional Court invalidated the provisions of the Federation Constitution concerning the establishment of the House of Peoples. This has created a vacuum in the manner in which House of Peoples delegates were selected.

"While it was not the intention of the PEC to take over from the entity parliamentary assemblies the responsibility to harmonize the entity constitutions with the Constitutional Court decision, this decision did prompt the necessity for another mechanism for selecting the membership of this particular body."

For further information, please contact Luke Zahner, Spokesperson, OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, ++387/(0)33 292-449 or ++387/(0)66 144-311.

The OSCE established its present Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 1995. In accordance with the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), the OSCE Mission activities are to: promote Democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society, foster the development of professional journalism and monitor the rights of journalists, monitor and advance the Human Rights situation, supervise the conduct of Elections, and encourage Regional Stabilization through arms control and confidence and security-building measures. The OSCE Mission continues to work closely with other international organizations and local institutions to implement the Dayton Peace Accords.