The Parliamentary Assembly of B&H needs to, as soon as possible, confirm the recommendations given by members of the Commission in order to finally provide the citizens with the Ombudsman for Human Rights, a much needed institution. The election of ombudsman is one of the conditions that were set upon B&H by European institutions; therefore, the election represents one step closer to euro-atlantic integration.
In order to avoid the same problems presented in 2007, the BiH Parliamentary Assembly decided to make the appointment process of the Ombudsmen in 2008 more transparent. Therefore, the Assembly appointed an Ad hoc committee. A number of non-governmental organizations, including the Helsinki Committee, were invited to participate in the work of the Committee, including representatives of OSCE, the Office of the High Representative and the Council of Europe. After interviewing candidates, the Committee has finished its work making the list of successful candidates according to the number of points and forwarded the List to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.
Unfortunately, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly did not respect the list provided by the Ad hoc committee, while the House of Peoples voted in accordance with the Committee`s list. Once again, the BiH Parliamentary Assembly abolished the competition for the appointment of Ombudsmen and is restarting the process from the beginning. Consequently, the trust of citizens in this institution and the rule of law is now seriously endangered.
Documents:
- Press Release
Full press release on the election of B&H ombudsman (in Bosnian).
