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Set up in 1995,
UNMIBH exercised a wide range of functions
related to the law enforcement activities and
police reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
Mission also coordinated other UN activities in
the country relating to humanitarian relief and
refugees, demining, human rights, elections and
rehabilitation of infrastructure and economic
reconstruction. Following the successful
conclusion of its mandate, UNMIBH was terminated
on 31 December 2002. |
 |
On 21 December 1995,
the Security Council, by its
resolution 1035 (1995) established, for an initial
period of one year, the United Nations International
Police Task Force (IPTF) and a United Nations civilian
office in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was done in
accordance with the Peace Agreement signed by the
leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 14 December 1995. The
operation came to be known as the United Nations Mission
in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH). The Security Council
renewed the mandate of UNMIBH on several occasions.
Following the successful conclusion of its mandate,
UNMIBH was terminated on 31 December 2002, in accordance
with Security Council
resolution 1423 (2002) of 12 July 2002.
In accordance with the
Peace Agreement, IPTF main tasks included:
-
monitoring,
observing and inspecting law enforcement activities
and facilities, including associated judicial
organizations, structures and proceedings;
-
advising law
enforcement personnel and forces;
-
training law
enforcement personnel;
-
facilitating,
within the IPTF mission of assistance, the parties'
law enforcement activities;
-
assessing threats
to public order and advising on the capability of
law enforcement agencies to deal with such threats;
-
advising
government authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina on
the organization of effective civilian law
enforcement agencies;
-
assisting by
accompanying the parties' law enforcement personnel
as they carry out their responsibilities, as the
Task Force deems appropriate.
In addition, the Task
Force was to consider requests from the parties or law
enforcement agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina for
assistance, with priority being given to ensuring the
existence of conditions for free and fair elections.
UNMIBH was headed by
the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and
the Coordinator of United Nations Operations in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, who exercised authority over the IPTF
Police Commissioner and coordinated other United Nations
activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina relating to:
UNMIBH closely worked
with the High
Representative for the Implementation of the Peace
Agreement, appointed by the London Peace
Implementation Conference and approved by the Security
Council, and whose task was to mobilize and coordinate
the activities of organizations and agencies involved in
civilian aspects of the peace settlement in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and monitor the implementation of that
settlement.
UNMIBH also closely
cooperated with the NATO-led multinational
Implementation Force (IFOR), authorized by the Security
Council to help ensure compliance with the military
provisions of the Peace Agreement, and continued such
cooperation with the successor to IFOR - the
multinational Stabilization Force (SFOR).
Additional Tasks
Throughout its
existence, UNMIBH was mandated to perform a number of
additional tasks.
By
resolution 1088 (1996) of 12 December 1996, the
Security Council gave UNMIBH additional responsibilities
relating to the investigation of allegations of human
rights abuses by police officers or other law
enforcement officials of the various authorities of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. This decision was taken in
accordance with the Conclusions of the Peace
Implementation Conference, held in London on 4-5
December 1996.
By
resolution 1103 (1997) of 31 March 1997, the
Security Council endorsed the Secretary-General's
recommendations relating to international policing in
Brcko. This resolution followed the decision of 14
February 1997 by the arbitral tribunal on the disputed
portion of the Inter-Entity Boundary Line in the Brcko
area. The Council decided to increase the strength of
UNMIBH by 186 civilian police personnel, taking into
account the fact that the arbitration award called for
the monitoring, restructuring and retraining of the
police in the Brcko area with an intensity far beyond
that in other parts of the country.
By
resolution 1107 (1997) of 16 May 1997, the Security
Council decided to increase the strength of UNMIBH by
120 civilian police personnel. This decision was based
on the Secretary-General's assessment that in order to
carry out, in a satisfactory manner, the additional and
existing tasks relating to human rights investigation,
monitoring of the local police, strengthening of police
training, police restructuring and the development of
guidelines for democratic principles, IPTF would have to
move from a police force with primarily generalist
functions to one with a substantial number of police
experts in specialized fields. However, it would remain
necessary for IPTF to maintain a sufficient monitoring
presence throughout the country to provide an oversight
of field activities necessary to prevent violations of
international standards of human rights and democratic
policing. It would also be necessary for IPTF to
continue to monitor key locations, the resettlement
areas of the zone of separation and other areas where
substantial tensions still existed.
By
resolution 1144 (1997) of 19 December 1997, the
Security Council decided that UNMIBH, in the framework
of the current mandate, should be entrusted with the
following additional tasks: (a) the creation of
specialized IPTF training units to address key public
security issues, such as refugee returns; organized
crime, drugs, corruption and terrorism; and public
security crisis management (including crowd control); as
well as training in the detection of financial crime and
smuggling; and (b) cooperation with the Council of
Europe and OSCE, under the coordination of the High
Representative, in a programme of judicial and legal
reforms, including assessment and monitoring of the
court system, development and training of legal
professionals and restructuring of institutions within
the judicial system.
By
resolution 1168 (1998) of 21 May 1998, the Security
Council authorized a further increase in the strength of
UNMIBH by 30 civilian police personnel to carry out new
intensive programmes for the local police in a number of
specialized fields.
By
resolution 1184 (1998) of 16 July 1998, the Security
Council approved the establishment by UNMIBH of a
programme to monitor and assess the court system in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of an overall programme
of legal reform under the overall coordination of the
High Representative. This programme became known as the
Judicial System Assessment Program (JSAP).
UNMIBH's Strength
Originally, the
authorized strength of UNMIBH was 1,721 civilian police
and 5 military liaison officers. As a result of the
subsequent Security Council decisions, the authorized
strength of the mission was increased to 2,057 civilian
police personnel and 5 military liaison officers. The
Mission also included international civilian and locally
recruited staff.
Fighting in Bosnia
and Herzegovina came to an end
on 11 October 1995. From that date until 20 December
1995, forces of the
United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) monitored
a ceasefire put in place to allow for peace negotiations
being launched in Dayton, Ohio. On 21 November 1995, in
Dayton, the General Framework Agreement for Peace in
Bosnia and Herzegovina was initialled along with 11
associated annexes (together, the "Peace Agreement"). On
8 and 9 December 1995, the Peace Implementation
Conference met in London, appointing the High
Representative for the Implementation of the Peace
Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 14 December
1995, the Peace Agreement was signed in Paris by the
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of
Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as well as
the other parties thereto.
In signing the
Agreement, the three Balkan States undertook a broad
Commitment to: conduct their relations in accordance
with the United Nations Charter, fully respect the
"sovereign equality of one another", settle disputes by
peaceful means, and "refrain from any action against the
territorial integrity or political independence of
Bosnia and Herzegovina or any other State. The Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
recognized each other as "sovereign, independent States
within their international borders". On behalf of the
Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity within Bosnia
and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
signed those parts of the accords that concerned that
party.
The agreement with its
11 annexes covered a broad range of issues including:
-
military aspects
of the peace settlement;
-
regional
stabilization;
-
delineation of an
Inter-entity Boundary Line between the Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska;
-
holding of
democratic elections;
-
human rights;
-
assistance to
refugees;
-
civilian
implementation of the Peace Agreement;
-
an International
Police Task Force.
The parties agreed to
a ceasefire which had begun in October 1995, withdrawal
of UNPROFOR and deployment of a NATO-led multinational
Implementation Force, to be known as IFOR. All final
decisions concerning military aspects of the
implementation were to be made by the IFOR Commander.
Full cooperation was pledged with "all entities involved
in the implementation plan", including the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) located at The Hague.
The parties requested
designation of a High Representative for the
Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and
Herzegovina, who was to mobilize and coordinate all
civilian activities and be the final authority regarding
civilian implementation of the peace settlement. They
also called for the Security Council to create a United
Nations International Police Task Force to monitor law
enforcement activities and facilities, advise and train
law enforcement personnel, and respond to requests for
assistance.
On 15 December 1995,
the Security Council, by its
1031(1995), endorsed the establishment of a High
Representative to "mobilize and, as appropriate, give
guidance to, and coordinate the activities of the
civilian organizations and agencies" involved with the
civilian aspects of the Peace Agreement. In the same
resolution, the Council welcomed the deployment of IFOR
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and noted the invitation of
the parties for that force to remain for a period of
approximately one year. [In December 1996, the Security
Council authorized Member States to set up a
multinational Stabilization Force (SFOR) to succeed IFOR.]
On 20 December 1995,
IFOR took over from UNPROFOR whose mandate was thus
terminated. On 21 December 1995, the Security Council,
by its
1035 (1995), decided to establish the United Nations
International Police Task Force (IPTF) and a United
Nations civilian office, brought together as the United
Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH).
Following the
successful conclusion of its mandate, UNMIBH was
terminated on 31 December 2002, in accordance with
Security Council
resolution 1423 (2002) of 12 July 2002. The European
Union Police Mission (EUPM) took over from UNMIBH from 1
January 2003.
ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS OF UNMIBH
UNMIBH's mandate was
to contribute to the establishment of the rule of law in
Bosnia and Herzegovina by assisting in reforming and
restructuring the local police, assessing the
functioning of the existing judicial system and
monitoring and auditing the performance of the police
and others involved in the maintenance of law and order.
UNMIBH was headed by
the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG)
and the Coordinator of United Nations Operations in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, who exercised authority over the
IPTF Police Commissioner and coordinated all other
United Nations activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
main components of the Mission were: IPTF; the Criminal
Justice Advisory Unit; the Civil Affairs Unit; the Human
Rights Office; the Public Affairs Office; and the
Administration, including the United Nations Trust
Funds. [From 1998 to 2000, UNMIBH also included the
Judicial System Assessment Programme (JSAP).] The
Mission had a nation-wide presence with regional
headquarters in Banja Luka, Bihac, Doboj, Mostar,
Sarajevo, Tuzla and a district headquarter in Brcko.
International
Police Task Force. IPTF was
involved in changing the primary focus of the local
police from the security of the state to the security of
the individual. The police forces were largely downsized
from their over-represented ethnic groups and war-time
numbers to the cap set by restructuring agreements. IPTF
helped to recreate multi-ethnic police forces to make
sure that they were professional and effective. This
restructuring and reform function expanded beyond the
Ministry of Interior with IPTF being involved in the
establishment and training of Court Police, the State
Border Service and the Bosnia and Herzegovina police
contingent selected for duty in UN peacekeeping missions
outside the former Yugoslavia. IPTF was also closely
involved in the recruitment, selection, training and
deployment of police cadets from under-represented
ethnic and gender groups at the two police academies, as
well as in encouraging the return and transfer of
experienced officers. IPTF was responsible for basic
training courses in human dignity and transitional
training and for advanced training courses for command
and senior officers in both entities of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Under a specific training mandate, IPTF
also provided specialized training in Organized Crime,
Drugs and Crowd Control and Major Incident Management.
In addition, IPTF supported local police through the
co-location of its personnel at the Interior Ministries,
Public Security Centres and Police Stations, and by
providing expert support to investigation of special
cases. Other IPTF tasks included weapons inspections,
prison inspections and monitoring the enforcement of
traffic and crime control.
Human Rights Office.
Under the specific mandate of Security Council
resolution 1088 (1996), the work of UNMIBH included
"investigating or assisting with investigations into
human rights abuses by law enforcement personnel." As
the component tasked with implementing UNMIBH's human
rights mandate, the Human Rights Office's primary
objectives were to: (a) investigate human rights
violations by law enforcement agents; (b) design
remedial measures to correct such violations; and (c)
monitor and ensure the implementation of the corrective
measures. To implement those objectives, the Human
Rights Office carried out investigations into serious
incidents of police misconduct and conducted
comprehensive inspections of law enforcement agencies to
address persistent or endemic institutional
deficiencies. In addition, the Office was tasked with
ensuring that only those local police who met minimum
eligibility requirements exercised police powers in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was done by maintaining a
registry of local police personnel; selecting and
certifying police; conducting background checks on all
police officers; maintaining a database of all law
enforcement agents who acted in non-compliance with IPTF;
and reviewing applications for new recruits,
particularly those of minority ethnicities.
Judicial System
Assessment Program. JSAP was
established in accordance with Security Council
resolution 1184 (1998) of 16 July 1998. The Programme
was mandated to monitor and assess the court system in
Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of an overall programme
of legal reform under the overall coordination of the
High Representative. Teams of international and national
lawyers carried out assessments of the legal
institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and made
recommendations for action. At the end of 2000, this
responsibility was transferred to the Independent
Judicial Commission within the Office of the High
Representative.
Criminal Justice
Advisory Unit. To foster
cooperation between the police and the criminal justice
system, and to retain a support and advisory function,
UNMIBH established the Criminal Justice Advisory Unit.
This unit monitored key court cases, carried out liaison
between police and the judiciary, advised IPTF on legal
procedural matters and trained local police in the
implementation of criminal procedures.
Civil Affairs.
The role of the Civil Affairs Unit was to provide expert
advice and assistance to all UNMIBH units on policy
development, strategic analysis and programme
implementation. In the field, the Civil Affairs
Coordinators were the representatives of the SRSG. The
Civil Affairs officers maintained liaison with local
authorities and international organizations to advance
mandate implementation. They sought to build confidence
between all citizens and to ensure that the strategic
vision, policy and priority guidelines for UNMIBH
components were implemented effectively. At
headquarters, the Civil Affairs was also responsible for
comprehensive reporting and analysis of developments
relevant to the UNMIBH mandate.
Public Affairs
Office. The main function of
the Public Affairs Office was to support the Mission by
the development, management and implementation of a
public information strategy. The Public Affairs Office
was comprised of the Spokesman's Office, Radio,
Television, Public Relations, Media Monitoring and Print
Units.
Administration.
The Administration managed the human resources and
material assets of UNMIBH, the United Nations Mission of
Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP), and United Nations
liaison offices at Belgrade and Zagreb, and provided
logistic, communication, transport and financial
support.
Trust Funds.
Two separate Trust Funds were established by the UN
Secretary-General in March 1994 (Restoration of
Essential Public Services in Sarajevo) and in 1996
(Police Assistance Programme). The Funds helped in the
implementation of several important projects.
Coordination of the
UN System. In his role as
coordinator of the United Nations operations in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, the SRSG focused on programmes which
support the return of refugees and displaced persons;
demining; the promotion of human rights; the welfare of
children; education and culture; elections; and
rehabilitation of infrastructure and economic
reconstruction.
UNMIBH closely worked
with the High
Representative for the Implementation of the Peace
Agreement, appointed by the London Peace
Implementation Conference and approved by the Security
Council, and whose task was to mobilize and coordinate
the activities of organizations and agencies involved in
civilian aspects of the peace settlement in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and monitor the implementation of that
settlement.
OVERVIEW
On 2 December 2002,
the Secretary-General submitted to the Security Council
his
final report (S/2002/1314) on UNMIBH in which he
gave an overview of the activities of the Mission. Below
is the summary of that report.
1996-1999
UNMIBH began its
operations under inauspicious conditions. As a result of
the conflict, over 200,000 people had died, 20,000 were
missing and 1.2 million were internally displaced. The
country was divided along ethnic lines. The fratricidal
war, in which civilians were the principal target and
victims, had left a legacy of hatred and widespread fear
of retribution.
Numbering over 44,000
- three times peacetime strength - the local police
forces were mono-ethnic paramilitary units, organized in
three parallel structures, and entirely unsuited to
civilian law enforcement. Instead of attempting to
provide citizens of minority groups with some sense of
security, police forces continued to discriminate
against, harass and intimidate citizens who were not of
their own ethnicity. Reinforcing the ethnic division,
freedom of movement was non-existent, blocked by police
checkpoints along the Inter-Entity Boundary Line and
between communities in the Federation. Moreover, police
forces were corrupt and politically dominated. Within
this highly volatile setting, UNMIBH focused on civilian
security. The presence and intensive patrolling of
almost 2,000 IPTF monitors made a crucial contribution
to creating a stable environment.
As the immediate
post-conflict crisis began to subside, UNMIBH began
addressing the broader issues of the mandate. Freedom of
movement was significantly improved in 1998 through the
introduction of uniform vehicle licence plates, a joint
initiative by UNMIBH and the Office of the High
Representative. The introduction of IPTF procedures for
selection and recruitment, which included sanctioning
police officers for non-compliance, alongside two major
restructuring agreements (in 1996 for the Federation and
in 1998 for the Republika Srpska), which set targets for
the force numbers and minority representation, laid the
foundations for police reform. Highly qualified
personnel were increasingly deployed and IPTF advisers
placed in the cantonal and entity interior ministries
provided closer monitoring. Recognizing the inextricable
link between policing and an effective judicial system
towards establishing the rule of law, UNMIBH created the
Judicial System Assessment Programme in 1998.
Mandate
implementation: 2000-2002
By 1999, security had
further stabilized and the first significant returns of
displaced persons to their pre-war homes began. The
Mission then concentrated on implementing the
substantive aspects of its mandate. It was evident that
sustainable police reform and restructuring could not be
tackled through training and intensive co-location
alone. A conceptual model constituting the baseline of
concrete police reform and restructuring was drawn up.
This formed the basis of a two-year mandate
implementation plan comprising specific goals, projects,
benchmarks and timelines. Three levels were addressed:
(a) the individual police officer; (b) law enforcement
institutions; and (c) the relationship between the
police and the public. The plan was organized in six
core programmes and its end goals were set out as
follows: certification of individual officers;
accreditation of police administrations; and the
establishment of self-sustaining mechanisms for State
and regional level inter-police force cooperation. The
plan became the primary reference document for the
Mission's activities, both with local interlocutors and
the international community. It brought transparency to
UNMIBH work, engendered ownership, transparency and
accountability amongst law enforcement personnel and
institutions, and provided a clear outline for the
Mission's reporting mechanisms.
Core programme one:
police reform
The main aim of core
programme one: police reform was to ensure that
individual police officers met international standards
of professional and personal integrity to gain the
respect and confidence of the general public. This
required checking wartime backgrounds, professional
performance, legality of housing, verification of
educational credentials, completion of IPTF compulsory
training, proof of citizenship and criminal records. A
comprehensive data bank - the local police registry -
was set up to store full background information on all
law enforcement personnel. Full certification demanded a
three-phase process: (a) registering serving police
officers; (b) initial screening prior to awarding
provisional authorization; and (c) a final in-depth
check leading to full certification. Provisional
authorization was removed from those law enforcement
personnel who failed to comply with these policing
standards. Local internal control units were established
in all police administrations.
Of the 44,000
personnel, including administrative staff, 23,751
officers were registered. Of these, 16,803 were granted
provisional authorization, of whom 15,786 were granted
full certification (8,311 in the Federation, 5,692 in
the Republika Srpska, 263 in Brcko District, 1,351 in
the State Border Service and 169 in the Federation court
police).
The second aim of the
programme was to raise the professional skills of the
police to internationally accepted standards, a task
made more difficult by lack of funding and qualified
instructors. UNMIBH provided over US$ 500,000 from its
Trust Fund for the Police Assistance Programme and
professional police training expertise for two police
academies, which opened in Sarajevo in October 1998 and
Banja Luka in July 1999. In April 2002, permanent
training facilities were opened for officers serving
with the State Border Service. All police officers, new
recruits and returning former officers attended the
Mission's mandatory training courses, which comprised a
week-long human dignity course and a three-week
transition course. Training in specialized areas such as
riot control, traffic policing, firearms and management
significantly expanded basic policing capacity. Aiming
towards self-sustaining police reform, strong emphasis
was placed on "training the trainers".
Core programme two:
police restructuring
Core programme two:
police restructuring sought to ensure that every police
administration had adequate resources, had an efficient
organizational structure, including external and
internal redress mechanisms, was insulated from
political interference and had appropriate multi-ethnic
representation and gender balance. Comprehensive systems
analyses of all law enforcement administrations began in
2002 and a package of reforms and recommendations was
developed in cooperation with local authorities. This
stage was completed in November and local change
management teams in charge of implementing both the
basic and longer-term recommendations were deployed in
all police administrations.
To minimize political
interference in police work, a two-year project was
launched to establish independent police commissioners
at the cantonal level and directors of police at the
entity level. Independent police commissioners were
appointed in all 10 Federation cantons. Directors of
police were put in place in the Republika Srpska and in
the Federation.
The deployment of
minority police officers was one of the Mission's most
labour-intensive tasks. To increase ethnic
representation and address gender balance, four
programmes were implemented: (a) voluntary redeployment
for minority law enforcement personnel; (b) selection of
minority cadets for the two police academies; (c)
refresher training programmes for returning former
police officers; and (d) recruitment campaigns to
encourage female enrolment at the academies. As a
further incentive to returning minority officers, UNMIBH
also provided housing assistance in cooperation with
government ministries and non-governmental
organizations. Seventeen rounds of voluntary
redeployment took place. A total of 935 cadets were
trained through 10 classes at the academies, and at the
time of Mission's withdrawal another four classes
comprising 465 cadets were undergoing selection and
field training. Twelve refresher courses were conducted.
By the end of UNMIBH's mandate all police
administrations had minority representation, averaging
ten per cent throughout the police force. Recruited
female police officers numbered 450 (representing almost
4 per cent of the police force in the Federation and
over 2 per cent in Republika Srpska) and over 170 female
cadets were in training. Brcko District, the State
Border Service and the court police were fully
multi-ethnic.
Core programme
three: police/criminal justice system
Policing is only one
component of the rule of law. If a police force is to be
fully effective, it must operate within a coherent legal
framework, and with an independent and accountable
prosecutorial service and judiciary. The Mission's
two-year Judicial System Assessment Programme
successfully charted core weaknesses in the legal
system. At the end of 2000, this responsibility was
transferred to the Independent Judicial Commission
within the Office of the High Representative. To foster
cooperation between the police and the criminal justice
system, and to retain a support and advisory function,
UNMIBH established the Criminal Justice Advisory Unit.
This unit monitored key court cases, carried out liaison
between police and the judiciary, advised IPTF on legal
procedural matters and trained local police in the
implementation of criminal procedures. Specialized
training courses to improve the quality of police crime
reports was completed in all but one police
administration (Canton 6 - Central Bosnia), where
political obstruction remained. In July 2001, UNMIBH
undertook to establish, train and deploy court police in
both entities. A multi-ethnic court police force was
deployed in the Federation in October 2002, and a
similar force was to commence operations in the
Republika Srpska on 1 January 2003.
Core programme
four: institution building and inter-police force
cooperation
Without effective
State law enforcement institutions and inter-police
cooperation mechanisms, the ability to combat national,
regional and transnational crime is severely limited.
The challenge for UNMIBH was to establish State-level
institutions within a new and complex structure
comprising two entities, 10 cantons and a separate
district. The goal was to establish a State Border
Service across the country's 1,550-kilometre border. By
the end of Mission's mandate, the Service controlled 100
per cent of the land borders and three international
airports. The fourth remaining airport was scheduled to
open shortly. This was an important achievement. The
number of illegal migrants decreased from 25,000 in 2000
to a few hundred in 2002. Effective border control by
the Service generated over $1.2 million for the Treasury
in the first nine months of 2002, of which almost
$900,000 was in seized goods. To increase State-level
central information gathering, analysis and data
distribution, and to handle the physical security of
VIPs and facilities, a law establishing the State
Information and Protection Agency was passed in May
2002. Three directors were appointed to the agency and a
working group was established towards full deployment.
Four separate forums
were set up under the chairmanship of UNMIBH to promote
statewide and regional police cooperation. The
Ministerial Consultative Meeting on Police Matters and
the Joint Task Force were established to encourage
intra-State police cooperation. At the regional level,
the Committee of Ministers, comprising representatives
from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia, and the Regional
Task Force were established. In order to further
strengthen local capacity to combat international crime,
UNMIBH assisted with the establishment of a National
Central Bureau of the International Criminal Police
Organization (Interpol) in Sarajevo. Both the State and
regional level inter-police forums were handed over to
local ownership.
To enhance police
capacity to combat human trafficking, in July 2001
UNMIBH established the Special Trafficking Operations
Programme (S.T.O.P.) for local police, monitored by IPTF
officers. As of 23 November 2002, the Programme had
carried out over 800 raids, identified 240
establishments suspected of activities involving
trafficking, of which 151 were closed, and helped to
repatriate 264 trafficked victims with the support of
the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In
addition to country-wide access to NGO sponsored safe
houses, three safe houses for trafficking victims were
established in coordination with IOM.
Core programme
five: public awareness
To create public trust
and confidence in the police force, a series of national
public awareness campaigns were conducted, emphasizing
the core principles of democratic policing: police
protection, accountability and impartiality.
Police-sponsored community open days, school visits and
demonstrations of law enforcement skills further
increased public confidence.
Additional campaigns
informed the public about the State Border Service and
encouraged the recruitment of ethnic minority and female
police officers. A bi-monthly newspaper on the State
Border Service was published, radio news programming on
UNMIBH activities sent to local stations, and a Mission
web site was set up and updated daily.
Core programme six:
participation in United Nations peacekeeping
UNMIBH considered
Bosnia and Herzegovina's participation in United Nations
peacekeeping operations as beneficial for harmonizing
police and military cooperation in the country. The
mission provided the authorities of Bosnia and
Herzegovina with substantial support and advice on
contribution to these operations. A multi-ethnic
civilian police contingent from Bosnia and Herzegovina
had served in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) since 2000,
first with the United Nations Transitional
Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), then transferring
to the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor
(UNMISET). A multi-ethnic group of United Nations
military observers had been deployed to the United
Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) since
January 2001. In November 2002, a second multi-ethnic
group of military observers was deployed to the United
Nations Organizational Mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (MONUC). A composite unit for
United Nations peacekeeping missions (an integrated 60
person, company-sized logistics light transport company)
was established. A procedure for future contributions
was developed and responsibility was transferred to
local ownership.
Trust funds
Two trust funds
provided essential resources to UNMIBH mandate
implementation. The Trust Fund for the Restoration of
Essential Public Services in and outside Sarajevo, which
had been established in 1994, received contributions
totalling almost $21 million. In addition, interest
income of more than $3 million was utilized to finance
projects. More than 540 projects were implemented in the
fields of public health, shelter, water, energy, public
transport, communications, education and sanitation. The
Trust Fund for the Police Assistance Programme in Bosnia
and Herzegovina received contributions of $16.3 million.
These resources were used to implement core programmes
aimed at assisting the local police and law enforcement
institutions through the provision of uniforms and
equipment, the financing of training courses and the
restoration of police facilities.
Secretary-General's
observations
Concluding his 2
December 2003 final report on the Mission, the
Secretary-General observed that through UNMIBH, the
United Nations had demonstrated its ability to complete
a complex mandate in accordance with a strategic plan
and within a realistic and finite time frame. UNMIBH
completed the most extensive police reform and
restructuring project ever undertaken by the United
Nations. A high standard of security throughout the
country was established. Bosnia and Herzegovina had now
all the mechanisms and institutions to participate fully
in the regional and international fight against
organized crime and terrorism. The State Border Service
dramatically reduced the flow of illegal migrants,
helped deter narcotics and human trafficking and reduce
smuggling. The handover of long-term police monitoring
to EUPM was an excellent example of cooperation and
smooth transition between the United Nations and a
regional organization. Integral to all these
achievements was the innovative mandate implementation
plan, which was being emulated in other United Nations
peacekeeping missions and the Office of the High
Representative.
UNMIBH, the
Secretary-General continued, was entrusted with the
implementation of only one, but crucial aspect of the
Dayton Peace Agreements, that was the reform and
restructuring of law enforcement agencies in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and thus contributing to strengthening the
rule of law. The Mission worked in close cooperation
with other international organizations dealing with
other civilian and military aspects of the Dayton
Agreements, such as the Implementation Force, the
Stabilization Force, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe and the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The
overall coordination of the civilian international
activities was carried out by the Office of the High
Representative under the guidance of the Peace
Implementation Council. The contribution of UNMIBH was
thus a part of a broader effort by the international
community aimed at strengthening the foundations of
peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Secretary-General
said that by improving public security and reforming and
restructuring the police, UNMIBH helped lay the
foundation for post-war recovery and development. The
high standard of returnee security encouraged the return
of over 250,000 refugees to their pre-war homes. Police
reform and restructuring in accordance with
international standards created in Bosnia and
Herzegovina what was termed "a police fit for Europe".
The two trust funds both assisted police reform and
contributed to the country's wider post-conflict
recovery.
Throughout its
mandate, UNMIBH assisted, and was assisted by other
members of the United Nations family: UNHCR, the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the
United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the
United Nations Population Fund and the World Bank. The
Secretary-General said that they would continue to lend
their full support to the recovery and development of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. In close cooperation with UNMIBH,
UNDP embarked in October 2002 on a three-year recovery
programme for the Srebrenica region. The International
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia provided invaluable
support in screening suspected war criminals within the
police force.
The Secretary-General
thanked the Member States and police-contributing
countries for their support of UNMIBH throughout its
mandate. He expressed his deep appreciation to his
Special Representative, Jacques Paul Klein, and the IPTF
Commissioner, Sven Christian Frederiksen, for their
strong leadership. He also paid tribute to their
predecessors, who had laid the basis for the Mission's
success. The Secretary-General offered his sincere
gratitude to all the men and women of UNMIBH for "their
tireless dedication and persistence to the promotion of
peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina".
EUPM
TAKES OVER
The European Union
Police Mission took over from UNMIBH from 1 January 2003
and every effort was made to ensure a seamless
transition. UNMIBH cooperated closely with the EUPM
planning and advance teams. The IPTF Commissioner
continued as the first EUPM Commissioner. To ensure
continuity, 119 IPTF officers were retained in their
positions, many of them in sensitive areas, and
transferred to EUPM on 1 January.
The drawdown of the
IPTF presence was completed at the end of December 2002
and a small liaison office was to remain in Sarajevo
until June 2003 to ensure completion of the transition
and deal with any residual issues that might arise.
Source -
United Nations |
