Republika Srpska National Assembly demands the abolition of the Institution of High Representative in BiH – Sarajevo Times

The National Assembly of the entity of Republika Srpska today, at its 18th special session, passed the Information on the implementation of Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement and ten conclusions regarding the evaluation of the work of the High Representative, the implementation of Annex 10 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina in connection with the talks on the appointment of a new High Representative in BiH.

Regarding the evaluation of the work of the High Representative, the implementation of Annex 10 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina in connection to the talks on the appointment of a new High Representative, the RSNA stated that, in line with Annex 10 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH, whose signatory is also the RS, only the Contracting Parties have the competence to seek the appointment of a High Representative to assist the sides in their efforts to mobilize and, where necessary, coordinate the activities of organizations and agencies involved in the civilian aspects of the peace solution, by carrying out these tasks.

As stated in the conclusion, numerous High Representatives ruthlessly undermined the rule of law, violating international and domestic law, ignoring the narrowly defined limitations of the mandate given to the High Representative under Annex 10.

The second conclusion states that, by ignoring democratic and constitutional processes, as well as clear conditions of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the High Representative, without any legal authority, imposed numerous pieces of legislation in BiH, as well as 105 amendments to the entity constitutions.

Also, the RSNA states that the obligation of Republika Srpska, as a signatory to Annex 10, to cooperate with the High Representative refers to activities aimed at implementing Annex 10 in compliance with the rule of law, the BiH Constitution, and domestic and international law, which includes: acceptance of restrictions to the mandates defined in Annex 10; accepting the fact that the High Representatives competences refer exclusively to the interpretation of Annex 10; respect for and implementation of the Constitution of BiH, including provisions governing the democratic procedure for the enactment of laws and guarantees for the protection of the human rights of BiH citizens.

It is emphasized in the conclusion that, having in mind significant violations of Annex 10 by the High Representatives, Republika Srpska does not accept the imposition of unlawful executive orders by the High Representative.

Furthermore, it is stated that the RSNA respects any representative of the international community who sincerely wants to help BiH, but due to basic disrespect for the rule of law in the form of violations of Annex 10 by all high representatives, Republika Srpska cannot accept the imposition of any person for the High Representative in BiH.

The conclusions underline once again that the appointment of the High Representative is conditioned by an agreement between the signatory parties to Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

In this regard, the RSNA considers that the previous nominations, appointments and confirmations of the High Representatives had been contrary to Annex 10 and were insufficiently transparent, as the need for consultations and obtaining the consent of the signatory parties, as provided for in Annex 10, had not been taken into account.

This provides a sufficient basis for, as it is stated, the rejection of any appointment of a new High Representative without the procedure provided for in Annex 10.

The RSNA, as the supreme institution in Republika Srpska, a signatory party to Annex 10 of the Agreement on the Implementation of the Civilian Part of the Peace Treaty, will inform the signatory parties of the Annex of these views, in particular with a proposal to abolish the institution of the High Representative andreview the decisions of the past High Representatives that were made by breaching the mandate set out in Annex 10, it is stated in the adopted conclusions.

In addition, the RSNA instructed the Government of the RS to form an international legal team with the aim of filing lawsuits against former High Representatives who violated international law by overstepping their mandate thus violating the Dayton Peace Agreement and its Annex 10.

The RSNA believes that the implementation of the civilian part of the peace agreement has been implemented a long time ago and that the OHRs presence and activities have been a serious burden on BiHs progress for many years and are incompatible with the concept of the BiH Constitution and an obstacle to European integration.

The RSNA claims that after 25 years of peace in BiH, it is high time that the Office of the High Representative be closed and that responsibility for the future and functioning of BiH becomes the exclusive right and competence of the peoples of BiH and their political representatives, without foreign interference or other threats to democratic processes and mechanisms prescribed by the Constitution of BiH.

The Assembly also stated that in the 25 years since the establishment of peace in BiH, there have been no conflicts and they are not possible to happen in the future and that the need for the military part of the mission under Annex 1A of the Dayton Peace Agreement no longer exists, which is confirmed by the fact that from the original 60,000 IFOR soldiers, which changed its name to SFOR, for years, only a limited contingent of the European mission EUFOR with 600 soldiers still remains in BiH.

Also, the RSNA believes that the time has finally come for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its two entities and three constituent peoples, to take responsibility for its own development in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement and international law, which is an integral part of the BiH legal system.

If all of these issues are not placed on the agenda soon, the RSNA believes that the talks on peaceful disintegration should be launched, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, which guarantees every nation the right to self-determination, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. rights, which are an integral part of the Constitution of BiH according to Annex 1 to Annex 4.

The RSNA has instructed the RS Government to form expert teams comprised of domestic and foreign nationals for each area where jurisdiction has been transferred from the entity of Republika Srpska to the state level, in order to study and legally explain the nature of violations of the Dayton Peace Agreement, especially the BiH Constitution, and propose procedures for adoption in the RS a new set of laws and by-laws to re-establish those competencies at the level of Republika Srpska.

The conclusions were proposed by the caucuses of SNSD, DEMOS, SP, NDP-NPS and Ujedinjena Srpska.

The eighteenth, special session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska was held at the request of the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH, Milorad Dodik, stated the RSNA.

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Republika Srpska National Assembly demands the abolition of the Institution of High Representative in BiH - Sarajevo Times