Breaking the vicious circle
Srebrenica – the most terrible killing field in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Visitors to the town often remark that, by some climatic fluke, the place seems beset by either a suffocating heat or eerie chill. Srebrenica – it’s either fire or ice.
Early last July, I was standing in the scorching sun in the large graveyard at the Srebrenica memorial site. Over 30,000 grieving women and men had gathered. They had all arrived for this day, some from far abroad, some from nearby towns. They had converged to remember those relatives and friends – over 8,000 men and boys -- who never made it out of the town in 1995. For Srebrenica, July is the season for the annual commemoration of the genocide, for the remembrance of those who perished, and for the burial of remains.
The moment swept me back to my time in Sarajevo during those fateful days in July 1995, when I was serving at the U.S. Embassy at the very time of the murderous assault on Srebrenica. Now, with the OSCE, my task was to help people both remember the past and reimagine the future.
Tension was even higher than usual last summer in Srebrenica because of the run-up to the municipal elections slated for the fall. For the first time since the war, a Bosniak candidate could wield no special legal claim on the mayoral position. Bosniaks and Serbs would have to compete at the ballot box.
The OSCE Field Office in Srebrenica became our operational hub. We moved its facilities to the heart of the town, a more central location to forge strong ties with all those involved in the election campaign, from individual candidates to activist groups to municipal authorities. We then opened lines of communication among these local players, as well as a reporting line to international actors. As a result, OSCE helped defuse tension and improve understanding. The work culminated months later in a multi-ethnic municipal administration.
How does one break the vicious circle of hate and recrimination after a conflict?
The question remains a crucial one for Bosnia and Herzegovina – and for the OSCE Mission, which was established shortly after the conflict ended 18 years ago. A central strand of continuity in the Mission’s work has been the belief that reconciliation is central to breaking the cycle of violence and to fostering sustainable peace.
How do we promote reconciliation?
One way is to intervene directly when tensions arise, as we did in Srebrenica. We have recently begun placing more emphasis on negotiation and mediation. The impetus was given by a Ministerial Council decision taken in 2011 to strengthen the OSCE’s capabilities in early warning, early action, dialogue facilitation, mediation support and post-conflict rehabilitation. When we acted last summer, we were applying a methodology of conflict analysis that we developed in pilot projects in Srebrenica and two other centers, Brčko and Mostar, both potential flashpoints in the country.
Perhaps even more important is the work we have been doing over the years to strengthen the country’s “civic architecture,” working in the courtroom, the classroom and the committee room. Well-established democratic institutions are essential for reconciliation to take hold; so, too, is a vibrant civil society that makes use of those institutions.
The Courtroom
The courtroom is at the heart of the Mission’s efforts to address war crimes and hate crimes. We monitor trials throughout the country to assess compliance with domestic legislation and international obligations. Establishing the facts about crimes that were committed during the war and bringing perpetrators to justice enable victims to deal with the past and prevents a recurrence of violence. We support Bosnia and Herzegovina in implementing its National War Crimes Strategy. We provide assistance to jurisdictions at all levels, including a major initiative aimed at increasing the capacity to process war crimes cases through a multi-donor project that will transition into an EU-funded effort in mid-2014.
As long as the dissemination of inter-ethnic hatred is tolerated, the wounds inflicted by past conflict will remain open. Recently, we carried out a study to determine how we could best assist with the identification, reporting and prosecution of hate crimes. Our report emphasized the importance of civil society and civic leaders in creating an environment where hate crimes are not tolerated.
The Classroom
The classroom is the place where values and attitudes that promote tolerance and trust can be developed. The Mission is implementing the Index for Inclusion to bring teachers, parents and community leaders together to develop plans for creating inclusive and integrated schools.
Further, thanks to the Mission’s efforts, almost thirty history textbooks have been revised to remove instances of hate speech and an exclusive ethnic narrative, and almost 100 history teachers have been trained.
The Committee-room
There are 14 parliaments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a reflection of the institutional layering of the country with one state, two entities, ten cantons, and the Brcko District. These institutions are highly visible. They deal with important issues. They represent citizens. Parliaments set the institutional framework for reconciliation. Effective parliaments, whose members prioritize the public interest over political or ethnic concerns, can set a positive example. They can provide a platform for resolving contentious issues.
The Mission’s approach to strengthening parliamentary democracy is exemplified by our work to develop parliamentary committees responsible for democratic oversight of the defense and security sectors. The establishment of stronger oversight in these areas contributes to the reconciliation process by transforming former instruments of repression or indifference into instruments of public service.
Building a bigger box
The 2012 award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union symbolizes the importance of the international dimension in fostering reconciliation. This award has a special resonance for our work in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where various international organizations have reshaped themselves to give primacy to the European Union. The EU integration has come to the fore. Its importance is fundamental because it defines a future for the country that enjoys broad consensus. Integration at the international level can help to build bridges at the local level.
Our Mission supports the accession process. For instance, we helped shape the Structured Dialogue on Justice between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union. We drew on our long experience in monitoring trials in the country to propose ways to align the country’s judicial system with EU requirements.
Other international integration processes are also important for overcoming the painful legacy of war. Fourteen thousand refugees and internally displaced persons from Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to resume normal lives under the Regional Housing Programme, made possible by co-operation among the governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Our Mission is working with other OSCE field operations, the EU, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the U.S. government to co-ordinate and fund this huge undertaking, which will benefit 74,000 persons in total. Regional problems demand regional solutions.
Conclusion
Confidence-building and reconciliation are long-term endeavors. We at the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina have learned from experience that progress is not linear. That it is important to be realistic. That there will be setbacks. That reconciliation cannot be imposed, although it can be assisted. And that it is important to be creative and flexible, to design interventions to meet particular needs, to be principled and even-handed.
In Srebrenica, the Mission also learned the importance of trust. We worked hard to maintain the trust of all parties. Trust – easily burnt up, easily frozen out – is a wellspring of reconciliation.