Republika Srpska fails to implement property laws
(OSCE)A displaced Croat family returns home in the village of Vrbanci, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2001. (OSCE) Photo details
SARAJEVO, 12 September 2001 (OSCE) - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Robert M. Beecroft, has communicated to both Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic and Minister for Refugees and Displaced Persons Mico Micic his deep concern about the failure of Republika Srpska to implement property laws.
Ambassador Beecroft visited Minister Micic in Banja Luka on 4 September to discuss means of accelerating the process in Republika Srpska. According to the latest statistics of the Property Law Implementation Plan, only 21% of the people who have claimed their pre-war property in Republika Srpska have so far been able to repossess it.
"The more than 90,000 outstanding claims for property in Republika Srpska must be resolved as swiftly as possible," said Beecroft. "Until this task is accomplished, donors and investors will have little reason to believe that Republika Srpska is capable of protecting basic property rights."
Prime Minister Ivanic committed to solving refugee issues in a press release issued on 5 September. He has however failed to address this fundamental problem. The distribution of flats to collective centre residents and building materials to families of soldiers killed in battle does not meet Republika Srpska's legal obligations to refugees and displaced persons under the property laws.
The Republika Srpska government should, at a minimum, take the following steps to restore confidence in its ability to protect basic rights:
The OSCE stands ready, together with other organizations involved in the Property Law Implementation Plan, to support full implementation of the property laws in Republika Srpska.
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For further information, please contact the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina Spokesperson, Ms. Urdur Gunnarsdottir, tel.: +387 33 292 222 or +387 66 144 311.
Ambassador Beecroft visited Minister Micic in Banja Luka on 4 September to discuss means of accelerating the process in Republika Srpska. According to the latest statistics of the Property Law Implementation Plan, only 21% of the people who have claimed their pre-war property in Republika Srpska have so far been able to repossess it.
"The more than 90,000 outstanding claims for property in Republika Srpska must be resolved as swiftly as possible," said Beecroft. "Until this task is accomplished, donors and investors will have little reason to believe that Republika Srpska is capable of protecting basic property rights."
Prime Minister Ivanic committed to solving refugee issues in a press release issued on 5 September. He has however failed to address this fundamental problem. The distribution of flats to collective centre residents and building materials to families of soldiers killed in battle does not meet Republika Srpska's legal obligations to refugees and displaced persons under the property laws.
The Republika Srpska government should, at a minimum, take the following steps to restore confidence in its ability to protect basic rights:
- Devote adequate resources to resolving the problem: This year the Republika Srpska Ministry for Refugees and Displaced Persons has spent less than five percent of its available funds on alternative accommodation.
- Vigorously exercise its prerogative under Article 36 of the Republika Srpska Property Law to demand assistance from all Republika Srpska Ministries in providing suitable objects for use as alternative accommodation.
- Ensure that the programme for closing collective centers does not conflict with Republika Srpska's legal obligations under the property laws; vigorously enforce existing criteria to ensure that new apartments are not wasted on people who have failed to take basic steps to claim or repossess their own property, and ensure that all appropriate space in collective centers that is vacated by the beneficiaries of this programme is made available immediately for use as alternative accommodation under the property laws.
- See to it that the municipal offices of the Ministry of Refugees and Displaced Persons are given sufficient support to do their work. The Ministry has so far failed to deliver on numerous promises of basic office equipment and has failed to vigorously seek prosecution for threats and attacks against its own staff.
The OSCE stands ready, together with other organizations involved in the Property Law Implementation Plan, to support full implementation of the property laws in Republika Srpska.
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For further information, please contact the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina Spokesperson, Ms. Urdur Gunnarsdottir, tel.: +387 33 292 222 or +387 66 144 311.