Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina helps new MPs improve their legislative skills

Together with the indirectly-elected Members of the House of Peoples, these parliamentarians will exercise jurisdiction over the country's budget, constitution, foreign affairs, human rights, defence, internal security - and possibly some new areas - when the government is formed in early 2007.

"With the reduced engagement of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and increased ties to a wider Euro-Atlantic community, BiH will enter a new era in 2007," said Mission Head Ambassador Douglas Davidson in his opening address. "The role of authorities and elected officials becomes ever more significant and consequential. It is a tremendous responsibility and opportunity."

On 4 and 5 December 2006, an orientation programme for the 29 newly-elected Members of the House of Representatives was hosted by the OSCE Mission to BiH in the Bjelasnica mountain resort, outside the capital, Sarajevo. The seminar was administered by the OSCE Mission's Legislative Strengthening Programme and funded by the US Agency for International Development.

Orientation programme

It covered such themes as accountable government and budgetary oversight; public hearings and a code of conduct for elected officials; constitution-making; communicating with the media and citizens of BiH; and staying the course on the 'road to Europe'.

Elizabeth Weir, a former MP from New Brunswick, Canada, stressed that parliamentarians worldwide faced common challenges, and thus sharing success stories and mistakes was of great importance to countries in transition like BiH. Strong legislatures and capable parliamentarians were vital to strengthening democracies and ensuring that citizens' rights were protected, she noted.

"Legislative and committee proceedings should be televised and webcasts introduced to increase citizens' awareness and keep governments accountable," added Weir, advocating stronger legislation on the right of citizens to access information, as well as public inquiries to investigate actions and decisions by government officials.

Budget-making was also high on the agenda. Some of the ideas put forward by BiH and international speakers were that parliamentarians should ensure that funds are allocated to clearly-defined priority areas, and that they should play a more active role in the oversight of both budgetary approval and public spending.

Constitutional debate

The country's constitution - which is laid out in Annex IV of the Dayton Peace Accords - and constitutional reform are the subjects of lively public debate in BiH today.

Johanne Poirier, Professor of Law at the Free University of Brussels, presented case studies of the Belgian, Spanish and other constitutional arrangements to illustrate two notions: that constitution-building is a creative exercise that requires customized solutions to particular problems, and that parliamentarians play an essential role as they liaise between citizens, constitutional experts and the constitution.

Mission Spokesperson Alexandra George talked about the relationship between media and parliament in a democratic society, addressing the use of new media - webcasting, Internet and e-governance - as promoters of transparency and of bringing the government and citizenry closer.

Media as a bridge

"The media serves as a two-way bridge between the public and their elected representatives: politicians can use the media to disseminate information and the public can express grievances, government lapses, as well as expose scandals, through the media," said George.

At the seminar's close, there was a general consensus among the participants that the training had been useful by seeking to raise standards and preparing them to carry out their parliamentary tasks.

"This constitutes an important step towards good governance and an informed citizenry, which are important hallmarks of democracy," commented newly-elected parliamentarian Lazar Prodanovic of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats.