Threats or provocative behaviour towards returnees are unacceptable and the Office of the High Representative (OHR) will not tolerate them, the OHR warned in a statement to FENA regarding current events in the Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska (RS), where attacks on returnees have become ever more frequent.

“The law enforcement authorities in BiH have the obligation, as well as the capacity and ability, to investigate all incidents that occur, find the perpetrators and make sure that such incidents do not happen in the future,” the OHR said.

They recalled that the right to return is a basic principle of the Dayton Peace Agreement, as stated in Annex VII of the Agreement. According to the agreement, the parties committed to allowing refugees and displaced persons to return safely, without risk of harassment, intimidation, persecution or discrimination, in particular because of their ethnicity, religious beliefs or political opinion.

Also, the OHR stated that the parties further undertook to create political, economic and social conditions that favour the voluntary return and harmonious reintegration of refugees and displaced persons, without favouring any particular group.

Commenting on the demands of the victims’ associations to finally implement police reform in the RS and to ensure the employment of a greater number of Bosniaks and Croats in the Ministry of the Interior of the RS, the OHR says that the authorities have this obligation.

“Authorities have an obligation to apply the constitutional principle of proportional representation of the constituent peoples and Others in the appropriate public authorities, including within police structures,” the OHR stressed.

As they point out, Bosnia and Herzegovina has come a long way since the end of the war, it is now a country with candidate status on the path to the European Union, and its institutions are capable of applying high security standards throughout the country and ensuring the representation of everyone in all security institutions, especially in returnee areas.

“We cannot and will not tolerate any attacks on returnees. The High Representative will continue to be very engaged in this matter,” the OHR said in a statement to FENA.