institutions, including the State Investigation and Protection Agency, Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies, Brcko District Police, Federation BiH and Republika Srpska
Ministries of Interior, and the Ministries of Interior of seven of ten Federation Cantons. These
individuals are responsible for building integrity in their institutions, which is of the utmost
importance since these institutions are vital to the battle against organized crime and
corruption in the country.
Counter-Terrorism
The Mission facilitated the organization of an ODIHR pilot Training on Complying with
Human Rights Standards and Enhancing Counter-Terrorism Strategies and Skills in Sarajevo
on 10-11 July. Hosted by the BiH Ministry of Security, the training targeted law enforcement
personnel engaged in countering terrorism in BiH, particularly those who work on
investigations, and included participants from the Border Police, State Investigation and
Protection Agency and Federation, Republika Srpska, and Brcko District police. The 13
trainees involved received an overview of human rights standards in counter-terrorism work
and how obstacles to meeting those standards can be overcome during prevention activities,
investigations and arrest and detention. Group exercises and discussions on best practices
allowed all to share their experiences and ask questions about human rights-compliant
methods for carrying out operational police work.
Compliance with International Security Commitments
The Mission supports BiH efforts for compliance with its politico-military commitments arising
from its status as an OSCE participating State and United Nations member. It has worked to
establish a Compliance Co-ordination Team which is tasked with progressing the country’s
fulfilment of its international security obligations, to include participation in confidence and
security building measures. One member of this Compliance Co-ordination Team is a
representative of police institutions, nominated from the Directorate for Co-ordination of
Police Bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, members of various police bodes
regularly participate in tasks for gathering information for the OSCE Code of Conduct on
Politico-Military Aspects of Security Questionnaire annual submission by Bosnia and
Herzegovina. On 20 November, the Mission held the high-level 7th Review Conference on
Compliance with OSCE and UN Security Commitments to discuss BiH progress in fulfilment
of its politico-military commitments and to draw conclusions for further work. Among others,
the conference gathered representatives of the Ministry of Security, Ministry of Defence, and
police bodies, including the BiH Border Police, Brčko District Police and the Directorate for
Co-ordination of Police Bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These representatives are tasked
with increasing awareness of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s international security commitments
within their institutions and advocating for their improved implementation.
War Crimes and Wartime Sexual Violence Investigations
The Mission developed a war crimes investigation training manual for police inspectors and
held two five-day trainings on war crimes investigations, in partnership with the Police
Academies in Sarajevo and Banja Luka. The trainings were held in Sarajevo between 2 and
6 June with the participation of 35 investigators, and in Banja Luka from 16-20 June, with the
participation of 15 investigators. Under the auspices of the War Crimes Processing Project
(WCPP) and in consultation with the EU and donor countries, the training targeted
investigators hired under the EU’s IPA assistance programme to work with the BiH judiciary
to support war crimes processing. The intensive training was based on the 300-page
Investigation Manual for War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide in BiH, which
was developed by the Mission in 2013 within the WCPP. Investigation techniques, physical
evidence collection, approaching witnesses, and protective measures and victims’ rights
were all examined alongside applicable legislation.
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