Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 16/02/2022
Columns by political scientist Nenad Kecmanovic on the legitimacy of the OHR, the Bonn powers and High Representative Christian Schmidt often contain disinformation.
In recent months, one of the frequent topics in the BiH public has been the legality of the new High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, whose legitimacy has been disputed by the officials from the Republic of Srpska. Senior officials in the entity also called for the abolition of the OHR.
The narrative regarding OHR and Christian Schmidt, propagated by the RS authorities, has been supported by many analysts, academics and media close to the ruling party, SNSD.
The narrative of the illegitimacy and/or abolition of the OHR is frequent among many analysts and political commentators, including Nenad Kecmanovic, a political scientist and former professor at the University of Sarajevo, a former member of the BiH Presidency and a member of the Republic of Srpska Senate.
Kecmanovic, who in his columns and analysis of the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina largely advocates the same views as the RS authorities, provoked a stormy public reaction in August last year when he told Politika that Schmidt was only “a German tourist” for BiH, and that the High Representative does not exist. There have been similar examples before (1, 2, 3).
We have already written about the incorrect claims suggesting that Christian Schmidt is an “illegally elected” or “illegitimate” High Representative in an analysis that you can read at the link below:
https://raskrinkavanje.ba/analiza/christian-schmidt-nije-nelegalno-izabrani-visoki-predstavnik
Did Russia and China question the existence of the OHR by “blocking” Schmidt’s election?
In addition to disputing the legitimacy of Christian Schmidt as the High Representative in BiH, Kecmanovic has repeatedly denied the existence of the OHR and the Bonn powers in several ways.
In his article published on the website Nova srpska politicka misao (NSPM) on December 15, 2021, among other things, he stated the following:
The turning point came when Russia and China blocked Schmidt’s illegal election in New York and called into question the survival of the OHR, and Srpska, led by Dodik, accepted the ball at Sarajevo’s court. It rejected Inzko’s law and Schmidt, and initiated the return of jurisdiction.
Kecmanovic also made unfounded claims that Russia and China had blocked Schmidt’s appointment in the UN Security Council in his review published on Vecernje novosti (.ba) on January 10, 2022.
However, the so-called international community worked with the “boiled frog” strategy to completely disempower the Republic of Srpska and then set out to impose Schmidt, who was supposed to energetically end “the unfinished business in Bosnia”. Russia and China blocked those unilateral moves in the UN Security Council, and Serbia accepted the ball. In the RS, the OHR, the Bonn powers and Inzko’s law are now excluded from the game.
In November last year, the fact-checking website Istinomjer dealt with similar claims made by BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik.
According to the analysis, the UN Security Council, at its session held in New York on November 3, 2021, did not decide on the election of Christian Schmidt and the survival of the OHR but on the extension of Althea’s military mission:
Even though there was a debate within the members of the UN Security Council whether the resolution, as it has been the case so far, will mention the OHR, and whether the High Representative in BiH Cristian Schmidt will be allowed to speak and present his report, the resolution did not decide on his mandate, the nature of the mission or the powers he has, including the Bonn powers.
Thus, the UN Security Council, on November 3, 2021, unanimously adopted Resolution 2604 (2021), which extends the mandate of the Althea mission in BiH for another year.
(…)
On May 27, 2021, the Ambassadors of the Member States of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) Steering Board officially appointed Christian Schmidt as the next High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina after being nominated for the post by Germany.
At Russia’s insistence, Christian Schmidt did not address the UN Security Council at this session, nor was the OHR mentioned in the resolution. This, however, does not mean that his election is “blocked” or that the survival of the OHR is in question. It was not decided at the session.
As noted in our earlier analysis, Schmidt was appointed High Representative by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) in May 2021 and officially took office in August. The fact that the UN Security Council has not confirmed his appointment does not make him “illegitimate” or “illegally elected”, given that there is no clearly defined procedure for appointing the High Representative. It had happened before that the UN Security Council did not confirm the appointment of the High Representative, so their legitimacy was not questioned.
Have Russia and China abolished the OHR?
Along with the incorrect claim suggesting that Russia and China “stopped the promotion of Schmidt as High Representative”, Kecmanovic added another in a text for Srna News Agency on January 27, 2022. The claim is that they abolished the OHR:
In the UN Security Council, Russia and China stopped the promotion of Christian Schmidt as High Representative and abolished the OHR, together with the Bonn powers.
In July 2021, Russia and China drafted a resolution calling for the closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the UN Security Council did not adopt. The resolution provided for the revocation of the Bonn powers of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the limitation of Christian Schmidt’s mandate until 31 July 2022, after which the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina would be closed. Russia and China voted in favor of the resolution, while the other 13 members of the Security Council abstained, giving it insufficient support to take effect. Therefore, the OHR and the Bonn powers have not been revoked – although such an attempt has occurred.
The Office of the High Representative (OHR) is an ad hoc international institution responsible for overseeing the implementation of the civilian aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the 1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the OHR website, the High Representative’s Office has been established under the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The High Representative is working with the citizens and institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the international community to ensure that Bosnia and Herzegovina is developing into a peaceful and sustainable democratic country on the path to integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.
The OHR website also explains what conditions the BiH authorities need to meet for the OHR to close or the 5 + 2 program. Namely, at a meeting in Brussels in 2008, the Political Directors of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council set out five goals and two requirements that BiH authorities need to meet before the High Representative’s Office closes.
The 5 + 2 program remains unfulfilled, and the OHR still exists.
Kecmanovic’s claims that Russia and China “blocked the illegal appointment of Schmidt in New York”, that is, that they “abolished the OHR and the Bonn powers”, have no basis in the facts, and we rate them as fake news. We rate all other sharing of these claims as a distribution of fake news.