ICG Bosnia : Rebuilding A Multi-Ethnic Sarajevo (3/2/98)

<script language="JavaScript">  </script> <body bgcolor="#ffffff"> <table width="520"> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <table cellpadding="0" border="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <img src="../../../images/t_bosnia.gif" width="292" height="74" alt border="0"></td> <td valign="top"><img src="../../../images/tnav.gif" width="226" height="74" alt border="0" usemap="#tnav"></td> <map name="tnav"> <area shape="rect" coords="6,14,115,28" href="../../../projects/bosnia/Default.html" target="main"> <area shape="rect" coords="7,29,97,43" href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports.html" target="main"> <area shape="rect" coords="8,47,57,57" href="../../../projects/bosnia/map.html" target="main"> <area shape="default" nohref> </map> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="../../../images/clear.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0"></td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <h1>Rebuilding A Multi-Ethnic Sarajevo:</h1> <h4>The Need for Minority Returns</h4> <p class="small">February 3, 1998 (Part 1 of 2)</p> <p> <br> <h2>Contents</h2> <ul class="normal"> <li><a href="#exec">Executive Summary</a> <p> <li><a href="#1">Introduction</a> <p> <li><a href="#2">Structure of the Canton</a> <p> <li><a href="#3">Demographics</a> <p> <li><a href="#4">Property</a> <ol type="a" class="small"> <li><a href="#4a">Housing Density</a> <li><a href="#4b">Property Laws and Returns</a> <li><a href="#4c">OHR Amendments</a> <li><a href="#4d">Yugoslav National Army Apartments</a> </ol> <p> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#5">Administration</a> <ol type="a" class="small"> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#5a">Obstruction by Officials</a> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#5b">Administrative Structures</a> </ol> <p> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#6">Registration Hurdles</a> <p> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#7">Multi-Religious and Multi-Cultural Presence</a> <ol type="a" class="small"> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#7a">Jewish Community</a> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#7b">Religious Property</a> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#7c">Violence Against Religious Structures</a> </ol> <p> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#8">Security</a> <p> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#9">Discrimination in Employment</a> <p> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#10">Discrimination in Education</a> <p> <li><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html#11">Recommendations</a> </ul> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="exec"><h2>Executive Summary</h2></a> <p> To many who followed the Bosnian war from abroad, Sarajevo symbolised Bosnia and Herzegovina's rich tradition of multi-culturalism and multi-ethnicity. While the Bosnian capital came under daily bombardment from Republika Srpska forces, its citizens of all faiths, Bosniacs, Serbs, Croats and others, suffered and survived together in the spirit of tolerance in which they had lived together for centuries. For multi-culturalism and multi-ethnicity to re-emerge in Bosnia after the war, this spirit must be rekindled in peace. <p> The Sarajevo Canton, which comprises nine municipalities, is one of the few areas in Bosnia in which a significant, albeit drastically reduced, proportion of minorities continue to live among the majority Bosniac population. Indeed, more than half of all minority returns which have taken place since the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) was signed have been to this canton. Sadly, however, this stresses the generally grim state of minority returns rather than Sarajevo Canton's good record. Though Bosniac political leaders have generally supported the DPA, their actions have fallen behind their words and the overall record is poor. Minority returnees face a variety of problems, including discriminatory property legislation; administrative obstacles; threats to personal security; discrimination in employment and a hostile school curriculum. <p> According to statistics from the Office of the United Nations High commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sarajevo's population has slumped from 500,000 in 1991 to 349,000 today. At the same time, the Bosniac population has jumped from 252,000, or 50 percent of the total, in 1991 to 303,000, or 87 percent, today; the Serb population has dwindled from 139,000, or 28 percent, in 1991, to 18,000, or 5 percent, today; and the Croat population has fallen back from 35,000, or 7 percent, in 1991, to 21,000, or 6 percent, today. Sarajevo is also home to a large number of internally displaced persons who make up about a quarter of the canton's population. Of these, some 89,000 are Bosniacs, 2,000 Croats and 1,000 Serbs. The UNHCR estimates that 13,200 Croats and 5,600 Serbs have returned to the canton since the end of the war. Meanwhile, 75,600 Bosniacs have either returned or resettled in the Bosnian capital in the same period. <p> While much of Sarajevo's housing stock was destroyed in the war, the principal obstacle to returns is not space. Indeed, the number of people per property, that is the housing crush, is actually less than before the war. In practice, much of Sarajevo's housing woes are the result of the often deliberate misallocation of property, and the fact that many politically-connected families have come to occupy several homes in the course of, and since, the war. <p> In the former Yugoslavia, housing was both privately and socially-owned. Socially-owned property belonged to the state or a state-owned company and the construction was financed out of a fund to which every working person was obliged to pay. The tenant of a socially-owned apartment paid minimal rent and the occupancy right could be inherited by a family member. The Sarajevo Canton had 80,400 socially-owned apartments before the war, comprising 56 percent of the total housing stock. <p> War-time legislation on abandoned apartments stipulating that occupancy-right holders must reclaim their apartments within seven days, or within 15 days if living abroad, of the end of the war prevent most displaced persons from returning home. Most occupancy-right holders did not even know of the existence of the legislation until after the deadlines expired. The Office of the High Representative has drafted amendments to both the war-time property legislation and a series of additional property-related laws which impede the right to return as specified in the DPA. Despite a 31 January 1998 deadline (set at December's Bonn meeting of the Peace Implementation Council), the Federation parliament is yet to adopt the amendments. The fate of the Jewish community is especially illustrative. Despite drawing up a legal agreement with the city authorities and applying to return to their homes by the draconian deadline set in the war-time laws, all but a handful have failed to get their homes back. <p> Aspiring returnees often find themselves in catch 22. In order to reclaim their homes, they must have a Federation identification card, to get such a card they must have a home address and without a home address they cannot register for basic food or medical assistance. There have also been a series of attacks on minority members and buildings owned by minority communities. The incidence of these attacks has been declining and the International Police Task Force (IPTF) feels that the cantonal police perform their tasks professionally. Nevertheless, minority representation on the police force is well below the ratios agreed in February 1996. Of certified officers, 1,358 are Bosniacs, 102 Croats and only 19 Serbs. Moreover, employment ratios are similar in other fields. <p> In order to revive multi-culturalism and multi-ethnicity in the Bosnian capital, the Office of the High Representative is hosting a conference on return to the Sarajevo Canton on 3 February. International Crisis Group (ICG) has a series of recommendations contained at the end of the report which, if implemented, could expedite the process. Above all, ICG recommends that, since the Federation parliament has failed to adopt amendments to the property laws by 31 January, the High Representative should invoke his power to impose them. <p> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="1"><h2>Introduction</h2></a> <p> This report examines minority returns to the Sarajevo area and the issues that threaten to render the City and its environs more mono-ethnic. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#1" target="notes"><sup><b>1</b></sup></a> Minority returns have been disappointing throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo should symbolise the revival of multi-ethnicity and illustrate a commitment to welcome minority returns. The Sarajevo Canton is among the few areas in Bosnia where a significant, albeit drastically reduced, proportion of minorities coexist with the majority population. In fact, over half of the minority returns since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) have been to this Canton. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#2" target="notes"><sup><b>2</b></sup></a> However, this stresses the generally grim state of minority returns rather than Sarajevo Canton's good record. <p> Even though Bosniac leaders have been the greatest proponents of a multiethnic Bosnia, their leadership has largely failed to foster conditions that welcome minorities. The greatest problem minorities face in the Sarajevo Canton is that they cannot reclaim their pre-war homes. However, creating the conditions for successful minority returns goes beyond physically returning a family to its home. If minorities are not given the opportunity to practice their religion and culture without fear, compete for jobs without discrimination, enrol their children into unbiased school programmes and enjoy the security afforded to other citizens, they may return to Sarajevo, but not to stay. <p> The failure of minority returns to the Sarajevo Canton has prompted the Peace Implementation Council meeting in Bonn in December 1997 to call for a high-level conference on returns to the Canton. This Sarajevo Return Conference is to be hosted by the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and representatives from the United States Government and the European commission on 3 February 1998. <p> The importance of successful minority returns to Sarajevo extends beyond regenerating multi-ethnicity in the Canton, as is evidenced by the participation of Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic in the Sarajevo conference. Minority returns to Sarajevo will be instrumental to jump-start significant minority returns throughout Bosnia. Sarajevo is the logical place for large-scale minority returns to begin, the success of which will serve as a model and portend the success of minority returns in general and Bosnia's ability to defy the goals of ethnic cleansing. <p> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="2"><h2>Structure of the Canton</h2></a> <p> Before the war, the Sarajevo Canton was known as the City of Sarajevo and consisted of ten municipalities. After the war, the region was divided into one area administered by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation) and another administered by Republika Srpska. Federation Sarajevo is 1,277 km2 less than the pre-war Sarajevo; that is, it encompasses 61 percent of the territory and 71 percent of the population of the original City of Sarajevo. <p> There are three layers of authority in Sarajevo: the municipalities, the City and the Canton. There are nine municipalities within the Sarajevo Canton: Centar, Stari Grad, Novi Grad, Novo Sarajevo, Ilidza, Hadzici, Trnovo, Ilijas and Vogosca. The City of Sarajevo is composed of four municipalities: Stari Grad, Centar, Novo Sarajevo and Stari Grad. The City administration was created by the "Protocol on the Organisation of Sarajevo" signed in October 1996 and was intended to grant minorities in Sarajevo special status and representation. For example, of the 28 members of the City Council, a minimum of six must be Croats and at least 6 must be from other minorities. The minorities have the right to a veto on certain key issues and the Deputy Mayor of the City must be a member of a minority group. <p> In actuality, the City did not begin to function until January 1998, when the first Mayor and Deputy Mayor were elected. According to the Protocol, the City government should assume most of the duties of the municipalities such as the allocation of housing. In addition, since the Sarajevo Canton has assumed an expanded role during and after the war, the City will take over some of the executive functions currently performed by the Canton. On the municipal level, of the nine municipal councils elected in September 1997 one has been granted final certification so far and the others are expected to receive final certification before the end of February, within the time limits established at the Peace Implementation Conference held in Bonn in early December 1997. <p> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="3"><h2>Demographics</h2></a> <p> For centuries Sarajevo was the predominant urban centre in Bosnia and enjoyed a mixture of cultures and ethnicities. Before the war, the City was a microcosm of Bosnia itself where the different ethnic groups were intertwined within municipalities, communities, neighbourhoods and households. Sarajevo underwent several dramatic demographic changes because of the war, as the following data illustrate. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#3" target="notes"><sup><b>3</b></sup></a> <p> <b>Pre-war and current population of Sarajevo Canton:</b> <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#4" target="notes"><sup><b>4</b></sup></a> <p> </td></tr> <tr><td> <table border="1" bgcolor="#C6d6f7" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="2" class="small"> <tr> <td></td><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>1991</b></td><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>1997</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Bosniacs</b></td><td align="LEFT">252,000</td><td align="LEFT">50%</td><td align="LEFT">303,000</td> <td align="LEFT">87%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Serbs</b></td><td align="LEFT">139,000</td><td align="LEFT">28%</td><td align="LEFT">18,000</td><td align="LEFT">5%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Croats</b></td><td align="LEFT">35,000</td><td align="LEFT">7%</td><td align="LEFT">21,000</td><td align="LEFT">6%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Others</b></td><td align="LEFT">75,000</td><td align="LEFT">15%</td><td align="LEFT">7,000</td><td align="LEFT">2%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>TOTAL</b></td><td align="LEFT">500,000</td><td align="LEFT">100%</td><td align="LEFT">349,000</td><td align="LEFT">100%</td> </tr> </table> </td></tr> <tr><td> <p> According to these statistics, the Bosniac population has almost doubled in percentage terms, from 49 percent to 87 percent, while the Serb population has dwindled from 30 percent to 5 percent and the Croat population has more or less remained the same at 6-7 percent. (One should, however, keep in mind that these figures may be deceptive in that after the break-up of Yugoslavia many "Others" declared themselves Bosniac, Serb or Croat.) <p> Sarajevo is also home to a large number of internally displaced persons who make up roughly one-fourth of the Canton's population: <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#5" target="notes"><sup><b>5</b></sup></a> 89,000 Bosniacs, 2,000 Croats and 1,000 Serbs. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#6" target="notes"><sup><b>6</b></sup></a> Sarajevo's urban environment and the strong international presence that has uplifted the economy have drawn a great number of internally displaced persons and returning refugees and, in particular, minority returns. According to the Office of the United Nations High commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there has been an estimated 13,200 Croat and 5,600 Serb returns to the Canton since the DPA, and approximately 75,600 Bosniacs have returned or resettled in the area during this time. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#7" target="notes"><sup><b>7</b></sup></a> Total minority returns to the entire Federation was 14,800 Croats and 6,200 Serbs. In contrast, UNHCR has a record of only about 730 Bosniacs and 140 Croats who returned to Republika Srpska. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#8" target="notes"><sup><b>8</b></sup></a> <p> There have been more minority returns to the Sarajevo Canton than anywhere else in the country, but not enough to herald the restoration of Sarajevo's pre-war multi-ethnic makeup. Total minority returns fall short of the Federation Refugee Ministry's assertion in May 1997 that 22,200 ethnic minority displaced persons should be able to return to post-war Sarajevo by the end of 1997 as part of a minority return plan and the Ministry having declared the Canton "Open". Minority returns in 1997 have been particularly disappointing. <p> <b>Sarajevo Canton registered returns and relocations from January to October 1997: </b><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#9" target="notes"><sup><b>9</b></sup></a> <p> </td></tr> <tr><td> <table bgcolor="#c6d6f7" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="2" border="1" class="small"> <tr> <td></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Bosniac</b></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Serb</b></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Croat</b></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Others</b></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Total</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Returnees</b></td> <td>25,250</td> <td>568</td> <td>1,293</td> <td>175</td> <td>27,286</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Relocatees</b></td> <td>18,306</td> <td>163</td> <td>86</td> <td>37</td> <td>18,592</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><b>Total</b></td> <td>43,556</td> <td>731</td> <td>1,379</td> <td>212</td> <td>45,878</td> </tr> </table> </td></tr> <tr><td> <p> Most of the Serbs returned to the municipalities of Novo Sarajevo (252) and Novi Grad (215), <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#10" target="notes"><sup><b>10</b></sup></a> and the only significant number of relocatees has been to Ilidza (153). The greatest number of Croat returns has been to Ilijas (409), Ilidza (305), Novo Sarajevo (235) and Novi Grad (212), and relocatees have been in very small numbers. All ten municipalities in Bosnia that have received the most returnees are in the Federation, and four (totalling 28.8 percent of all minority returns) are in the Sarajevo Canton's municipalities of Novi Grad (10.5 percent), Stari Grad (9.3 percent), Novo Sarajevo (5.9 percent) and Ilidza (3.1 percent). <p> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="4"><h2>Property</h2></a> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="4a"><h3>Housing Density</h3></a> <p> Due to Sarajevo's decline in population, the available housing appears to be sufficient to accommodate everyone at a density level comparable to the pre-war level. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#11" target="notes"><sup><b>11</b></sup></a> Housing authorities often claim that the lack of available housing, largely due to the need to house displaced persons, prevents returns, especially minority returns. According to UNHCR, however, there are more housing units per household in the Sarajevo Canton now than before the war, and Sarajevo is capable of accommodating additional pre-war residents who wish to return. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#12" target="notes"><sup><b>12</b></sup></a> <p> In effect, Sarajevo's housing woes are largely the result of misallocation and double and multiple occupancy, that is, families taking up more than one home by occupying those that have been abandoned. About 5,000 homes in the Sarajevo Canton have been occupied in this way. The municipalities, state-owned companies, Cantonal and Federal ministries that all have a role in determining how and to whom housing units are to be allocated have failed to work for minority returns. Instead, they complain that minority returns would exacerbate an already-stretched housing situation. This position is not surprising considering that many of these authorities not only tacitly condone, but also personally benefit from such misallocation. According to one Bosnian lawyer in Sarajevo involved in the protection of minority rights, most government officials in Bosnia have taken advantage of the war situation to move into someone else's home. <p> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="4b"><h3>Property Laws and Returns</h3></a> <p> Reclaiming one's home is the first major obstacle most perspective returnees face. This is especially the case with socially-owned property, which comprises the bulk of the housing stock in the Sarajevo Canton. In the former Yugoslavia, housing could be privately or socially-owned. Most houses were privately-owned and most apartments were socially-owned. Socially-owned apartments belonged to the state or a state-owned company and were constructed with the Housing Contribution Fund to which every working person was obliged to pay. The tenant of a socially-owned apartment paid rent and the occupancy right could be inherited by a family member. According to Article 47 of the pre-war Law on Housing Relations, an occupancy right holder could lose rights to an apartment only if it were left unused for more than six months. There were 80,400 socially-owned apartments in the Sarajevo Canton, amounting to 56 percent of all homes in the Canton, and 40 percent of the total number (191,566) of socially-owned apartments in the Federation. 20.3 percent of the Canton's socially-owned apartments were over 60 percent damaged during the war. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#13" target="notes"><sup><b>13</b></sup></a> <p> Various laws govern the treatment of the different forms of property. For private property the Federation Law on Temporarily Abandoned Real Property Owned by Citizens states that it may be declared temporarily abandoned and used by displaced persons, who are given temporary occupancy rights. The owner, however, retains ownership and, if he or she wishes to return to the home, municipal authorities are required to allow for this within three days if the apartment is vacant, and within eight days if it is not. <p> In 1992 the Federation passed the Law on Abandoned Apartments for socially-owned property. Pursuant to this law, local authorities were authorised to declare an apartment abandoned after 30 April 1991 if: <p> <blockquote>the apartment has been deserted and is temporarily not being used by the holder of the occupancy right or members of his/her household who live permanently with him/her or a weapon or ammunition without an appropriate licence is found in the apartment or if the apartment is being used for illegal activities. </blockquote> <p> Authorities could not, however, declare apartments abandoned if the occupancy right holder left because of ethnic cleansing, immediate war danger or destruction. <p> The law was amended in 1995 to include Article 10 which states: <p> <blockquote>If the holder of an occupancy right, who is located within the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, does not commence to use the apartment within 7 days, or within 15 days if located abroad, after the proclamation of the Cessation of the State of War, it will be considered that he/she has abandoned the apartment permanently.</blockquote> <p> It was practically impossible for anyone to meet these requirements: the Cessation of the State of War was declared on 22 December 1995 and most occupancy right holders were not aware of the law's existence before the imposed deadline. Those who had left their apartments were not able to return within such a short period of time, and even if they were, most of their homes were already being occupied by someone else, so that it would have been impossible to move in immediately. As a result, these apartments were declared permanently abandoned and the municipalities or state-owned companies that owned them could assign new occupancy rights on a temporary or permanent basis. Many state-owned companies sought verification of legal ownership of such apartments in the courts and allocated them on a permanent basis, effectively blocking the return of pre-war occupants. According to Federation authorities, 17,839 apartments have been declared abandoned in the Sarajevo Canton, and 53,936 in the entire Federation. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#14" target="notes"><sup><b>14</b></sup></a> The Law on Abandoned Apartments is discriminatory in that it appears to favour the rights of the temporary occupants, usually displaced Bosniacs, over the rights of the pre-war occupancy right holders, who were usually either minorities or Bosniacs who left the country because of the war. <p> The law also violates certain articles of the DPA and the Constitution of Bosnia. According to the DPA, <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#15" target="notes"><sup><b>15</b></sup></a> displaced persons have the "right to freely return to their homes of origin...- [and] to have restored to them property of which they were deprived during the course of the hostilities since 1991." These rights are further guaranteed in the Constitution of Bosnia. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#16" target="notes"><sup><b>16</b></sup></a> The imposition of such an unreasonable time-frame within which displaced persons must return in order to reclaim their apartments violates this right of return. <p> In addition, the Constitution of Bosnia states that the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) "shall have priority over all other laws." <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#17" target="notes"><sup><b>17</b></sup></a> The ECHR states that every citizen has the right "to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions." <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#18" target="notes"><sup><b>18</b></sup></a> Discriminating against individuals by denying them the right to their property may be interpreted as a violation. Moreover, ECHR states that "everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal." According to the Law on Abandoned Property, however, apartments are both determined to be abandoned and permanent loss of occupancy rights occurs without a public hearing. <p> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="4c"><h3>OHR Amendments</h3></a> <p> In legal opinions issued in August 1996, the OHR concluded that the Federation Law on Abandoned Apartments violates the right to return and the right to property guaranteed in Annex 7 of the DPA. Similarly, in March 1997, the Human Rights Ombudsperson for Bosnia declared that the law violates "the right to respect for home" under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and in December 1997 invited people who had lost their apartments to file complaints with her office. As of the end of January, more than 23,000 have already applied. <p> At a Joint Civilian commission held in July 1996, the Federation (along with Republika Srpska) acknowledged that its laws impeded the right to return and consented to the drafting of amendments that would bring them in line with the DPA. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#19" target="notes"><sup><b>19</b></sup></a> However, despite assistance from the OHR, such legislation was never finalised. Therefore, the OHR, along with various international organisations and local experts, prepared its own draft legislation and on 29 May 1997 presented three laws to Federation authorities. The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) called for the adoption of the amendments at its 30 May 1997 meeting in Sintra, Portugal. On 20 August 1997 Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and then Federation Vice-President Ejup Ganic promised at the Federation Forum to secure passage of these laws by the Federation Parliament by 30 September 1997. This promise was not fulfilled and instead the Federation government amended the OHR draft laws. <p> The OHR amendments to the Law on Abandoned Apartments are set forth in the Law on the Cessation of the Application of the Law on Abandoned Apartments. These amendments would revoke all decisions under the Law on Abandoned Apartments whereby pre-war occupants lost their occupancy rights and permanent rights were granted to others. The amendments would require an occupancy right holder whose apartment has been declared abandoned to file a claim within a given period of time to return to the home. The municipality would be responsible for providing alternate accommodation for the temporary occupant, who would have to move out of the apartment when the pre-war occupant returns (but not before 60 days). If no claim for the home is filed, the temporary occupant may continue to live in it with the possibility of eventually becoming the permanent occupant. The Federation has not yet considered this draft law, nor has it given the OHR its own version of the draft. <p> The OHR amendments to the Law on Temporarily Deserted Real Property Owned by Citizens which deals with private property are set forth in the Law Regulating the Application of the Law on Temporarily Abandoned Real Property by Citizens. The amendments revise the law in favour of current occupants by extending the period in which they must vacate homes when the owners intend to return. According to the draft law, the current occupant would have 60 days to move out of the home and the municipality would be required to find alternate housing. Under the current law, the temporary occupant has eight days to move out and the municipality is not obliged to find alternate housing. The Federation draft, however, allows current occupants to remain in private homes for 90 days and up to a year in exceptional cases. Different versions of this law have been adopted by the two houses of the Federation Parliament, which will be harmonised by a Joint commission of Parliament. <p> The third amended law is the 1974 Law on Housing Relations. According to this law, an occupancy right holder who does not use his or her apartment for more than six months loses occupancy right. A reasonable measure during peace time, state-owned companies have used this law to prevent the return of occupants who left their homes during the war. The OHR amendments set forth in the Law on Amendments to the Law on Housing Relations would restore occupancy rights denied under this law after 30 April 1991. The Federation government had presented a version of this law to the Parliament that conflicted with Annex 7 of the DPA because it only allowed for the restoration of occupancy rights to refugees and those displaced within the Federation, but excluded displaced persons living in Republika Srpska or those who served in the "enemy" army. The OHR legislation has been accepted by the House of Peoples but rejected by the House of Representatives. <p> Another legal act that can be used to restrict the right of return is the Law on the Sale of Socially-owned Apartments, part of a privatisation package adopted in late 1997 by the Federation Parliament to be effective as of 6 March 1998. It gives the right to all permanent occupancy right holders to purchase the apartments they occupy. Combined with the possibility for people who gained temporary occupancy rights to apartments declared abandoned to make this situation permanent under the Law on Abandoned Apartments, the Law on the Sale of Socially-owned Apartments would effectively block for good the pre-war occupant's right to return home. The OHR called for an amendment that would exclude those who acquired occupancy rights after 6 April 1992 from purchasing their apartments under the Law on the Sale of Socially-owned Apartments and regulate those cases by another law. The Federation Parliament, however, already adopted the Law on the Sale of Socially-owned Apartments without the OHR amendment. <p> <p align="right"><a href="#top"><img src="../../../images/contents.gif" width="61" height="27" alt="Contents" border="0"></a></p><p><a name="4d"><h3>Yugoslav National Army Apartments</h3></a> <p> In the Sarajevo Canton there are about 7,000 apartments of the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) built from the JNA housing fund. Soldiers held occupancy rights to these apartments, and before the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia Belgrade allowed them to purchase the apartments, in many cases at prices far below the market rate. About half of the occupants of JNA apartments purchased their homes. Bosnian authorities viewed this as unfair, especially since occupancy right holders of other socially-owned apartments were not given the same opportunity, and adopted a law that disallowed the purchase of JNA apartments as of 18 February 1992. Many JNA soldiers who bought their flats before the law was passed sought to legally validate their purchases through the courts, but a 2 March 1995 law entitled the Decree with Legal Power of a Law Amending the Law in Financial Resources and Funding of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina suspended all legal and administrative proceedings concerning the validity of such contracts. <p> Furthermore, on 12 December 1995, the Bosnian government adopted the Decree with the Power of Law Amending the Law on Assuming the Assets of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which retroactively annulled without compensation all contracts for the purchase of JNA apartments dated before February 1992. Former JNA apartments thus lost their status as private property and were considered socially-owned, allowing the commander of the general staff or his designate legally to grant temporary rights to army members. This move meant that in practice many people have been evicted by the Federation Army or otherwise denied the right to return to their homes. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#20" target="notes"><sup><b>20</b></sup></a> <p> On 7 November 1997, the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia delivered two decisions on four cases regarding the annulment of contracts for the purchase of JNA apartments. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#21" target="notes"><sup><b>21</b></sup></a> The Chamber held that by annulling the contracts, the Federation violated the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions as guaranteed in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#22" target="notes"><sup><b>22</b></sup></a> The Chamber also found that by adjourning court proceedings the Federation violated the right to a fair hearing of civil claims within a reasonable time period as guaranteed in the ECHR. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#23" target="notes"><sup><b>23</b></sup></a> The Chamber thus ordered the Federation to declare ineffective the annulment of the contracts and to discontinue the suspension of court proceedings. <a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/footnotes/bh30n.html#24" target="notes"><sup><b>24</b></sup></a> According to international monitors, the Federation Army has not respected this decision. <p> The international community may sometimes inadvertently confirm the results of ethnic cleansing. In 1998, City Links Amsterdam plans to undertake a 6 million DM project to refurbish the interior of apartments in the neighbourhood of Hrasno in Novo Sarajevo where there is a good number of JNA apartments with some 68 pre-war Serb occupants. The funder of the project, the European commission, wants to ensure the pre-war owners' right to return, but this stipulation is not part of the current contract. The contract is being redrawn to secure this right, and the project should not be launched until this is done. The implementers of such projects often view their tasks as primarily technical: a housing unit must be repaired so that someone can live in it. This is not enough. The war shattered the texture of Bosnian society. In the long run, this is more challenging and crucial to rebuild than physical structures. <p> <b><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html" target="main">[cont ...]</a></b> <p> <table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5"> <tr> <td><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/reports/bh30rep2.html" target="main">[Part 2]</a></td><td><a href="#top">[Top]</a></td><td><a href="../../../projects/bosnia/Default.html" target="_parent">[Bosnia Menu]</a></td><td><a href="../../../icghome.html" target="_parent">[ICG Home]</a></td></tr> </table> </td></tr></table> </body>