Prijedor

RIGHTS-BASED MUNICIPAL ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING PROJECT

(RMAP)

MUNICIPALITY OF PRIJEDOR REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

OCTOBER 2003 – FEBRUARY 2004

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WHAT IS RMAP?

The Rights -based Municipal Assessment and Planning Project ( RMAP) is a pilot project

carrying out human rights -based assessments and development planning of selected

municipalities in BiH. The Project is also testing and piloting a methodology for human

rights-based development. It is a joint project of the Ministr y for Human Rights and

Refugees, UNDP and UNOHCHR. The Project originated from a concern that grassroots

human rights information was either undocumented or not made public, thereby inhibiting

action to effectively overcome problems facing vulnerable group s. As a result of the lessons

learned from the project implementation (October 2002 – present) and the positive reactions

from the municipalities to the assessments made, substantive changes have been made in the

outputs and strategies of the project. The decision was taken to reduce the number of

municipalities to be assessed from 48 to 25 and to focus on the second phase – development

planning. Assessment alone is not enough to promote human rights locally. The assessments

are strategic tools for building the awareness and capacity of duty bearers and claim holders

in order to promote the fulfilment of all human rights, including the right to development, by

governance institutions.

The objective of the project is human rights -based municipal development programming in

the interest of the local population based on the maximum utilization of available resources.

By the end of 2005, 25 municipalities will have been assessed and will have gone through

capacity building and strategic planning. On the basis of the municipal assessments, the

Project will enhance the capacity of the municipality and civil society to formulate

municipal development strategies. Thus the Project is not a legislative monitoring exercise,

but a process of initiating dialogue to enhance rights-based development at the local level.

As of April 2004, 16 rights -based assessments have been completed, and the Project is

entering the next phase of the rights -based development project cycle – the strategic and

action-planning phase. Thus the RMAP Project will be implemented through two parallel

processes: municipality assessments will continue, and in the 16 municipalities already

assessed, the trained human resources will start preparing rights -based strategic development

plans. Municipalitie s will formulate their own development plans in a participatory manner,

while RMAP teams will facilitate dialogue between the duty bearers and claim holders as

well as build the capacity of the municipalities in terms of human rights, gender and

development planning.

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TABLE OF CONTENT LIST OF ABBREVIATION S ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 4

DESCRIPTION OF THE M UNICIPALITY ................................ ................................ ........... 5

PREFACE ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 6

METHODOLOGY ................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 8

WITH THE LITTLE HELP FROM IC, THE MUNICI PALITY IS SHEDDING I TS WAR-

TIME IMAGE ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 11

THE STAYING POWER OF RETURNEES ................................ ................................ ......... 16

OBSTACLES TO DEVELOP MENT ................................ ................................ ..................... 19

PART I Political obsta cles ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 20

PART II Economic obstacles ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 30

PART III Social obstacles ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 37

ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN ................................ ................................ ............................ 53

SUMMARY OF REPORT FI NDINGS ................................ ................................ .................. 57

ANNEX 1: EMPLOYMENT & UNEMPLOYMENT STATI STICS ................................ .... 61

ANNEX 2: THE LIST OF PRIJEDOR’S NGOS: ................................ ................................ .. 63

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS APIF Agency for arbitration, information and financial services Banja Luka BAM Konvertibilna marka or convertible mark, Bosnia’s currency BIH Bosnia and Herzegovina CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination) CPHRFF Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms CPNM Convention for the Protection of National Minorities CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child DEM Deutsch mark, offi cial German currency before the introduction of Euro DNS Democratic People’s Alliance DP Displaced Person ECHR European Convention on Human Rights FBIH Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina FEDRE Foundation for Economy and Development of the Regions in Europe GFPA General Framework Peace Agreement, aka Dayton Peace Agreement HDZ Croatian Democratic Union IC International Community ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICTY International Criminal Tribunal f or Yugoslavia ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights IPTF International Police Task Force KM Konvertiblina marka or convertible mark, BiH official currency MZ Mjesna zajednica , basic territorial and administrative unit within a Municipality NGO Non-governmental Organisation OHR Office of the High Representative OSCE Organisation for Security and Co -operation in Europe PADCO US -based Consulting Agency PDP Party of Democratic Progress PREDA Prijedor Agency for Economic Development RMAP Rights-based Municipal Assessment Project RS Republika Srpska RSRS Radical Party of Republika Srpska SBiH Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina SDC Swiss Agency for Devel opment and Co -operation SDK State Payment Bureau of the Former Yugoslavia SDPBiH Socialist Democratic Party of BiH SID Slovenian Investment Association SDS Serb Democratic Party SME Small and Medium Enterprises SNSD Alliance of Independent Social Democrats SPRS Socialist Party of Republika Srpska UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees UNOHCHR United Nations Office of the High Commissioner For Human Rights USAID United States Agency for International Development

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DESCRIPTION OF THE MUNICIPALITY

Prijedor is located in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the second largest municipality

in the Republika Srpska (hereafter the RS) both in terms of population and territory. The

Municipality is located on the main East -West travel corridor in the Former Yugoslavia. It lies on

the banks of the river Sana and borders with Sanski Most in the Federation ( hereafter FBiH) on

the south, Bosanski Novi/Novi Grad on the west, Bosanska Dubica/Kozarska Dubica on the north

and Banja Luka on the east (the RS municipalities). It is 45 km far from Banjaluka and 110 km

away from Zagreb, the capital of neighbouring Croa tia. The major Bosnian railroad connecting

the country to Western Europe goes through Prijedor. It is also well connected with the

neighbouring municipalities through the network of regional roads. Municipality is 834 square

km large and comprises of 48 lo cal communes (hereafter MZ’s). Prijedor’s climate is mild and

continental. Geographic location and environmental surroundings are generally conducive to

development.

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PREFACE

The Municipality of Prijedor is characterized by: 1) a high number of returnees, 2) a high

level of mistrust between the RS and the local government, 3) a deep political crisis, 4) a

deep economic crisis and 5) the concerted efforts of the International Community and the

local government to advance its deve lopment prospects.

1) High number of returnees is a result of several factors combined: a) well -

organized return campaign led by politically active and relatively affluent

refugees b) timely use of reconstruction and development funding c) SFOR-led

high-profile arrests of local war criminals creating a significant level of

‘psychological security’ for potential returnees and d) Prijedor’s proximity to

Sanski Most where many of the returnees found a temporary residence before

permanent return to Prijedor;

2) High level of mistrust between the RS government and the Municipal

government caused by the fact that Prijedor’s ruling coalition is in opposition on

the entity and state level, and this, as a consequence, produces many allegations

offered by the local author ities of discriminatory treatment of Prijedor by the RS;

The RS authorities, on the other hand, accuse Prijedor’s local authorities of being

disrespectful toward them;

3) Political Crisis in Prijedor has been the reflection of the ongoing political

struggle between the municipal authorities and the present RS government.

Municipal authorities now allege that the local representatives of the parties in

power on the entity and state level use their party influence to discredit the

municipal government, while th e representatives of the local opposition accuse

the municipal government of preventing them from duly caring out their regular

duties in accordance with the instructions received from the higher levels of

government;

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4) Economic crisis has been caused by fa iled privatisation, corruption, stagnated

production or bankruptcy of the main local industries, a high number of

unemployed, a long -lasting embargo on foreign donations imposed onto

Municipality by so -called Lautenberg Amendment 1 and the lack of developme nt

strategy on the RS and State level;

5) Concerted efforts of the IC and the local government have been directed

toward improving the efficiency of the municipal administration, better

transparency, easier access to information and more meaningful particip ation of

citizens in public affairs; in the economic sector, those efforts have been

concentrated on designing a sustainable local development strategy through a) the

inclusion of Prijedor into the EU -envisioned Northwest economic region of

Bosnia and Herz egovina, b) the development of Small and Medium Enterprises

Strategy and c) the establishment of PREDA, the local development agency in

charge of designing projects based on local economic potentials and in

accordance with designed development strategies of the EU, UN, OHR and other

international actors.

1 Lautenberg Amendment in the US Foreign Operations Bill, directs that U.S. economic reconstruction assistance cannot go to indicted war criminals or to projects in municipalities that are failing to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal (ICTY); The embargo was imposed in 1998 and in the case of Prijedor, it was lifted in May 2002;

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METHODOLOGY

Who did the rights -based assessment?

Because of a relatively large size of the Municipality, two teams comprising of seven

people in total, conducted the assessment. All field team members are citizens of BiH and

have different education background. Team comprised of 3 -4 members per team, and

resided in the municipality for a 4 - month period. Team was led by a Senior National

Assessment Officers (SNAO), and supported by National Assessment O fficers (NAOs).

The RMAP Headquarter Project staff, OHCHR and UNDP, supported teams

substantively, administratively and logistically.

How was the assessment conducted: preparatory phase

Prior to starting the assessment in the field, the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees

(MHRR) together with the project staff visited the municipal Mayor and some of the

Heads of the Departments to get their views on implementation of the assessment phase

and to agree on the modes of cooperation. Municipality assigned a core group of contact

persons to work in collaboration with the assessment team. Meanwhile, the assessment

team conducted preliminary research on the municipality by Internet and other secondary

sources. Secondary sources of information such as municipal d ocuments, United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Organisation for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) internal documents, International Crisis Group (ICG)

reports, United Nations Mission to BiH (UNMIBH) online articles and reports, Office of

High Representative (OHR) documents and decisions, and co -capitalisation audit reports

were also used in drafting the final report.

Data gathering, priority setting and analysis - defining the problem in the context of

human rights

Data gathering

Formal and informal interviews were conducted with key informants from municipal

institutions, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, religious

communities, social and health institutions, schools and local industry, as well as w ith

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state, entity, and regional institutions. Focus group interviews were conducted in the

field with some targeted groups such as returnees, workers, and displaced persons.

Ordinary citizens were approached mainly using informal interviews and were among the

key sources for getting perceptions and opinions on concerns and priorities. Interviews

were conducted in both urban and rural areas. Special attention was paid to members of

vulnerable groups such as Bosniak and Croat returnees, numerical ethnic mino rities,

individuals and groups in need of social welfare, disabled persons, especially children

and elderly, as well as the unemployed. The team conducted over 400 face to face

interviews in total; very few interviews were conducted over the phone.

Existing documents (such as budget reports, minutes of past Municipal Assembly

sessions, annual reports) and statistics (primarily demographic and property repossession

figures) were collected from relevant institutions and organisations, analysed, and

incorporated into this report.

The team also participated in bi -weekly situational awareness group meetings chaired by

the OSCE Field Office in Prijedor. The Situational Awareness Group is comprised of the

representatives of the OHR’s Return and Reconstruction T ask Force, SFOR and EUPM.

In addition, RMAP representatives observed bi -weekly security meetings with the

representatives of the Local Police, EUPM and OSCE chaired by the Mayor or Deputy

Mayor. RMAP also attended various citizens’ gatherings, round tabl es and seminars

organized by NGOs, MZ or municipal officials.

Priority setting

Priorities were determined after preliminary research. The RMAP attempted to

acknowledge and incorporate issues of the most concern for the local community. Those

were obtained primarily through national and international human rights groups as well

as the local authorities, and further verified through direct contacts with the respective

population categories (claim holders). Priorities identified by RMAP were later presented

to the Prijedor’s Mayor, her Cabinet and other municipal officials; it is worth mentioning

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here that, regardless of their party affiliation or agenda, they all agreed with the list in its

entirety.

Analysis

In the analysis, the problems are identified b y the community itself, which is made up of

the municipality as an institution, civil society, private actors and municipality residents.

After the issues are prioritized and assessed by all the actors, they are then cross -checked

with the international an d domestic legal framework. Teams identify the gaps. How each

problem affects lives and the quality of life is identified, as is the effect of each problem

on the exercise and enjoyment of human rights (for example, citizen participation in

public affairs, the right to social security, the right to physical and mental health). Part of

the analysis also includes how the problems and rights affected are inter -related and

affect each other. This approach includes the identification of the problems’ root causes .

Without identifying the root causes, it is not possible to address the key structural causes

affecting all dimensions of life. The analysis provides a basis for identifying policy

alternatives and areas of intervention.

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WITH THE LITTLE HELP FROM IC, THE MUNICIPALITY IS SHEDDING ITS WAR-TIME IMAGE

Today’s Prijedor has been making earnest efforts to shed the negative image acquired

through the existence of notorious detention camps for non -Serb population during the

1992-1995 conflict. Fo r one, the Municipality is nowadays hailed as an example of

successful return to Republika Srpska, mainly thanks to comparatively high number of

Bosniak returnees in the area. Secondly, the Municipal administration has recently

introduced many innovations contributing to greater openness and transparency of its

work: they opened the Information Centre and the One Stop Shop inside the main

administrative building, organized wide public debate on 2004 Municipal budget

proposal and the started issuing its Mont hly Newsletter. In order to jump -start stagnant

Prijedor’s economy, the Administration designed a new strategy for development of

small and medium enterprises, helped established a local development agency and

allocated considerable amount from its budget for development purposes.

Infamous Past: Municipality of Barb Wire

Before the 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prijedor was a typical

multiethnic municipality with the population of 112,543. Two largest ethnic groups were

Bosniaks2 and Bosnian Serbs living alongside with comparatively smaller number of

Bosnian Croats, Yugoslavs and the members of various ethnic minorities 3.

During the 1992-1995 conflict, Prijedor gained strategic importance to the Bosnian Serbs

forces, being a part of a cor ridor between Krajina Serbs in Croatia and Serbia proper. In

April 1992, Serb armed forces took control of Prijedor following the military occupation

of the Municipality and surrounding villages with a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing.

It began with the shelling of areas populated by Croats and Bosniaks, forcing the

residents to flee. The majority of these residents were taken to camps, and many were

2 According to the results of the 1991 Population Census quoted from ICTY/CASE NO: IT -95-8-PT there were 49,351 Bosniaks, 47,582 Serbs, 6,316 Croats, 6,459 Yugoslavs and 2,836 members of various ethnic minorities. 3 Prijedor was known as the Municipality of numerous ethnic minorities; Besides the BiH constituent peoples (Bosniaks, B. Serbs and B. Croats), there were 17 oth er ethnic groups living in the Municipality before the 1992 -1995 conflict. The most numerous were Czechs, Ukrainians, Slovenes, and Roma;

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summarily executed 4. Serb forces continued to apprehend civilians in Prijedor town,

nearby Kozarac and ot her parts of the municipality in the following weeks. 5 It was in this

period that Prijedor became infamous for a number of detention camps established on its

territory. The Serb forces in Prijedor deported Croats and Bosniaks to notorious

Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje camps, where over 6,000 non -Serbs were reportedly

held between May and August of 1992. The camps were the scenes of some of the worst

atrocities6 in Europe since World War II: “ Two of the concentration camps, Omarska and

Karaterm, were place s where killings, torture and brutal interrogations were carried out.

The third, Trnopolje, had another purpose; it functioned as a staging area for massive

deportations of mostly women, children and elderly men, and killing and rapes also

occurred there.” 7

The conditions in Omarska and Karaterm were described in a number of ICTY

indictments. About 40 women were held in a special section of Omarska camp where

interrogations and rapes also took place.

The 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina greatly affected all aspects of life in

Prijedor, significantly altering demographic, economic, cultural and social picture of the

Municipality. It is estimated that more than 35,000 of Prijedor’s Bosniaks fled to third

countries during the conflict. Some 8,000 of them remained in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Some 6.300 Bosnian Croats from Prijedor also fled the municipality during the war.

4 Prosecutor of the Tribunal v. Du ško Tadic aka Dule and Goran Borovnica, Amended Indictment. Source: ICTY Archives; 5 Ibid. 6 Based on the information provided by the Association of Prijedor Women 'Izvor' in Sanski Most, and NGO Mostovi prijateljstva , Rizvanovi ci, Prijedor, over 3, 227 non -Serbs were killed during the campaign of ethnic cleansing in Prijedor. According to the information available at the Commission for Tracing of Missing Persons of FBiH, t he remains of over 1,800 have not been identified yet. Following 3 September, 2003 Framework Agreement on the systematic and centralised collection of Ante Mortem Data on Missing Persons as Result of the Former Conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina signed by the BiH Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees, the Federal Commission for Tracing of Missing Persons, the RS Office for Tracing of Missing and Detained Persons and the ICRC, Ante mortem data collection campaign was carried out by two ICRC-led teams, both made up of one local Red Cross member, 1 Red Cross volunteer and one member of the NGO Mostovi prijateljstva , acting in the capacity of a Family Association. The first phase of the ante mortem data collection campaign lasted from 28 October to 12 December 2003. During this phase, the ICRC teams contacted 395 family members of the missing persons a nd collected 248 ante mortem questionnaires. It is planned that the next campaign in Prijedor would be carried out in July -August 2004 when many Bosniak family members are expected to come to BiH during summer holidays. 7 Helsinki Watch on Prijedor's War Criminals, Human Rights Watch, January 1997.

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The current estimates8 show that the number of residents has been reduced from over

112,000 to some 95,000. The rural population m akes 52% and the urban population 48%

of the total number. The total population estimates include some 17,000 displaced and

refugees, namely Serbs from other parts of Bosnia or Croatia 9.

Promising Future: The Municipality of High Return and High Ambiti ons

One of the main characteristics of today’s Prijedor is a high number of the returnee

population. The most recent estimates say that a half of the pre -war Bosniak population

has already returned to Prijedor 10. Moderate policy of the current municipal gov ernment

is undoubtedly one of the major reasons why the population of Prijedor who fled the

Municipality during the war, come back in a greater numbers than anywhere else in the

RS. SDS, the nationalist party which masterminded the process of ethnic cleans ing during

the war, lost to more moderate parties in the 2000 Municipal Elections. With the support

of Bosniak councilors elected in the new Municipal Assembly, the representative of

Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) was elected as a Mayor. For the past

3.5 years since she has been in power, the Mayor has managed to weather many crises

and bypass many obstacles set before her by her adversaries from the nationalist parties

in various levels of power. She effectively cooperated with the IC rep resentatives

facilitating the return process, managed to persuade the U.S. Ambassador to lift the

embargo on foreign donations, and made Prijedor the host of the 10 th Economic Forum of

the Local Communities and Regions of the Southeast Europe 11. Her government has

introduced many changes designed to help Prijedor better fight its most salient problems:

inefficiency and non -transparency of the local administration, stagnated local economy

and a high unemployment rate.

8 The estimates were published in the Economic and Social Bulletin of Prijedor Municipality issued in December 2003 (Second edition), p.4; 9 No official body has attempted to give the population estimates disa ggregated by ethnicity; 10For more details on the reasons behind this high return rate, see the next Chapter on Return; 11 The Forum was organized on 22 -23 September, 2003;

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Efforts to Improve Efficiency, Transpa rency, Participation and Access to Information

The current Municipal government has taken pioneering steps to become more service -

oriented and accessible to its citizens. It opened the Information Centre 12 at the hallway

of the Municipal Building providing citizens with an easy access to information and

enabling them to submit all the requests on administrative proceedings at one place. In

addition, they established the One-Stop-Shop13 facility to shorten the time necessary to

start up a business while reduci ng bureaucratic impediments and avoid potential

corruption and started 14 publishing Informator, monthly newsletter that brings the

information on the activities of the municipal departments. This municipal government

was also the first to organize a public hearing on the 2004 Municipal Budget Proposal 15.

SME Strategy to Encourage Entrepreneurship

Prijedor’s Iron Mine and Smelting Company Ljubija and Paper and Celluloses Company

Celpak were the driving force of the pre -war economic development. When those

companies nose-dived, Prijedor’s economic prospects were immediately brought to a

halt. In the attempt to overcome the ongoing economic crisis, the Municipal

Administration has made some decisive steps toward economic recovery: with the

assistance from IFC/SEED16 they designed the ‘ Strategy for Small and Medium

Enterprise Development in the Municipality of Prijedor, 2003 -2008’17. The process of its

creation was participatory and transparent. It included the organization of working groups

that had analysed the municipal competitiveness in regard to economy, resources, human

potentials, etc. Those working groups have all been a part of the FORUM, comprised of

30 economic experts, businessmen, local government officials and NGOs.

12 The Information Centre was officially opened on July 1, 2003; 13 Along with IFC/SE ED, SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), and USAID -funded PADCO’s Project on Local Government Support assisted in the creation of One -Stop-Shop. 14 The first issue came out in October 2003; 15 The hearing was held on December 8 th, 2003 and it was very well attended. The RMAP team present at the hearing observed that many citizens gave very constructive suggestions regarding public spending and the municipal officials promised they would take them into account during the following budget alignments. 16 SEED - Southeast Enterprise Development Program of the World Bank 17 The Strategy was created in the first half of 2003.

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PREDA, Local Agency for Economi c Development

The experts gathered in the FORUM initiated the formation of PREDA, a local agency

for economic development. PREDA is currently registered as an NGO but works in a

close cooperation with the Municipal Department of Economy and Social Affairs.

PREDA has so far designed some thirty -six development projects 18 aiming at securing a

better economic environment and designing a comprehensive development strategy of the

Municipality. The Municipality has pledged to support the implementation of the

development strategy by allocating 5 percent of its 2004 budget 19 for those purposes.

IC Efforts: Prijedor Flies Northwest

It is necessary to say here that, the efforts of the municipal government to improve its

performance and efficiency are not ‘home -grown’ products but rather, projects and ideas

initiated by the International Community. Major international actors in BiH (OHR, UN,

EU and their respective agencies) have realized that w ell-performing, efficient municipal

governments increase citizens' faith in institutions of democratic governance and provide

healthy environments for economic growth, while allowing for issues -based politics to

take precedence over divisive, ethnic -based considerations . That’s why they have started

making joint efforts to aid Bosnian municipal governments acquire capacities to better

discharge their responsibilities in order to provide the citizens with more efficient

services. In that regard, the USAID -funded PADCO project in Prijedor has been designed

to make dramatic improve ments in internal efficiency, customer service profiles,

financial management, and economic development strategies 20, the EU has been offering

technical assistance and grant funds for cross -entity cooperation of the municipalities in

the Bosnian Northwest e conomic region, which includes Prijedor. The funds and

18 One of PREDA’s upcoming projects designed in close cooperation with the municipal government plans to re-organize administrat ive procedures towards greater efficiency with the aim getting of an ISSO 9001 standard certificate . What it implies is that the level of the efficiency and productivity of the municipal administration regarding the inquiries made by legal entities, busine ss owners and other citizens is expected to be at its best. 19This percentage translates into the sum of 600,000 BAM; 20 Assisting in the construction of Prijedor’s One -Stop-Shop was an integral part of this project.

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assistance thus made available are allocated to implementation of local economic

development strategies, job creation through the development of SME and the support for

local development institutions, like PREDA.

THE STAYING POWER OF RETURNEES Today’s Prijedor is often cited as the example of successful return 21. In the village of

Kozarac, for example, Bosniaks form the overwhelming majority, operate several

successful businesses and have re -built several mosques, including the first mosque to be

reconstructed on the RS territory. Several important factors enabled large -scale return to

Prijedor:

a) Prijedor’s exiled population was well organized in the local NGO called ‘Prijedor

98’ Foundation for Return and Reconstruction .The organization’s leaders 22

relentlessly campaigned at home and abroad for donor funds to rebuild housing

and infrastructure and to provide credits to start businesses.

b) The population was eager to return when the international funding wa s at its peak.

During the first major push to return to Kozarac in 1998, the international

community financed the repair and reconstruction of about 1,000 houses.

Moreover, several hundred returnees to Kozarac had invested their own funds

from working abro ad to rebuild their own houses. Many families from Prijedor

worked abroad before and during the war and were willing to invest in the

community once return began. This was particularly true in Kozarac where

financial muscle has been crucial in creating the conditions for economically

sustainable return.

21 According to the information obtaine d from ‘Prijedor 98’ Foundation for Return and Reconstruction , some 24,997 people have returned up to date, out of which 22,809 Bosniaks and 2,188 Croats. The main points of Bosniak return is the town itself, as well as the surrounding villages of Kozarac, Hambarine, Rizvanovici, Rakovcani, Bi šcani, Cela (Petrovo), Cejreci and Carakovo; the main points of Croat return in Prijedor Municipality are the villages of Šurkovac, Briševo and Ljubija Gornja; very few Croats have returned to town; The Municipal autho rities have no reliable data on the exact number of Bosniak and Croat returnees. The exact number is, indeed, difficult to pin down because many Bosniaks and Croats who found refuge in Croatia, Scandinavian countries or in the United States during the war acquired foreign citizenship and are now dividing their time and families between their old and new homes. 22 The Foundation leadership included several most prominent Prijedor’s professionals and Bosniak community leaders;

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c) Several early and high profile SFOR arrests in 1997 of indicted war criminals in

the Prijedor area created a significant measure of “psychological security” for

potential returnees.

d) Prijedor is located some 25 kilometers from Sanski Most where many Prijedor’s

Bosniaks fled during the 1992 -1995 conflict. The potential returnees were easily

able to visit Prijedor, clear their houses and get a sense of the climate for

permanent return. Accessibility thus facili tated large-scale return. Moreover,

because of proximity, many people were able to return to Prijedor while keeping

their jobs in Sanski Most. In fact, commuting to work between the entities has

become common, especially among the most recent returnees.

The Power of Vote: How the Returnees Help Oust the SDS from Power Prijedor’s example demonstrates how returnees and potential returnees can help

marginalize nationalist politicians if they participate in elections since they are mostly

credited for tipping the power scale and helping to oust the SDS from power on the local

level in the 2000 municipal elections 23. While still living outside the municipality, over

10,000 Prijedor’s Bosniaks cast absentee ballots, securing nine out of 31 seats for the

Bosniak councillors24 from the Coalition for Democratic Bosnia 25. The SDS nationalist

party became a strong opposition party to the municipal government headed by the

representative of a moderate, social -democratic party - SNSD. Parties participating in the

Municipal Assembly signed inter -party power-sharing agreement which stipulated that

the post of the Speaker should belong to a Bosniak and this has been honoured from the

start.

23 Large-scale returns since 20 00 indicates that Bosniaks are likely to become an even stronger political force after the next municipal elections scheduled for October 2004. 24 Interestingly, the HDZ, the only Croat party to run in the municipality, won no seats, even though more than 6,000 Croats (5 per cent of the population) lived in Prijedor before the war. 25 The Coalition for Democratic Bosnia then comprised of SDA, SBiH and SDP.

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Returnees Starting Own Businesses to Avoid Facing Discrimination in Employment

There is still long way to go from a high return rate to a high employment rate of

Prijedor’s returnees. After almost four years during which Bosniak political parties have

shared power in Prijedor, not more than three Bosniaks are employed in the 150 -member

Municipal administration. When confronted with this accusation (i.e. perception of

discrimination among the returnees) the municipal official stated that ‘there are no

enough qualified persons among the returnee population to meet the requirements of the

state service’26.

As a result of inter -party negotiations over public sector jobs, two Bosniak doctors and

one veterinarian now work in the local medical and veterinary centers, while one Bosniak

works in the Public Utilities Company 27. In addition, three Bo sniak teachers are

employed in the Municipality and the Principle of the Elementary School in Kozarac is

also a Bosniak. This pretty much exhausts the list of the returnees employed in the public

sector28. What further affects the law employment rate among the returnees is the fact

that, as in most parts of BiH, employees sacked during the war because of their national

identity have not been able either to get their jobs back or to win any compensation 29.

Moreover, despite very high unemployment rate among t hem30, the returnees make only

5.6% of those registered at the RS Employment Bureau Field Office in Prijedor 31. Such a

low percentage demonstrates the lack of returnees’ confidence toward the RS government

institutions like the Employment Bureau, but may als o indicate that a large number of

26 This is partly true given that, many qualified people who have returned to Prijedor, still work in th e neighboring Sanski Most (FBiH). The salaries they receive working as nurses, teachers or policemen there much higher than the ones they would have received for the same job in Prijedor and elsewhere in the RS; 27 There are no Bosniaks heading any of the public companies in Prijedor; 28 In the words of a prominent returnee: ‘The Municipal government is not genuinely interested in employing the returnees in the public administration sector, nor they are interested in the returnees participating in the proce ss of privatisation. While we (the returnees, note aut.) are fighting for the reconstruction of our schools and primary health care clinics, they keep privatising state -owned property and amassing their riches’. 29 In RMAP interviews, the returnee widowed women seemed to be especially disheartened by the prospects of getting their pre -war jobs back: they stated that they did not even try to get back their pre -war jobs because they assumed they would have been turned down by the new, Serb -dominated managem ent and they often added that they would not feel comfortable working environment dominated by Serb employees, anyway because of their war trauma and loss of a close family member by the Serb forces; 30 Based on RMAPs observance and information received from returnee representatives, over 90% of returnees in Prijedor are not employed; 31 For more details see Table 1.4, Annex 1: Employment/Unemployment Statistics;

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19

returnees are, in fact, seniors who surpassed their working age. The most viable option

for the working-age returnees is self-employment through entrepreneurship -

agricultural32, catering, trade and other small businesses - what over a hundred of them

did.33 It is interesting to add here that many returnee entrepreneurs share s omewhat ironic

but prevailing perception that deep -seated fear from the local authorities rooted in their

wartime experience makes them the most disci plined taxpayers in the Prijedor

municipality. They assert 34 that, unlike other Prijedor’s entrepreneurs, they are the only

ones regularly contributing to budget funds from which salaries of public employees and

other public expenditures are paid.

OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPMENT

Despite the efforts of the Municipal government to contributing to a greater participation

of citizens in public affairs through the organization of public debates and hearings, their

role in the decision-making process is still far from being truly meaningful. This

especially refers to the rural population that is more than often excluded from direct

participation in the matters that directly concern them 35. Consumed with constant strives

at the Municipal Assembly and locked in continuous power struggle with the RS

Government, the municipal authorities are left with insufficient time and money to solve

the most acute problems in political, economic, social and cultural sphere of life. The

following paragraphs offer an in -depth description and analysis of those problems.

32 Since the majority of returnees live in rural areas, DRC is currently funding the project called ‘Returnee Reintegration through Self -Sustainable Agro business; the Project includes come 120 households; 33 To counter the alleged favouritism in employment, Prijedor Serbs interviewed for this report often expressed grievances about their economic status, explaining that while the returnees have received at least some sort of assistance from the international donors, domicile Serbs were left on their own, becoming thus, socially the most vulnerable group, or, in the words of a displaced Serb living in the Collective Centre in Kozaruša, Prijedor Municipality: ‘If it weren’t for the Bosniak returnees who occasionally hire us as construction works on their reconstruction sites, we would not be able to earn any money and survive’. 34 This claim has been repeated by a number of returnee entrepreneurs the RMAP teams interviewed for this report 35 In the interviews with RMAP teams, MZ representatives, particularly those in the returnee villages, most often raised the issue of a deteriorating road or water su pply network;

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PART I Political obstacles

Stymied Municipal Assembly Perpetuates Political Crisis The implementation of the results of Municipal elections in April 2000 marks the

beginning of political stalemate that the Municipal Assembl y have been locked in up to

date36. Since the SDS was sent into opposition on those elections, this party and its allies

at the Assembly has been continuously producing political stalemates, to undermine the

position of the Municipal Government led by the M ayor from the rival, SNSD Party. This

is best illustrated by the fact that Mayor’s recall was attempted in 32 out of 34 assembly

sessions held by the Assembly 37. Moreover, there have been constant efforts of, on one

hand, the SDS, and the SNSD party leade rship, on the other, to swing the majority of

councillors38 to their side, and have them support their policies 39. What further

exacerbated the situation were the results of the BiH general elections in October 2002.

Those elections brought the parties that have been in opposition on the municipal level 40

back to power on the entity and state levels. These parties then started using the influence

they’ve got on the higher levels of power to undermine the position of the Mayor and her

government.

The Mayor cla ims that whenever the proposals or projects directly benefiting the

community are presented at the MA sessions, the opposition flatly rejects them because

of the ongoing political games 41. Interestingly enough, the opposition party

representatives would sta te the same in regard to their proposals presented to the MA 42.

On the other hand, a number of citizens interviewed for this report stated that the majority

36 There are 31 councillors with the following party affiliations: SDS – 8 councillors, SNSD – 6 councillors, SCDBiH (SDA 4 + 1 SDP) - 5 councillors, DNS – 3 councillors, SBIH – 3 councillors, SPRS – 2 councillors, PDP - 1 councillor, RSRS – 1 councillor, 2 independent councillors; Out of 31 councillors, 8 are Bosniaks. There are no Croats or other ethnic groups represented in the Assembly. 37 RMAP interview with the Mayor. 38 The struggle for additional votes occurs due to the fact that neith er party has been able to create 16 - councillors majority in the Assembly, without constant courting of ‘swing voters’ among the councillors 39What RMAP Team and other observers of the Assembly’s work could witness, in the past several months, was an apparent coalition of two major nationalist parties, SDA and SDS, with the sole aim of producing Mayor’s recall. SDS as a Serb national party and SDA as a Bosniak national party were once the main adversaries whose opposing nationalist policies, along with the n ationalist policies of HDZ (the main Croat national party) had sunk Bosnia and Herzegovina into the 1992 -1995 war. 40 SDS, SDA and PDP; 41 Interview with the Mayor. 42 Interview with the Assembly President, Deputy Assembly President and the Assembly Secreta ry;

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of issues raised and discussed at the MA sessions are judged by the weight of who

proposed them, and not by the potential benefits they might bring to the Municipality, or

in the words of the Editor -in-Chief of local weekly paper: ‘ In Prijedor, everything is

politics’43.

Non-Cooperation with MZs stalls citizens’ participation in public affairs

Many political games and inter -party wrangling are being transferred onto the MZ 44

levels, affecting citizens’ right to direct participation in public affairs 45. Except several

returnee villages, the Secretaries and Presidents of MZs were mostly elected and hired 46

before the municipal elections in 2000. The official at the Municipal administration in

charge of coordinating the MZ activities 47 claims that the MZ leaderships, particularly

those at corresponding Serb villages, have been strongly influenced by nationalist SDS48;

He openly confess that, in return, various projects proposals initiated by MZs are barely

reviewed and considered at all 49. However, in order to appease the MZ secretaries, the

Administration makes regular monthly payments to all MZ accounts for thei r operating

costs, fully aware that this money is mostly spent on secretaries’ monthly salaries 50.

However, the issue of MZ secretaries seem to be just a tip of an iceberg of political

supervision originating from nationalist parties, namely the SDS, the RS RS and the

43RMAP Interview with the Editor -in-Chief of Kozarski Vjesnik. 44 The Municipality of Prijedor is comprised of 48 MZ’s. Only 3 MZs out of 48 MZs are located within the Prijedor town limit (MZ Prijedor I, II & III); other MZs correspond to the territory of surrounding villages and hamlets; 45 ICCPR Article 25, HRC General Comment, No: 25, Para. 6 (b); Article 78, RS Law on Local Self -Governance (Official Gazette of RS, No: 35/99, 20/01, 51/01) 46 This refers to the post of MZ secretary which is a professio nal administrative worker paid by the Municipal administration; the post of a President is a voluntary position; 47 This municipal official is a SNSD member and the Mayor’s close associate. He happens to be one of three councillors employed at the municipa l administration; the SDS and other opposition councillors strongly oppose his professional engagement as the MZ’s coordinator; 48 He claimed that the only concern of those secretaries was to make sure their respective MZ remains an incubator of the SDS an d other nationalist party’s voters. 49 He justified it, though, with the absence of set criteria to determine the priority projects within the existing MZs. 50 The MZ’s representatives interviewed for this report complained that they did not receive any information about the MA agenda, nor they got Official Gazette of the Municipal Assembly with the MA decisions that were being enforced. They also complained that even the MA councillors residing in their respective MZs do not inform the MZ leadership of the activities and decisions passed by the MA that are of particular interest to the MZs;

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SDA, which will be further elaborated in the case of the ill -fated construction of the

Roma House.

A Case in Point: Roma House ‘up in the air’ on the grounds of miscommunication, misinformation and non -participation The recent strife caused b y the planned construction of so -called Roma house on the

territory of MZ Kozaru ša illustrates how the lack of cooperation between the municipal

administration and the MZs leaderships undermines the citizens’ right to information and

participation.

With jo int prodding of UNHCR and OSCE, the RS Ministry for the Refugees and

Displaced persons last year allocated some funds for so -called Roma House, which

would serve as the housing of homeless Roma people and the Roma community centre

with the office space for the Association of Roma people in Prijedor 51. After a long-

drawn-out procedure of land allocation and getting a building permission, the

construction was scheduled to begin in the vicinity of the elementary school building in

MZ Kozaruša. Accompanied by MA President52, his Deputy53, and the President of the

local branch of the SDA party who is also an SDA councillor in the RS Assembly, a

group of local residents – both Serbs and Bosniaks - jointed forces in protesting the

possibility of Roma house being cons tructed in their vicinity. At the rally organized on

December 1, 2003 the residents of MZ Kozaru ša argued that nobody had consulted them

on this issue, nor there was any public hearing organized to discuss it.

GAPS:

Ø Prijedor’s councillors, exercise their governmental power for the interests of

their respective party elites, rather than their electorate thus undermining the

citizens’ right to indirectly participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic,

social, cultural and political development 54.

51 According to the estimates given by the President of the Roma Association in Prijedor there are some 400 Roma currently living in the Municipality. 52 Party of Democra tic Action (SDA) councillor 53 Serb Radical Party (RSRS) councillor 54 ICCPR Article 25, HRC General Comment, No: 25, Para. 7;

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Ø By withholding the information on the issue of direct concern to the respective

MZ and ignoring their own initiatives and requests on construction of roads

and other public goods in their respective areas, the Municipal government

undermines citizens’ right to inf ormation and direct participation 55.

The existing RS Law on Self -Governance 56 (hereafter RS LSG) defines an MZ 57 as a

form of citizens' participation in local self -government where the citizens take part in

decisions regarding, inter alia, construction of c ommunal goods and buildings, in partially

financing the projects and being consulted on the way those resources are to be used and

managed. IHRS58 also provide the Citizens with the right to indirect participation through

freely chosen representatives, and direct participation through popular assemblies which

have the power to make decisions about local issues or about the affairs of a particular

community in bodies established to represent citizens in consultation with government .

Furthermore, the failure o f the government to provide the community bodies (in this case

MZs) with accurate and timely information on matters of their immediate concern,

represent a non-compliance of the right to information as stipulated in the UDHR 59,

EctHR60, ICCPR61, as well as the RS LSG, Art.4, which regulates the right to

information.

55 ICCPR Article 25, HRC General Comment, Para. 6 (b); Article 4 of the RS Law on Free Access to Information (Official Gazette of RS, No: 20/01) 56 RS Official Gazette 35/99, 20/01 and 51/01; 57 The Draft of the new RS Local Self -Governance also plans to keep the MZ as one of several institutions of citizens' participation in the local self -government, together with public assemblies, referendums and petitions. 58 ICCPR, Art. 25 HRC, General Comment 25 on Article 25 ICCPR, Para. 6 &7; Declaration on the Right to Development , GA Resolution 41/128, annex, 41 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 53) at 186, UN Doc. A/41/53 (1986), Article 1 stipulates th at ‘The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fu ndamental freedoms can be fully realized’; UDHR Article 19 states that ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas th rough any media and regardless of frontiers. 59 Ibid. 60 ECHR Article 10 says ‘everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by publi c authority and regardless of frontiers’. (…) 61 ICCPR Article 19, Para. 2

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Issue of Employed Councillors Undermines Legitimacy of Municipal Assembly Heartened by their ‘success’ in halting the construction of the Roma House in Kozaru ša,

at the end of 2003, the Mayor’s opponents staged another attempt of the Mayor’s recall 62.

The issue of three Assembly councillors, who are, at the same time, the employees of the

Municipal administration, was cited as the reason 63. Since the Mayor’s opponents had

raised this issue before, the Mayor, herself, had turned to the BiH Electoral Commission,

which determined that according to the existing RS Election Law 64, the position of the

municipal councillor is not compatible with the position of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the

Heads of Departme nts. As for the other positions within the municipal government, the

Commission states that this ‘should have been regulated with local laws and

regulations’; this being a clear reference to the Municipal Statute.

The Article 16 of the Municipal Statute p roscribes the following: ‘ The function of

Municipal councillor is not compatible with the position of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and

the employees of the municipal government’. In the attempt to forestall opponents’

complains, the Mayor, then addressed the RS C onstitutional Court to determine whether

Article 16 of the Statute is in accordance with the existing Law on State Employees 65, RS

Labour Law66 and the RS Law on Local Self -Governance 67, the RS Constitutional Court

is yet to rule on this issue. In the meantim e, the Mayor’s opponents have apparently

ceased on the opportunity to use this issue as their trump card. They made an inquiry to

the RS Ministry of Government and Local Self -Governance on the same issue and the

Ministry confirmed that, Art.16 of the Statu te ‘was violated in the process of hiring three

councillors to work for the Municipal Government’ 68. Ever since the Mayor’s opponents

received this reply from the Ministry, they have been boycotting the Assembly sessions,

62 It happened at the 34th Session, held on December 12, 2003; 63 Since the proposal for Mayor’s recall was jointly submitted to the Assembly by the councillors of war -time enemies, S DS (Serb Democratic Party), as the major Serb nationalist party and SDA (Party of Democratic Action), as the major Bosniak nationalist party, the SBiH councillor well -known for his eloquence and the sense of humour made a pun publicly dubbing this awkward coalition ‘the Serb Democratic Action’. 64 RS Official Gazette 34/02, 35/03 65 RS Official Gazette 11|94, 66 RS Official Gazette 38/00, 40/00, 66/03, 38/03 67 RS Official Gazette 35/99, 20/01, 51/01 68 As for the Law on State Employees, RS Labour Law and the RS Law on Self -Governance, the Ministry upheld the opinion that the Municipal government had not had not breached those laws in the process of hiring three municipal councillors as its employees

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thus seriously undermining its legi timacy. By the time this report has been written up,

Prijedor’s Municipal Assembly did not resume its work.

Dominance of Nationalists on the Entity Level Thwarts the Efforts of Local Moderates

To counter the SDS argument regarding the issue of 3 councill ors employed in the

municipal administration, the Mayor and her supporters in the Municipal Government

stated that their work was being constantly undermined by the SDS party members and

appointees who happened to be the directors or managers in almost all RS government

institutions, agencies, or state companies 69 in Prijedor; there are also strong indications

that the local courts and the public defender’s office are staffed with SDS sympathizers 70.

A Case in Point: Flea Market Refuses to Flee

Numerous loo pholes and political scheming can prevent the current Municipal

administration from carrying out event the simplest task. For example, the municipal

authorities have been unsuccessful so far in their attempts to enforce Municipal

Inspectorate’s order for d emolition of illegally built flea market in the backyard of the

Hotel Prijedor. A couple of years ago, the Municipality allocated this piece of municipal

property to a leaseholder who first promised to construct a recreational centre there.

Instead, he built a flea market, with some 100 makeshift stands that he was renting. In

June 2003, the Inspectors at the Municipal Department of Planning and Urbanism,

ordered him to remove the stands and adhere to the lease agreement. The leaseholder then

hired a lawyer who launched a complaint with the RS Ministry for Urban Planning and

the RS Ministry of Commerce and skilfully used the inefficiency of the administrative

system, inertia of the public defender’s office, as well as the non -cooperation between the

69 Namely, Electric Power Distribution Company, Water Supply C ompany, RS Road Maintenance and Construction Directorate, Public Health Insurance Fund, Tax Revenue Collection Fund, and many others; 70 In the interview with the RMAP teams, the Mayor offered the following example in support of this argument: the RS Road M aintenance and Construction Directorate, the RS Government Agency headed by an SDS appointee, had approved the construction of the Prijedor Detour without prior consultation with the Municipal authorities. The Road Maintenance and Construction Directorate simply approved the Project, issued the tender, chose the constructor and, only then informed the Municipal authorities about the land plots that needed to be expropriated for this purpose, thus leaving the Municipal authorities up against the wall when it comes to compensating the land owners; the land owners naturally ceased on the opportunity to demand extremely high compensatory damages for land expropriation, thus causing unnecessary spending of the Municipal budget.

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26

state and municipal agencies to buy his client some time, deferring several demolitions.

After all legal remedies were exhausted and the Decision of the Municipal Department

upheld by the respective Ministries, the leaseholder apparently struck some sort of a de al

with the company hired to carry out the demolition. As a consequence, the December

2003 attempt to destroy the flea market failed comically - the bulldozer, simply fled the

site before the flabbergasted municipal inspectors 71.

A Case in Point: A Hot Is sue of Public Heating Company 72

The delays and drawbacks created in the process of reconstruction of the Municipality’s

central heating system is another example of the multitude of damage inflicted on public

interest through constant political bickering an d rivalries.

The Municipality’s heating system 73 is currently non-functioning and is, thus, in need of

overhaul that requires significant investments. The RS Government, at the time led by the

SNSD party leader, adopted ‘the Company’s Investment Reconstruc tion Plan’ in May

2000 and signed the Contract on Reconstruction with the Slovenian company Montevar.

Although the Government issued a bank guarantee, it failed to give the down payment, as

stipulated in the Contract. The entire issue has been shelved unti l after the general

elections in October 2000 when the next RS Prime Minister 74 stalled75 the

implementation of the Reconstruction project and, at the same time, started lobbing with

the Belgrade government to forge a new reconstruction contract with a Yugos lav public

construction company. The designated contractor 76 then sued the RS government for the

71 The entire event was observed by the RMAP team member, along with OSCE and EUPM representatives; 72Following the results of the 2000 elections and aforementioned power -sharing agreement regulating the distribution of posts among the winning parties, SDP BiH Vice -President and an esteeme d engineering expert was appointed the President of the Governing Board of the Heating Company; The attempts to discredit the Board Members and the Management of the Company seem to be primarily motivated by fear that the restart of the central heating sy stem in Prijedor would automatically translate into voters’ support for the SDP and other moderate, non -nationalist parties in the upcoming municipal elections scheduled for October 2004; 73 Prior to the 1992 -1995 conflict, Prijedor’s paper production comp any Celpak provided energy for the Central heating system. The company stopped working during the conflict and never restored its pre -war capacity 74 The leader of PDP, the rival party closely allied with the SDS; 75 He justified it with the need for all the contracts signed by the former government to be reviewed and claimed that that the guarantee had been offered was not valid for it had not passed the RS parliamentary procedure; 76 Slovenian company Montevar

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breach of contract. Faced with the lawsuit, the Government backed off, gave the down

payment to the contractor and the reconstruction finally started. The contr actor helped the

Heating Company find a very favourable loan at a Slovenian bank to provide the

resources for completion of the project 77. However, since the Government failed to accept

the terms of the loan by the time of the elections in October 2002 78, the entire issue was

again shelved until after the appointment of the new government, at which point the

whole thing had to start from scratch.

In May 2003, the RS Assembly passed the Decision ordering the new government carry

out its duties with respect to the reconstruction of Prijedor’s central heating system 79. In

the meantime the RS Prime Minister claimed that the Government couldn’t carry out this

Decision until the completion of IMF report on validity of RS government’s guarantees,

including the one of fered for the reconstruction of Prijedor’s Public Heating Company 80.

After this turned out to be a bogus claim, the Prime Minister ordered the RS Auditor's

report on the alleged illegalities and criminal activities of the Heating Company’s

Management.

The Auditor’s report 81 resulted with the suggestion to the RS Government to do its best to

finish up the started investment. Following the Auditor’s suggestion, the Government

then contacted a new bank - Razvojna Banka from Banjaluka to provide for the cash

necessary to finish up the reconstruction works. Since this bank offered a much less

favourable loan than the Slovenian bank once did, the price of investment was raised for

almost 1.5 million BAM of taxpayers’ money.

77 The loan required a 5 -year repayment plan with the 7.5% annuity and monthly instalments of 81 000 BAM (BAM). 78 The favourable loan offer from a Slovenian bank expired in the meantime; 79 However, this decision was not published in the Official Gazette for another 3 months. Hence, the issue was stalled once again since every decision of the RS Assembly comes into force only after it has been published in the RS Official Gazette. 80 This turned to be a bogus claim: When the Heating company representative approached the IMF representatives to check if the P rime Minister’s claim, they told him that they had nothing to do with the issue; 81 Mayor herself sent an official request to the RS Auditor’s Office urging the auditing job to be done as soon as possible, so that another heating season was not lost to it. The Auditor’s report came out in mid -September, 2003;

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Why Nationalism and Development Do N ot Go Together

All the above-mentioned problems that Prijedor’s moderate Municipal government has

had with the nationalists in the ‘upper echelons’ clearly shows that the former war lords

in BiH refuse to loosen up the grip on power. The nationalist party ’s supporters have

been holding onto their various posts in the government doing a little more than

standoffishly observe the course of events. Although it is rather difficult to estimate how

many ‘secret agents’ or so -called ‘sleepers’, are built into th e pyramid of public

authorities, or even non-governmental scene, nationalists placed in the public enterprises,

courts, police and alike, have become the primary obstacle for many reforms. Only one

thing is certain: their help from the ‘second row’ becomes readily available whenever the

power of their parties is jeopardised on the municipal or any other level. As the case of

SDS-SDA ad-hoc coalition in Prijedor demonstrates, nationalists are so determined not to

lose power that they readily cooperate with t heir former foes of the rival nationalist

parties. Contrary to the expectations based on a gruesome war -history, SDA, a major

Bosniak nationalist party, fully cooperates with Serb nationalists in the political setting of

the RS, and have turned itself into the major political ally of its war -time archenemy.

That’s why their representatives in Prijedor’s Municipal Assembly do not advocate any

re-assessment of generally nationalistic attitudes and policies at public companies or

government agencies. Having in mind the popularity of these nationalistic parties among

their respective adherents - too often reinforced through their respective religious

communities and their clergy - it is rather hard to isolate one municipality, like Prijedor,

from what has been g oing on throughout the RS and the entire BiH where the majority of

issues in legislative bodies are being raised and discussed ‘by the weight of who proposed

them – SDS/SDA/HDZ nationalists, or the rest of political spectrum. Since most of

public employee s and non-appointed government officials were hired in the period of

1992-1995 or immediately after, they represent firm basis of anti -developmental forces.

Cementing the war -generated categories, like ethnic exclusiveness and omnipresence of

nationalistic ideology in political, economic, social or cultural sphere, they keep their

positions and influence intact. Diluting the power of nationalists can be successfully

initiated only if started from both ends – local and governmental – at the same time, as

well as simultaneously in both entities: for example, purging SDA and HDZ generated

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personnel in some neighbouring Federation municipality would leave, the SDS affiliates

in Prijedor with no valid arguments in their fight against the moderates in the present

Municipal government.

How the Dayton’s structure of BiH Impedes Development

Asking why the RS Government does not fulfil its obligations stipulated in IHRL or

domestic laws and the Dayton Agreement (GFAP), seems to be a pretty moot question,

once everybody is reminded that the RS is not the creation of the GFAP but the

brainchild of the SDS Party founded and enforced by the practice of ‘ethnic cleansing’

that during the 1992 -1995 conflict. The practice of ‘ethnic cleansing’ instituted by the

SDS turned once ethnically mixed areas into a homogenous region, almost exclusively

inhabited by the Serbs, thus, appropriately named ‘the Serb Republic (RS). Dayton

agreement signed at the end of 1995 simply put the legal framework around hitherto

illegal entity entrenched in mass executions, expulsions, discrimination and other

egregious crimes against the non -Serb population on its territory. The institution building

in today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina is constantly at the verge of collapse because of

institutional recognition of ethnic exclusiveness.

In the present situation, the RS thus represents an obstacle for normal communication

between the International donors or investors, on one side, and a sustainable development

of BiH municipalities and economic regions, on the other82.

As the RS is largely perceived as some sort of international award for war crimes

committed against the non -Serb population in BiH, it serves as some sort of a role model,

primarily for HDZ, for their own request for a separate national enti ty, which further

destabilizes the state structure. Consequently, this unifies Bosniak nationalists on two

levels – against threatening Croats and already separated Serbs. The RS thus becomes a

focal point of all three nationalisms, reproducing and regen erating war energies and de -

focusing public attention of Bosnian citizens from transition and developmental issues.

RS is the structural impediment to development of the civil society and free market in

BiH, which are crucial for sustainable economy.

82 The same statement applies to the Federation BiH as the other BiH entity;

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GAPS:

Ø The nationalists in the RS Government deliberately stalls Prijedor’s

development by undermining projects designed or initiated by the appointees

of their rival, moderate parties currently leading the Municipal government;

Ø The RS is an embodiment of the nationalist and discriminatory policies and

those policies are in direct opposition with any sustainable development;

In the situation where the work of the Municipal legislative body is continuously blocked

by inter-party rivalries, it is the duty of th e RS Ministry of Management and Local Self

Government to mediate between the parties with the aim to remove the stalemate; On the

contrary, the Ministry has offered contradicting opinions on contentious issues and, thus,

further complicating and prolonging the impasse; the RS Constitutional Court has been

further contributing to Prijedor’s quagmires by not deciding on the constitutionality of

Article 16 of the Municipal Statute; The role that both aforementioned RS institutions

have played in Prijedor’s pol itical stalemate, illustrates the ways in which the RS

government can undermine the right to participation and participatory development on

the municipal level 83.

PART II Economic obstacles

Under the available data given by Municipal Department of Econo my and Social Affairs,

economic activities in 2003 produced a negative balance in the amount of –6.351,888

BAM (profit minus losses), which is even greater than the negative balance in 2002 –

5.627,982. (See the Table 1.1 below).

83 Declaration on the Right to Development, GA Resolution 41/128, annex, 41 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 53) at 186, UN Doc. A/41/53 (19 86), Article 1 & 2; Article 78 of RS Law on Local Self -Governance

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Table 1.1. Economic activities of legal entities ∗ in Prijedor, provided by the Economic Department of the Municipal Government Prijedor’s

economic

activities-legal

entities

Until 30.June.02

in BAM

Until 30.June.03

In BAM

Current / previous

index

Total income 114.983,853 133.276,094 1,16 (increase)

Total

expenditure

(business

expenditures)

120.590,121 139.627,982 - 1,16 (increase)

Profit 4.556,864 4.858,514 1,07 (increase)

Loss 10.260,236 11.334,415 -1,10 (increase)

Balance –5.627,982 –6.351,888 1.13 (increase)

∗Catering, trade and other small businesses are not included here

According to the local economic experts at PREDA, the rise of a negative balance is the

result of several factors combined: first - the fact that the overall economic environment

is generally not conducive to the development of business, second - the fact that, in the

year 2003, Ljubija Mine and Smelting Company as the prime income generator in the

Municipality, managed to make only half of its 2002 income.

Government Policies Generate Economi c Obstacles The negative balance of Prijedor’s economy was the main reason why in the year 2003,

the RS government categorised Prijedor as an underdeveloped municipality 84. This

entitled the Municipality to a high percentage of municipal tax return (50%). H owever, in

the second half of 2003, the RS government came out with the new system of

categorization under which Prijedor was unexpectedly promoted two categories up – it is

to become a ‘developed municipality’ in the year 2004 85. What this translates into is

84 Placement of the RS Municipalities in different development categories is done by the RS Government as stipulated in Article 8 & 10 of the RS Law on Budget, RS Official Gazette, 11/2003; The status of undeveloped municipality entitles it to the tax revenue return, in the ratio 50:50 (the municipality get one half while the other half goes into the RS budget); extremely undeveloped municipalities get 60%,medium developed – 40%, while develo ped municipalities get only 30% of the revenues collected on its territory; 85 The promotion to a higher development category took place despite the fact that all relevant parameters demonstrated a steep decline in economic activities in the Municipality. (See Table 1.1 );

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some 20% cut down in the revenue return to the municipal budget. This decision, thus,

directly undercuts the declared municipal development strategy and their intention to

allocate 5 percent of its 2004 budget (approximately 600,000 BAM) for developmen t

purposes since the calculation was done on the assumption that the RS Government

would keep Prijedor in the category of ‘undeveloped municipalities’ in 2004, given the

decline in economic activities in 2003;

In the interview with RMAP team representative s, the Mayor also complained that not

only the Municipality is not consulted or timely informed about its promotions or

demotions into various development categories, but the RS Revenue service always

‘refuses to provide the Municipal government with the i nformation on the exact amount

of public revenues collected on its territory’ .

In order to check on this complaint, the RMAP teams contacted the RS Revenue Service

in Banjaluka whose officials stated that, ‘as far as they are concerned, all the revenue

information is should be readily available to every municipality, not only through the RS

Revenue Service but through the RS Treasury and RS Ministry of Finance’. However,

the discrepancy between the declared availability and accessibility of information on

collected revenues and the situation the municipalities face in their everyday contacts

with the respective RS government agencies is indicated by the fact that OSCE Regional

Office recently tried to assist by convening the meeting with the representatives of some

20 municipalities in the RS (including Prijedor) that had problems accessing the

information on revenue collection from the respective RS agencies 86.

GAPS: Ø By the powers vested in the existing Law on Budget 87 determining

distribution of revenues by the criteria set by the RS Government,

municipality is, in fact, deprived of the possibility of planning its own budget

spending, as well as development strategies 88.

86 The information on this meeting was provided by one of the RS Revenue Service officials interviewed by RMAP; 87 RS Official Gazette, No: 11/03 88 ICCPR Article 25, HR Committee General Comment 25, para. 6

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Ø the RS Revenue Service, The RS Ministry of Finance and the RS Treasury

seems to have been deliberately withholding the information on revenue

return to certain municipalities, for political reasons;

The existing RS Law on Budget 89 is not in accordance with the IHRS 90, and the

right to participation and information stipulated in the UDHR, Ec tHR, ICCPR, as

well as the RS LSG, Art. 78, which regulates the right of citizens to participation;

The Budget Law gives the RS Government the power to determine which

development category each municipality falls under, and consequently what

percentage of tax money collected on the municipal territory, will actually return

to its budget. In the RS political context, this means that the RS Government often

uses this power to ‘punish’ the municipalities led by the opposition parties by

‘promoting’ them into a more developed category, and effectively cutting them a

significant portion of budget income, as in the case of Prijedor. At the same time,

they demote the municipalities governed by the affiliates of the parties in

government on the RS level, thus increa sing the percentage of revenue return to

the municipal budget

This power consequently makes the RS Government the primary actor in

determining and/or changing the course of development processes on the

municipal level, instead of the municipality, itself 91, effectively undermining

municipal right to participatory development. At the same time, the RS Revenue

Service has not made the information on the amount of revenues collected on the

municipal level easily accessible to the municipal authorities, thus fa lling short of

their obligation to impart and receive information;

89 RS Official Gazette, 11/2003; 90 HR Committee General Comment 25 on Article 25 ICCPR, para. 6, 7,8; 91 ICCPR Article 25, HR Committee General Comment 25

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Through Non-Transparent Privatisation the RS Trades Valuable State Assets for a Bit

of Social Peace

In the interviews with RMAP both the representatives of the Municipal Department of

Economic and Social Affairs and PREDA experts asserted that the process of

privatisation of state -owned companies carried out through the RS Agency for

privatisation is so non -transparent that the only way they can find out which Prijedor’s

state-owned compan ies have been privatised is by occasionally checking the list of

already sold property published at irregularly updated web page of the RS Agency for

privatisation92. The experts also stress that, compared with other countries in transition;

the privatisation - as it has been carried out in BiH/RS/Prijedor - has an extremely

dubious concept 93 and creates a strong disincentive to investment 94.

Since the investors are allowed to use the certificates on their 'old foreign currency

savings accounts' in lieu of ca sh, and invest not more than 5 -10% in real cash95. This

indicated that the RS is in such a bad need of cash, that it is ready to sells its state

property for peanuts; small amounts of real cash collected through privatisation, are than

used to cover the RS Government’s obligations and debts 96. Buying social peace, thus,

becomes more important than investing and development of sound businesses. Had this

state capital been sold for cash only, the state would be in the position to develop solid

development and r etraining programs for laid -off workers.

GAPS:

Ø The ongoing process of privatisation of state -owned companies through the

RS Government’s Agency does not allow for the Municipality to have the 92 http://www.rsprivatizacija.com 93 The concept is mainly based on vouchers that enable some 35% of state-owned companies to be privatised by the voucher holders – 20%, PIO Fund – 10%, while the Privatisation (Restitution) Fund got 5%. (Articles 26 and 27 of RS Law on Privatization of State Capital in Enterprises, RS Official Gazette, No: 24/98 and 62/02). The rest – 65% of the state-owned capital was offered for sale through public tender. 94 In order to be able to manage the company in the owner of majority of shares, one has to have not the customary 50% + 1 share, but 70% of them and the RS Government also conditions the sale on the duty of the new owner to keep former employees and not to change the line of business; 95 Law on Privatisation of State Capital in Enterprises, RS Official Gazette, 24/98 and 62/02) 96 The OHR estimates that 50% of the RS budget goes for public spending, w hile on the BiH level public spending reaches 60% of the entire budget. In comparison, the percentage of public spending in other transitional states is somewhere between 30 -40%; the EU countries on average spend some 20% of their budget for public spendin g.

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right and timely information on what state property on its te rritory is being

sold through the privatisation process;

Ø Since the entire privatisation process is handled by the RS Agency for

Privatisation, the money ends up in the RS budget and the Municipality does

not reap any benefit from the sale of the property on its territory.

Non-transparency of privatisation process in the RS infringes on citizens’ right to

information since it prevents them from getting any information on what state property

located in Prijedor has been sold in the process of privatisation. The RS Government and

its Privatisation Agency thus fall short of providing the access to information guaranteed

by the ICCPR and ECHR 97 as well as the domestic legal framework, including the RS

Law on Self-Governance, the RS Constitution and GFAP.

Effects of Economic Crisis on Employment

According to the information provided by the RS Employment Bureau Office in Prijedor

the number of the unemployed person, is on a steady rise 98. What is particularly

worrisome is the fact that a) 32.5% of the unemployed we re under 30 years of age, most

of who are first -time job seekers; b) 63% of the unemployed were the persons under 40

years of age.

The officials at the Employment Bureau emphasize that the official numbers are

somewhat deceiving, given that many of the re gistered persons are, in fact, self -employed

or working under the table (in the grey economy) and only register at the Bureau for the

purpose of getting a free health insurance. The Employment Bureau pays for the health

insurance of some 77% of those regis tered.

97 ICCPR article 19, UDHR article 19 and ECHR article 10 98 In November 2003, the total number of registered unemployed persons was 10,841 out of which 4,965 were women. As of December 16, 2003 the total number grew to 11, 032 persons, out of which 5, 056 were women. What is particularly worrisome is the fact that 32.5% of the unemployed were under 30 years of age, most of who are first -time job seekers; 63% of the unemployed were the persons under 40 years of age.

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As for the number of the employed 99, officials at the Municipal department of Economy

and Social Affairs claim that those numbers are not realistic, either since the list of

officially employed are filled with scores of people who, in fact, are eith er laid-off (on

waiting lists) or their companies owed them several monthly salaries in arrears, or they

fill in the posts that are not economically viable. To make the problem more illustrative,

the officials add that the most recent estimates show that t he ratio between the pensioners

and the employed persons is 1:1 – there is one pensioner for every employed person in

the municipality.

Although there are no official data on the number of employed returnees, RMAP

observed that this number is extremely lo w100. As aforementioned, most of the returnees

chose not to exercise their right to compensation for the illegal termination of their

contracts under Art. 143 of the RS Labour Law because of the lack of trust in the RS

court system. In addition, most of them do not even take the opportunity to register at the

Employment Bureau Field Office in Prijedor 101, which demonstrates the lack of

returnees’ confidence toward the RS government institutions, in general.

GAPS: Ø A large distrust in state -sponsored training an d re-training programs for the

young, first -time job-seekers and laid -off working age population,

Ø The lack of capacity and legal aid for the returnees to claim their rights for

fair compensation for the loss of jobs;

Ø The lack of employment opportunity a nd training programs for the returnees

and, returnee women heads of households, in particular;

Ø The lack of reliable data on the real number of the employed/unemployed due

to the existence of grey economy and rampant underemployment in non -

viable companies;

99 According to the RS Statistical Bure au information from March 2003, the official number of the employed in Prijedor is 15,128; 100 Based on RMAPs observance and information received from returnee representatives, over 90% of returnees in Prijedor are not employed; 101 For more details see Tabl e 1.4, Annex 1: Employment/Unemployment Statistics;

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The State Parties to the relevant IHRL conventions must ensure that the citizens have the

right to equal access to employment 102. Equality should especially be ensured for

vulnerable and/or marginalized groups, like returnee women heads of households and

other vulnerable groups. As interpreted in the Article 3 of the ICESCR, Article 3 of the

ICCPR. Equality in this case corresponds to ‘the State (…) taking specific actions to

correct those conditions…such as…granting for a time to the particular of the popu lation

concerned certain preferential treatment in specific matters as compared with the rest of

the population 103.” Based on article 5 of RS Labour Law 104, citizens have the right to be

equal, including the equality of access to employment.

PART III Social obstacles The existing political and economic crisis in Prijedor undermines the creation of

business-friendly environment, while murky privatisation process, rampant grey

economy, tax evasion practices and the inability of municipal inspectorates to ensure

proper business conduct, directly affect the amount of money allocated and spent on

education, health care, social welfare, economy, culture, science and alike.

Prijedor’s Health Sector: In Need of Capacity Building 105

Lack of funds has brought the Prijed or health system on the brink of collapse. Basic

medical equipment is missing and there is the insufficient number of outpatient clinics in

surrounding villages. Most of the equipment in Primary Healthcare Centre 106 and

especially in the outpatient clinics h as not been replaced for more than 15 years.

102 ICESCR ARTICLE 6 103 General Comment No. 18. of the United Nations Human Rights Committee 104 RS Official Gazette, No: 38/00, 40/00, 66/03, 38/03 105 The Municipality of Prijedor has one Primary Healthcare Ce ntre (Dom Zdravlja, hereafter – DZ) and one General Hospital with the following wards : Intensive care, Surgery, Internal Unit, Gynaecology and Midwifery, Paediatrics, Neuropsychiatry, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Nose, ear and throat, Radiology, Transfusion of blood, Microbiology, Physical Therapy and Medical Rehabilitation, Dermatology and STD’s, Medical biochemistry and haematology, Pathology, Hospital pharmacy; Prijedor’s DZ has seven satellite outpatient clinics in the surrounding villages. Before the 199 2-1995 war, there were 12 satellite outpatient clinics of DZ; five of them ceased to function during the war and have not been restored yet. 106 As Prijedor is the Municipality of some 92,000 inhabitants, there are 900 patients admitted daily at the Primary Healthcare Centre.

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Moreover, pre-natal or natal care is not provided in the Primary Healthcare Centre

(hereafter DZ) in Prijedor for there is no a gynaecologist/obstetrician on staff 107.

The embargo on foreign donations that Prij edor had been placed under because of non -

cooperation with the ICTY 108, left grave consequences on its public health system, and

prevented any significant donations in medical equipment or vehicles for several years.

Emergency Unit at the Primary Healthcare Centre in the Prijedor’s urban area has only

two ambulances 109 available and neither of the vehicles has life -sustaining equipment.

The situation is particularly difficult in winter months when doctor’s visits to many of the

rural communities simply cease du e to bad road conditions.

Out of over 40 settlements and villages outside Prijedor’s urban area, only seven of them

presently have functioning outpatient clinics 110. There are villages that are more than 15

kilometres away from their corresponding outpatien t facility111.

Most of the outpatient clinics do not have ambulance vehicles at all. The outpatient clinic

in the returnee village of Kozarac has one vehicle donated to this clinic after the war 112.

Before the war Kozarac had its own Primary Healthcare Center with 50 people on staff.

The outpatient clinic is now located inside the school building, has only two people on

staff and lacks basic equipment. However, not all the clinics are in the same, poor state.

When compared with the one in Kozarac, Omarska outp atient clinic (largely populated

by Serbs), for example, looks like a first -class clinic: it has its own laboratory 113 and a

pharmacy and two ambulance vehicles; the clinic organizes pre -natal courses and has 45

107 If a pregnant woman comes to DZ for a regular check -up, she is not examined by a gynaecologist or obstetrician , but a general practitioner. Pregnant women are then sent to Prijedor’s General Hospital for check-ups since it is the only public health institution with a gynaecologist on staff. Therefore, this secondary health care institution has taken the responsibility of primary health care clinics with regard to pre-natal and natal care. 108 Under aforementioned Lautemberg Amendment; 109 One vehicle is the donation of the Norwegian Red Cross and is primarily used for the transportation of patients in need of kidney dialysis; 110 Those are Brezi cani, Hambarine, Gornja Lamovita, Omarska, Kozarac, Ljubija and Trnopolje; 111 The village is Javor, for example, is 18 kilometres away from its corresponding outpatient clinic in MZ Kozarac. 112 The vehicle is in a bad condition and breaks down frequently; t he doctor says that he pays to get it fixed out of his own pocket; he also covers the gas costs; The situation in similar in Brezi cani: The clinic does not have telephone and in the case of emergence the staff ask neighbours to call up the Emergency Unit i n Prijedor. The nurse uses her own private car to transport of patients; 113 No other village outpatient clinic has its own laboratory so the village population needs to come to DZ laboratory tests; for most of them that also implies the use of public tra nsportation and thus causes additional expenses and jeopardizes affordability of primary health care;

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persons on staff. This clearly indicates that, apart from general shortage of funds, there is

an uneven distribution of resources for health care needs, based on ethnic preferences.

A steady rise of TBC and malignant diseases has been detected in Prijedor in the post -

war period. There is an increase o f cancer of the uterus and breast cancer. Due to limited

financial resources, health care sector cannot afford to organize public health awareness

training on prenatal and postnatal care, cancer, STD's, HIV, drug and alcohol abuse, and

alike.

As a consequence of deteriorating situation in the health care system, accompanied by

poor living conditions and lack of awareness on health issues, the mortality rate in

Prijedor is increasing: it is currently 25 % higher than the birth rate 114.

GAPS:

Ø There is a lack of outpatient clinics in Prijedor villages;

Ø There are indications of unequal treatment and uneven distribution of funds

among outpatient clinics in Serb -dominated villages, on one, and Bosniak or

Croat-dominated villages, on the other;

Ø There is a lack o f basic equipment in both primary and secondary health care

system;

Ø The lack of seminars and trainings on public health issues contributes to a low

level of health awareness among the general population;

Ø The lack of public health strategy and plan of actio n, on the basis of

epidemiological evidence, addressing the health concerns of the population;

Ø The lack of public health strategy causes the lack of awareness on health

issues.

114 The Office of the Registrar reported that in 2003 there were 777 newborns and 1056 deceased. In 2002, there were 611 newborns and 1015 deceased;

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The lack of available resources deteriorates the conditions in the healt h sector and

prevents the population from achieving the highest attainable standard of health. This

right is also guaranteed by the DLF, namely the RS Law on Health Protection, Art. 9 &

18 and the RS Constitution, Art. 37. The inequitable distribution of m unicipal funds for

primary health care, also contributes to the perception of discrimination in enjoyment of

right to health among the returnee population in Prijedor (The comparison between the

Kozarac and Omarska clinics best illustrates this point). The situation described above

indicates the non-compliance in the right to health guaranteed in IHRL and the ICESCR,

CEDAW and CRC 115 in particular: CESCR General Comment 14, E/C.12/2000/4 reads

that ‘the right to health (…) contains both freedoms and entitleme nts. Ensuing from this

right are the following obligations of the duty holder (the Municipal and the RS

government, respectively) that have not been fulfilled on the satisfactory level: to ensure

the right of access to health facilities, goods and services on a non-discriminatory basis,

especially for vulnerable or marginalized groups and to ensure equitable distribution of

all health facilities, goods and services as well as to adopt and implement a national

public health strategy and plan of action, on th e basis of epidemiological evidence,

addressing the health concerns of the whole population; the strategy and plan of action

should be devised, and periodically reviewed, on the basis of a participatory and

transparent process; they should include methods, such as right to health indicators and

benchmarks, by which progress can be closely monitored, giving particular attention to

all vulnerable or marginalized groups.

Social Assistance: Taking from the Poor to Give to the Poorest

Officials at the Municipal Centre for Social Welfare state that as many as 80 per cent of

Prijedor’s population are eligible to receive the social welfare assistance under one or

more criteria set in the existing RS Law on Social Protection 116. However, The Centre

currently has only around 6,500 persons registered as recipients of various sorts of social

assistance. The Centre is solely financed from the Municipal Budget 117. Due to uneven

115 ICESCR article 12, CEDAW article 12, CRC article 24 116 Articles 3 and 10 of the Law on Social Protection of the RS, RS Official Gazette, No: 5 /93 & 15/96 117 The amount allocated for the Social Welfare Sector in the 2003 Municipal budget totals 1.766.400 (BAM). However, both the officials of the Social Welfare Centre and the Head of the Economic

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distribution of budget resources, the payments to the social assistance beneficiaries are

almost one year behind 118.

The only type of social assistance that is being paid regularly is the one that comes from

the RS Fund for Children headquartered in Bijeljina. 119 Under the RS Law on Child

Protection, the second, third and any following child have the right to social assistance ,

depending on the family socioeconomic status 120. However, regardless of the family

socioeconomic status, under certain conditions stipulated by the Law, the first born child

is entitled to the social assistance 121.

Due to the large debt s that the Centre for Social Work has accumulated over the years,

individuals who had been hospitalised in various mental institutions throughout the

country are now being released and sent back to the municipality. As a consequence,

those persons are most ly becoming homeless or staying in some makeshift refugee

settlements122.

Finally, one of the main problems for the social welfare sector is the lack of housing for

individuals and families in need. Before the war the Centre had a significant housing fund

with dozens of flats for social welfare beneficiaries in need of housing, but had lost this

fund in the privatisation process due to the administrative failure that had given those

tenants full tenants’ rights which in the process make them eligible for pri vatisation of

flats owned by the Social Welfare Centre.

Department of the Municipal Government at separate interviewed confirmed that by the end of 2003 the Municipality owed some 100,000 BAM to the social welfare recipients . 118 At the same time, the Centre has extremely high administrative costs due to a high number of administrative staff: out of 39 full-time employees at the Centre, there are 29 administrative workers, 8 social workers, 1 speech therapist and 1 psychologist . According to the Rules and Regulations of the Functioning of the Public Institutions stipulating the professional requirements in the social welfare sector it is required that for every 6,000 – 8,000 inhabitants in the municipality, there should be, at l east, one social worker. Given that the estimated number of citizens currently living in Prijedor is over 95,000 people, the existing number of social workers at the Centre is inadequate. 119 They provide one -time assistance for all newly born babies and th eir mothers. Around 1,500 packages are given yearly in the Municipality of Prijedor according to the statistics received from the Centre for Social Work in Prijedor. 120 Law on Child Protection RS article 23 (“Revised text”, RS Official Gazette, No: 4/02), CRC article 26 121 Law on Child Protection RS, article 23, paragraph 3 122 Centre for Social Welfare has 18 persons registered as homeless (13 males and 5 females). Information provided by the Centre for Social Work to the RMAP team, 16.11.2003.

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GAPS:

Ø The Municipal Government has fallen short of its obligations set in the RS

Law on Social Protection by failing to pay some 100,000 BAM in money

allocated in 2003 Municipal budget for social a ssistance monthly stipends to

respective social assistance beneficiaries;

Ø The Municipality has lost its entire public housing fund due to administrative

failure that had given the tenants in public housing, the full tenants’ rights

which in the process of privatisation of socially owned apartments, made them

eligible for privatisation of flats owned by the Social Welfare Centre; the

municipality has the obligation to provide public housing for the most

vulnerable groups in need of shelter; therefore it will need to find the

resources to rebuilt and replenish public housing fund;

Ø The Municipality has failed to fill its obligation with regard to regular

payments to mental institutions where the citizens of Prijedor in need of

psychiatric or other hospital tre atment have been put up; therefore, it those

people have been sent back to municipality where they turned into homeless,

jeopardizing them, as well as the people in their immediate surroundings;

In accordance with the RS Law on Social Protection 123, over 80 percent of Prijedor’s population

meets the requirements of some form of social assistance. However, the municipal government in

charge of those payments have been several months behind in payments of monthly stipends even

for the most vulnerable once. F urthermore, persons with mental and physical disabilities are

discriminated against in the Municipality because of delays in payments to the institutions some

of them are hospitalised in. The RS Law on Social Protection entitles disabled people to the

special kind of care as a vulnerable group 124. However, due to inequitable distribution of

resources, the Municipality has not been sending regular payments to the institutions where some

of its citizens where hospitalised with the result that they are sent back to the municipality.

123 Articles 3 and 10 of the Law on Social Protection of the RS, RS Official Gazette, No: 5 /93 & 15/96 124 Ibid.

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Education with a Price Tag Poor financing of the educational sector directly affects the working conditions and

quality of classes offered in Prijedor’s schools 125. Many schools do not have basic

equipment and the school buildings are in poor state. The financial responsibility is

divided between the RS Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Municipality of

Prijedor126 .

Most of the central schools and the branch schools, in particular, work in difficult

conditions. Many schools do no t have basic equipment and the school buildings are in

poor state. Some village schools do not even have running water since their water supply

system is in bad need of repair 127.

The municipality of Prijedor has a Special Education Elementary School in its area. The

school is placed in the wooden barracks that are more than 45 years old and in a

deteriorating condition. Their classrooms for technical education and workshops have

the minimum required equipment. 128 What complicates their already difficult fina ncial

situation is the fact that the schools are required to pay industrial prices for utilities. High

bills they pay for communal services significantly raise material expenses, that are, in

fact, covered by the money received from the municipal and the R S budget. This has

been inherited from the previous, socialist system; what this practice effectively does is to

put the state in a situation to stealing from itself, since it is the public companies that sell

its services to schools under those prices, as if the schools were ‘for -profit’ organizations.

Due to the high bills paid for the communal services, there is no money left in municipal

budget to pay for other obligations or expenses. Although the municipal authorities are

125 There are 12 functioning elementary schools in Prijedor. Four of the elementary schools are located in the Municipality, while eight of them are located in the surrounding villages. There are 6 secondary schools with 13 different curricula and 51 vocational profile offered. 125 In addition, there are three schools that offer higher education - Nursing school, Business College and the Faculty of Geology and Mini ng (an affiliate of the University of Banja Luka); 126 The 2003 Municipal Budget planned the allocation of the following amounts for respective levels of education: Higher Education -74,800 BAM (4,3% of the budget), Secondary Education - 750.00 BAM (4.4% of the budget), Preschool Education - 615, 000 BAM 3,6% of the budget. The officials of the Municipal Department of the Economic and Social Affairs admit that, although allocated, those amounts were not transferred to school accounts in full Both elementary and secondary schools received only around 80% of the earmarked amount by December 24, 2003. The 2004 municipal budget will reduce the allocations for additional 10%. 127 The school in Carakovo village, for example; 128 Interview with the School’s Principle

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required under the RS Law on Elementary School 129 to pay for the transportation of the

school children to their respective schools, they have, so far, failed to do it. Instead, they

have left it on the parents to pick up the tab. Given that many parents are facing financial

hardship and simply cannot afford to pay for their children’s transportation, there are

numerous cases of children who are either forced to walk to their schools beyond the

range of four kilometres, or to drop the classes altogether, especially during winter 130.

Since there is no public transportation provided, the school children mostly use

commercial buses to commute. Due to the lack of transportation, teachers refrain from

organizing field trips and other extracurricular activities.

In addition, the Entity and mun icipal authorities have slashed budget allocations to

Prijedor schools with the result of many schools not being able to cover basic expense

(including heating and school maintenance bills). That’s why the school boards have

recently introduced the practic e of demanding from their students to contribute to school

budgets with their own money.

This leads to conclusion that in the Municipality of Prijedor elementary education is not

free of charge or affordable for all, especially the vulnerable groups. Ro ma children face

special difficulties in regularly following the classes, since their parents have very little or

no income131. Since elementary education is free of charge, by Law 132, asking children to

pay for transportation fees and to contribute for materi al expenses is in direct violation of

their rights133.

In addition, there is a perception among the returnee population that the access to schools

is somewhat restricted due to their perception resulting from the fact that some school

buildings were former detention camps during the war times, i.e. Elementary School

“Cirilo i Metodije” in Trnopolje.

129 The RS Law on Elementary School, RS Official Gazette no: 4/93, 6/93. 130 RMAP members were told of those practices by the school principles or community leaders in the villages of Bre zicani, Biscani and, Donja Ljubija; 131 Out of estimated number of 500 Roma people currently living in Prijedor, only three of them are employed. From the RMAP interview with the President of Roma Association in Prijedor; 132 RS Law on Elementary School, 4/93 , 6/93; 133 Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education BIH, BiH Official Gazette, No: 18/03, ICESCR article 13 (a), CRC Article 28 stipulate that the elementary education is mandatory and free of charge;

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GAPS:

Ø The primary education is not affordable for all; there are significant expenses

involved in paying for transportation of students or contributing to payments

of high material costs of schools that many parents are not able to sustain;

Ø Due to inequitable distribution of resources from the Municipal budget, the

Municipality has failed to cover the transportation costs for students in need of

one;

Ø There is relatively low percentage of non -Serb teaching staff in Prijed or

schools;

Ø There is a perception of restricted accessibility, for the returnee population, in

particular, due to the fact that some school building were the sites of war -time

detention camps;

Although primary education is mandatory and free by domestic a nd international law 134, it is, in

fact, not free in practice since the school children have to pay for everything from transportation

to school repairs. In addition, the school for children with special needs exists in the municipality

Prijedor but it is f ar from satisfying the basic needs of this especially vulnerable group. 135 Under

the domestic law the duty holder is obliged to provide functional environment, which is not the

case in many schools both in the urban and rural parts of the municipality 136.

Under Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education BIH, (hereafter FLonPSE), Article

18 ‘For the period of obligatory education competent government bodies are obliged to take

necessary measures in order to ensure conditions for free access and participati on in education,

especially in regard of ensuring access to free textbooks, handbooks and didactic material;

Government is obliged to transfer resources for the school expenses to the Ministry for

Education, Science and Culture. Ministry is further obliged to cover the costs of the Municipality

for: salaries, transportation costs for pupils (including pupils with the disabilities), for

maintenance, school equipment and material costs etc.

134 Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Educa tion BIH, ICESCR article 13 (a), CRC Article 28, GA Resolution 41/128m annex 41 UN GAOR article 8 (physical accessibility). 135 Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education BIH, articles 18, 19, ICESCR article 13, CRC article 28. 136 Framework Law on Prima ry and Secondary Education BIH, articles 18 & 135.

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Culture: One Voice Theatre The Municipality of Prijedor has relativ ely vibrant cultural life. The following cultural

institutions are financed from the Municipal Budget: the theatre, the art gallery, the

Museum, and the Town’s Library; several other cultural and artistic organizations exist

both in the urban and rural par ts of the Municipality.

Public Cultural Institutions: Temples of One National Culture

The percentage of the Municipal budget for the promotion of cultural life in the

municipality of Prijedor totals approximately 680.100 BAM. This represents a mere 4%

out of the total proposed 2003. According to the Department of Economic and Social

Affairs the main criteria for allocation of funds is the quality of the program 137. However,

a closer look at the list of distributed resources shows that two cultural and recrea tional

associations received much larger sums than others: the Serb Cultural Association

Mladen Stojanovic received 32,500 BAM, and the Mountain climbing Association

“Klekovaca” - 10,000 BAM. All other organizations in the municipality received 5,000

BAM each138. Interestingly enough, the head of the former association is also the

president of the Serb Radical Party (RS RS) in Prijedor, while the other one is the

municipal councillor and a high -ranking SDS official.

There are several public cultural institu tions in Prijedor, many of them with a long and

successful tradition, i.e. the Prijedor’s Public theatre 139, the Museum and the Municipality

library that are all plagued with financial difficulties. The officials at those institutions

have stated that the level of cooperation between them and the municipal administration

is correct. As for the cooperation with the Entity Ministry, they said it was poor since

there is general lack of support for promotion of culture in the entire RS entity.

While complaining about the lack of resources, the heads of those cultural institutions did

not seem to mind the lack of diversity in their programmes. For example, the Theatre

137 Criteria also included: tradition, number of sections, number of members, representation of youth, culture and the municipality and the quality of the leaders of the organizations. Information received f rom the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, dated November 11, 2003. 138 The information was received from Department of Economy and Social Work, on 11 November 2003 139 It was founded in 1954 and even before the war it was known for its quality. Infor mation received during an interview with the Director of the Theatre on November 11, 2003.

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only cooperated with other theatres in the RS and the biggest international event they host

every year promotes only the theatre plays of one, Serb playwright 140. On that occasion,

Prijedor’s theatre again only hosts the theatres from other RS towns or Serbia and

Montenegro.

The Permanent ethnological exhibition at the Regional Museum in Prijedor also largely

serves for the promotion of the Serb folklore and it has been criticized as discriminatory

against other ethnic groups 141. In the Museum’s defence, the Director explained that its

pre-war permanent exhibition had undergone changes during the 1992 -1995 conflict

when the Museum was broken into and some of its artefacts were stolen and photographs

burned. Some of the artefacts are in storage due to the lack of space. The Director states,

“that the museum does not make distinctions among any of the ethnic groups in the

municipality and the region” 142. Yet, out of 9 exhibitions that the museum had in 2003,

most were done in cooperation with museums or artists’ associations in Serbia and

Montenegro. All ties that existed with the museums or theatres of the cit ies that are now

part of BiH Federation have been broken. There have been no attempts made to re -vive

the relationship.

Prijedor’s Regional library Cirilo i Metodije has some 40.000 books available. The

library has no the space of its own but uses the pr emises of the Museum. It should be

noted that the most of the books that the library possesses were purchased from the

publishers in Serbia and Montenegro.

New Cultural Strategy: Planting Seeds for Harmonized Society

The local NGO “DON” has been implemen ting Together for Culture Project whose aim

is to develop a new cultural strategy of the Municipality of Prijedor. The European

Commission for Culture (Amsterdam) has financed the project, together with ECHO

Budapest. This initiative represents a “joint ve nture” of various segments of society:

140 The works of a famous playwright Petar Ko cic. The Annual Theatre Festival is dubbed Kocic's Serb Scene 141 This view was expressed by some participants during the Second Round table on the New Cultural Strategy 142 RMAP Interview with the Museum Director

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NGOs, officials at the public cultural institutions, politicians, and representatives of

Roma and Czech minority. However, complains have been voiced by the members of the

returnee population regarding their exclusion from this project (e.g. the representatives of

the Cultural Artistic Society Osman Dzafic say they have not been included in the process

of designing this strategy).

As indicated above, the culture in Prijedor has only one ethnic denominator, while th e

cultural specifics of other ethnic groups are largely ignored. Although there are some

feeble attempts at the promotion of a multicultural legacy in the municipality, recent

conflict has made this sector a political pawn for the promotion of a Serbian an d

patriarchal culture. This leads to discrimination rather than inclusion of the rich

multiethnic heritage of this region. The choice of the theatre repertoire, the programme of

the exhibitions and other cultural events, clearly demonstrate the intent to p romote only

the culture and heritage of one ethnic group (Serbs), while completely neglecting the

others.

In order to forestall any possible discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, the municipal

authorities in Prijedor should start emphasize the mult icultural character of the area and

make efforts to promote equally the cultural heritage of all ethnic groups residing there.

This is particularly important given the fact that the pre -war Prijedor was a kaleidoscope

of 17 different ethnic groups. Althoug h many members of those groups left Prijedor

during the war, sizable number of Bosniaks and Croats who have returned, along with the

Slovenes, Czechs, Ukrainians who remained in the Municipality throughout the entire

period, clearly indicate that it is a h igh time for the change of the existing cultural policy

based on the promotion of Serb culture only.

GAPS:

Ø Lack of Cultural Strategy based on promotion of Prijedor’s multiethnic, multi -

religious and multicultural community;

Ø Promotion of only Serb cultur e through public cultural institutions paid from

the Municipal budget;

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Ø Lack of legal framework, on both the RS and BiH -level regulating the

promotion of cultural rights of ethnic groups on the equal basis.

It is worth noting here that although both the RS Constitution 143 and the GFPA144

guarantee the equality of all people on its territory, regardless of their ethnic origin, there

is no specific legal framework, neither on the RS nor on the State level regulating the

promotion of cultural rights of ethnic g roups on the equal basis. This gap in legal

framework makes any attempt of promotion of cultural heritage of non -Serb ethnic

groups practically accidental and contingent on the persistence of the NGO sector and the

good will of municipal officials. In the current situation still burdened by exclusivist

national ideologies, it is very difficult to promote multiculturalism and equality of

cultural rights of all.

Contrary to domestic law that is conspicuously deficient in the area of cultural rights,

IHRL offers a myriad of human rights treaties and declarations guaranteeing the right to

cultural life to everyone and calling for preservation and promotion of cultural

diversity145. In order to abide by the international human rights standards, the RS and

Bosnia and Herzegovina should harmonize their domestic laws to properly reflect the

rights guaranteed in the IHRL.

Environmental Highs and Lows

Prijedor is well known for the nearby national park created on the slopes of the Kozara

Mountain. The national park was founded in 1967 and covers the area of 3.375 ha,

with806 meter -high ‘Mrakovica’ plateau as its peak 146. Four rivers (Mljecanica,

Mostanica, Vojskovacka Rijeka and Bukovica) run through the slopes of Kozara At

143 RS Constitution, Article 27, 64, 68, Officia l Gazette 21/92, 28/94, 8/96, 13/96, 16/96, 21/96, 21/02, 31/02, 12/00, 31/00, 36/00, 10/01; 144 GFAP (Dayton Peace Agreement), Annex 8, Article 4 -5; 145 ICESCR Article 15, paragraph a) that recognize the ‘right of everyone to take part in cultural life’, ICCPR Article 27 that ensures the Right of Minorities to enjoy their own culture ; Article 2(2) UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities 1992; Framework Convention on the Protection of Natio nal Minorities Article 5 which says, that ‘the State Parties undertake to promote the conditions necessary for persons belonging to national minorities to maintain and develop their culture, and to preserve the essential elements of their identity, namely their religion, language, traditions and cultural heritage’, etc. 146 RS Law on National Parks, Official Gazette 21/96

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Mrakovica, there is a famous Memorial dominated b y a monument dedicated to the

victims of the WWII. 147

While the existence of the National park in Prijedor’s vicinity is given a lot of weight to,

salient problems of water supply and illegal garbage disposal sites are somewhat

downplayed and largely ignor ed by the municipal authorities.

Illegal garbage disposal sites

In the post -war Prijedor, there were 24 waste disposal sites, altogether. 18 of them have

recently been cleaned 148; (corresponds to 10.000m3). In order to prevent the formation of

new illegal depositories, the Municipality animated the Office of communal police and

inspectorate with the Department for Housing and Communal Affairs to pay more

attention to this problem. The campaign of continuous protection of cleared sites has been

undertaken w ith the active role of the local population 149.

In the interview with the Communal inspector, the RMAP team was informed on ten

radioactive lightening conductors that had been identified on the territory of the

Municipality. Although those items have lon g been put out of use, they have not been

removed yet. When the Municipal Department for Housing and Communal Affairs in

Prijedor sent an inquiry to the respective institution in Banja Luka, 150 they instructed

them leave them put until an adequate solution i s found.151

Sewage System: Danger of Spill over and Other Health Hazards

The Municipal sewage system presents a serious problem 152 given that it is properly

regulated only in the town’s centre. 153 The rest of the municipality, including the

147 http://www.npkozara.com 148 In the year 2003, 160.000 BAM was allocated from the municipal budget for that purpose. The proposed budget for 2004, plans for 50.000 to 60.000 BAM to be spent for the removal of the remaining illegal garbage disposal sites; 149 Since the banks of the river Sana has also been used as disposal sites, the Municipality started the cleaning project which has been imple mented by the members of the Fishermen Society of Prijedor. 150 Institute for Protection of Health, Department for Protection from Ionizing Radiation. 151 Note: there is no disposal site for the radioactive substances available in BiH. 152The recent outbreak o f TBC in Omarska is suspected to have been the consequence of recent influx of sewage water into the main village’s water well; 153 ICESCR Article 12 calls for ’the States Parties to recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and obliges them to take steps to achieve the full realization of this right through the improvement of all aspect of environmental and industrial hygiene.’

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suburban and villag e MZs encounter problems in this domain 154. In addition, RMAP team

was informed about the cases of illegal connection onto the water system. This state of

affairs might have various repercussions on the entire water supply because the pipes

onto which people get connected illegally are of a high importance and any possible

damage inflicted on them might cause major disruptions in the system. 155. In order to

confront those issues (water supply and sewage system), the Municipal government has

designed a Project entitled ‘The long- term solution for the water supply of the

municipality of Prijedor from 2002 to 2006’. The core of the project is based on

protection of clean water; this project also includes the protection of the spring well in

Tukovi, the main water well in the Prijedor area. This well faces an acute danger of being

polluted by the malfunctioning sewage system. 156

Moreover, the RS Law on Environmental Protection 157 proscribes that each municipality

must provide a Local Action Plan for the strategic prot ection of environment (protection

of soil, air and water). Prijedor municipality is currently in the process of drafting this

Plan. Another example of the precarious situation regards the sewage system in Donja

Puharska. The residents of Donja Puharska use the Puharska stream in lieu of a sewage

drain, making this stream very polluted, especially in the summer months. The

municipality allocated 100.000 BAM for cleaning of the Puharska stream in 2004 budget.

The municipal authorities plan to solve other rela ted issue according to the schedule set

by the aforementioned Project. If this Project is fully and successfully implemented,

Prijedor will have a well -functioning water supply system by the year 2006.

Regarding the alleged discrimination in enjoyme nt of the right to water, the RMAP team

was informed on several occasions about the practice of diverting water flows to certain

settlements at the expense of the other 158. This especially has been the case in the rural

MZs. For instance, in the MZ Donja Lju bija, the water well has been redirected from

154 ICESCR General Comment No. 15 states that right to water is (…) inextricably rated to the right to the highest attainable standard of health (art. 12, para. 1) and the rights to the adequate housing and adequate food (art. 11, para.1) 155Source: Interview with MZ Secretary of Donja Puharska. 156 The RS laws require s from each RS municipality to draft its own Book of Rules on sanitary protection of drinking water wells 157 RS Official Gazette 53/02 158 Source: Interviews with the MZ’s representatives

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Donja Ljubija (Bosniak -dominated settlement) to Ljubija (Bosnian Serb -dominated

settlement) prior to mass return of the Bosnia and Croat population into this area.

Additionally, the discrimination along the urb an-rural lines can also be observed in this

regard (the suburban settlement of Brezicani being the case in point since their water

supply system has been significantly debilitated in order to improve the town’s centre

supply system.

Apart from the De partment for Housing and Communal Affairs that is officially in charge

of regulating the above -mentioned issues, there is a couple of NGOs 159 that are active in

environmental protection. 160

GAPS:

Ø There is the unresolved issue of radioactive waste (lightenin g conductors) on

Prijedor’s territory that has not been dealt with yet.

Ø Water supply system is in a bad condition;

Ø Sewage system is porous and there is a danger of spill over into the main

town’s water reservoir;

Ø There are cases of illegal connection to t he water supply system;

Ø The cases of diversion of water pipes allege discrimination against non -

Serb/returnee population;

159 The governmental and non -governmental bodies have joined forces in campaigning against the construction of the hydroelectric plant in Vrhpolje near Sanski Most; The parties involved include: the NGO DON, NGO Sanus, OSCE, Department for Housing and Communal Affairs and representatives of several municipalities affected by the construction of this hydroelectric plant and accompanying dam. The municipalities span across the inter -entity lines; 160 Ecological NGOs are: Sanus (Prijedor), Kozara and several Mountaineering Clubs Klekovaca and Pauk, as well as a Fishing and Hunting Society.

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If the RS Law on Environmental Protection 161 which proscribes that each municipality

must provide a Local Action Plan for the strategic protection of environment (protection

of soil, air and water) is followed, Prijedor may still be able to correct its inconsistencies

regarding the environmental protection; Municipal governments has already designed the

Project on protection of the main water well in the Prijedor area which is in acute danger

of pollution; IHRS also require from the state parties to recognize the right to

environment and environmental health; ICESCR Art. 12 calls for ’the States Parties to

recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of

physical and mental health and obliges them to take steps to achieve the full realization of

this right through the improvement of all aspect of environmental and industrial hygiene.’

In addit ion, ICESCR article 12 (1) General Comment No. 14 states that right to water is

(…) inextricably rated to the right to the highest attainable standard of health (art. 12,

para. 1). and the rights to the adequate housing and adequate food (art. 11, para.1)

ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN

A quick look at the main legislative and executive bodies of the Prijedor’s local

government would make us believe that the number of female representatives at high -

ranking posts in Prijedor is relatively high. Apart from 9 female m unicipal councillors

(out of 31), women are in charge of several important subdivisions within the municipal

departments162, i.e. bookkeeping and accounting offices. Furthermore, thanks to the fact

that since very recently, both the Mayor and the Assembly Pr esident are females, some

BiH media have dubbed it ‘the Municipality governed by women 163’. The statement is, of

course, more sensational than true, for the Municipality is hardly governed in the interest

of its female population.

Prijedor's high-ranking women mostly head subdivisions or manage portfolios like

protocol, information dissemination or education that have ‘traditionally’ been 161 RS Official Gazette 53/02 162 None of the six municipal departments, (The Department of General Affairs, Department of Urbanism, Department of Economy and Social Affairs, Finance Department, Department of Housing and Communal Affairs, Department of Disabled War Veterans) is headed by a woman. 163 See Article ‘Prijedor governed by women’ published in Oslobodjenje Daily on 27 December 27, 2004; p.6; Source: Oslobodjenje, 27Decembar, 2003 ‘Prijedorom vladaju zene’, str. 6;

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considered ‘female portfolios’. Women also dominate in the fields of social work,

health164, etc., which also proves th e existence of a glass ceiling in power distribution

between the two genders in the municipality. The majority of secretaries of local

communities (MZ’s) are male even though the majority of populations are women

especially in the returnee dominated local communities.

As previously mentioned, only in the NGO sphere, and among returnees’ women in rural

areas, in particular, the promotion of the needs and rights of women and children has

been properly voiced 165.

In the cultural sector, out of three public cul tural institutions, one has a female director

(the Regional Library); this institution is also the only public institution which does not

possess its own premises.

The only avenue for the promotion of gender equality is the Municipal Board for Gender

Equality, a 6-member body166. The five out of six members are women. So far, the board

has implemented one project titled Introducing the Gender component into the school

curricula. The project was to be initially implemented with the cooperation of four

schools167 but in the end only three schools completed the project. Ironically, the only

school that did not implement this project is the school that has a female principal who

is also a representative in the RS Assembly .168

Lack of gender-based politics in the municipality is reflected in the relatively low

awareness of women’s needs that are specific to this municipality. This lack of initiative

affects many aspects of the lives of women both in the urban and rural parts of the

municipality. What is needed is a s ystemized gender database that would give a clearer

164 For more details see Tab le 1.2. in the Annex 2 on Employment/Unemployment Statistics; 165 The NGO from Kozarac “Srcem do Mira” as well the NGO “Familija” have loudly voiced the issues that affect women and have headed all reconciliation processes across entity lines. 166 The board wa s formed on the basis of the Mayor decision dated October 22, 2003. Information received from the Report of the work of the municipal board of gender equality in the period from January 1 st to December 31 st, 2003, page 1. 167 Two rural and two urban primary education schools. 168 As stated by the President of the Municipal Board for Gender Equality “this principal stated the lack of adequate funds as the reason for not implementing the project in her school”. Information received during interview with the abov e mentioned official;

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picture of the gender breakdown and the reality of the actual needs of women and to

move towards the full enjoyment of their rights.

For example, the right to social assistance 169 is not fully enjoyed due to the inequitable

distribution of resources from the municipal budget; Since, the majority of the recipients

of this immediate right are women and children, the municipal administration is clearly

sending a message that women’s and consequently children ’s needs are not seen as a

priority.

Due to the non-compliance of existing social security regulations, domestic violence is

becoming a huge issue in Prijedor municipality. The number of cases has increased from

two in 2002 to 19 in 2003 170. Furthermore, wo men’s health issues are not adequately

promoted in the existing healthcare facilities. Because of the financial problems the

Primary Healthcare Centre is currently facing, the prenatal care is offered at the General

Hospital, which also suffers from the la ck of basic equipment 171.

Women Helping Women through NGO 172 A number of NGOs in Prijedor strive to improve the economic, social and political

position of women in the society. One of such NGOs is called Nada. Its projects are

oriented towards the provision of education (computer and English courses) as well as the

self-sustainable projects for women (sewing workshops). They also deal with women,

victims of domestic violence.

Familija, is an NGO founded by the returnee women with the focus on the provision o f

medical and psychological help to women of rural and urban areas. Another returnee

NGO founded by women is the Association called Srcem do mira . Many of the women

gathered around this association are civilian war victims and prison camps detainees.

169 CEDAW article 14 (c), CRC; Article 3 of the RS Law on Social Protection 170 The number of domestic violence cases is suspected to be much higher due to the lack of reporting or filing charges with the local police. 171 Outdated equipmen t of Hospital’s Maternity Ward (15 -year old ultrasound machine, un until recently non-existing mammogram, demonstrates non -compliance with CEDAW Article 12, (women’s right to health and especially reproductive health); 172 For a detailed list on Prijedor’s NGOs, see Annex 2;

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In Rizvanovici village there is the third women -led NGO called Mostovi Prijateljstva.

The NGO became known through the implementation of the self -sustainable projects that

involve rural women (one is the self -sustainable project of greenhouses that employs 8

women, and the other is the project of home care visits, which engages 4 returnee women

financed by an Italian donor). As the President of this NGO pointed they have been

facing certain organizational problems in conducting training for projects involving rural

women: workshops for rural women should take place in their respective rural areas ,

which has not been the case so far. In order to undergo the training those women had

been requested to travel away from home and many had to give up the training sinc e they

could not leave their households where they are often the sole breadwinners and

caretakers173. Those women have returned to their pre -war places of residence and now

mostly survive on irregular remittances from their relatives living abroad, with the

exception of those ‘lucky ones’ who had found their jobs during their displacement

period in neighbouring Sanski Most (Federation of BiH) and continued to commute to

work after their return.

In order to include a larger number of rural women into income -generating projects,

several NGOs in the area have been implementing handcraft production project.

Designed as a part of occupational therapy for returnee women with war -trauma, these

projects also extended to domicile women in general, contributing to the improvement of

inter-ethnic relations among the returnee and domicile population.

Although these projects are popular among rural women and present a commendable

effort in promotion of traditional crafts of the area, they reflect a low educational level of

those rural women and indicate the need for further capacity building.

173 Due to high number of missing men from the region, women make a majority in the working age population in the returnee villages. According to some estimates there are over 1000 widowed mothers and heads of households;

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SUMMARY OF REPORT FINDINGS Public Administration

Ø Prijedor’s councillors, exercise their governmental power for the interests of

their respective party elites, rather than t heir electorate thus undermining the

citizens’ right to indirectly participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic,

social, cultural and political development 174.

Ø By withholding the information on the issue of direct concern to the respective

MZ and igno ring their own initiatives and requests on construction of roads

and other public goods in their respective areas, the Municipal government

undermines citizens’ right to information and direct participation 175.

Ø The SDS and other nationalists in the RS Gover nment deliberately stalls

Prijedor’s development by undermining projects designed or initiated by the

appointees of their rival, moderate parties currently leading the Municipal

government;

Ø The RS is an embodiment of the nationalist and discriminatory poli cies and

the main role of its institutions is to preserve the RS ethnic homogeneity by

perpetuating nationalistic and discriminatory policies and making sure that

any development initiatives carried out by non -nationalists are discredited in

efficient and timely manner;

Economy

Ø By the powers vested in the existing Law on Budget determining distribution

of revenues by the criteria set by the RS Government, municipality is, in fact,

deprived of the possibility of planning its own budget spending, as well a s

development strategies 176.

174 ICCPR Article 25, HRC General Comment, No: 25, Para. 7; 175 ICCPR Article 15, HRC General Comment, No: 25, Para. 6 (b); 176 ICCPR Article 25, HRC General Comment, No: 25

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Ø The RS Revenue Service, The RS Ministry of Finance and its Treasury sector

seem to have been deliberately withholding the information on revenue return

to certain municipalities, for political reasons;

Ø Non-Transparent Process of Privatisation does not allow for the Municipality

to have the right and timely information on what state property is being sold

through the privatisation process;

Ø Since the entire privatisation process is handled by the RS Agency for

Privatisation, the mo ney ends up in the RS budget and the Municipality does

not reap any benefit from the sale of the property on its territory.

Health

Ø There is a lack of outpatient clinics in Prijedor villages;

Ø There are indications of unequal treatment and uneven distribu tion of funds

among outpatient clinics in Serb -dominated villages, on one, and Bosniak or

Croat-dominated villages, on the other;

Ø There is a lack of basic equipment in both primary and secondary health care

system;

Ø The lack of seminars and trainings on pub lic health issues contributes to a low

level of health awareness among the general population;

Ø The lack of public health strategy and plan of action, on the basis of

epidemiological evidence, addressing the health concerns of the population;

Ø The lack of public health strategy causes the lack of awareness on health issues.

Social Welfare

Ø The Municipal Government has fallen short of its obligations set in the RS Law

on Social Protection by failing to pay some 100,000 BAM in money allocated in

2003 Municipal budget for social assistance monthly stipends to respective social

assistance beneficiaries;

Ø The Municipality has lost its entire public housing fund due to administrative

failure that had given the tenants in public housing, the full tenants’ rights whic h

in the process of privatisation of socially owned apartments, made them eligible

for privatisation of flats owned by the Social Welfare Centre; the municipality has

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the obligation to provide public housing for the most vulnerable groups in need of

shelter; therefore it will need to find the resources to rebuilt and replenish public

housing fund;

Ø The Municipality has failed to fill its obligation with regard to regular payments

to mental institutions where the citizens of Prijedor in need of psychiatric o r other

hospital treatment have been put up; therefore, it those people have been sent back

to municipality where they turned into homeless, jeopardizing them, as well as the

people in their immediate surroundings;

Education

Ø Primary education is, in fa ct, not affordable for all; there are significant expenses

involved in paying for transportation of students or contributing to payments of

high material costs of schools that many parents are not able to sustain;

Ø Due to inequitable distribution of resourc es from the Municipal budget, the

Municipality has failed to cover the transportation costs for students in need of

one;

Ø There is relatively low percentage of non -Serb teaching staff in Prijedor

schools;There is a perception of restricted accessibility, fo r the returnee

population, in particular, due to the fact that some school building were the sites

of war-time detention camps;

Culture

Ø Lack of Cultural Strategy based on promotion of Prijedor’s multiethnic, multi -

religious and multicultural community;

Ø Promotion of only Serb culture through public cultural institutions paid from

the Municipal budget;

Ø Lack of legal framework, on both the RS and BiH -level regulating the

promotion of cultural rights of ethnic groups on the equal basis.

Environment

Ø There is the unresolved issue of radioactive waste (lightening conductors) on

Prijedor’s territory that has not been dealt with yet.

Ø Water supply system is in a bad condition;

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Ø Sewage system is porous and there is a danger of spill over into the main

town’s water reservoir;

Ø There are cases of illegal connection to the water supply system;

Ø The cases of diversion of water pipes allege discrimination against non -

Serb/returnee population;

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Annex 1: Employment & Unemployment Statis tics

Table 1.1. The Structure of the Employed by Sectors*

Processing Industry

Commercial and Servicing Sector

Health and Social Work

Education Other

Sectors∗∗

TOTAL

Men 2509 1138 272 337 4472 8,701

Women 1558 1408 775 601 2058 6,427

TOTAL 4067 2546 1047 938 6530 15,128

∗Source: RS Statistical Bureau, March 2003; ∗∗ Hotels and Restaurants, Telecommunications, Agriculture, Mining, Real state, etc.

Table 1.2. The Structure of the Employed by Qualifications*

*Source: RS Statistical Bureau, March 2003

Level of Education

PHD MA BA Associate Degree

High School

Vocational School

TOTAL 1 10 947 945 3637 3247

Women 0 1 430 508 1930 966

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Table 1.3. The Number of Unemployed Persons by Education, Social Category, Age, Gender, Ethnicit y* ∗Source: RS Employment Bureau, Prijedor Field Office, July 2003 Total Number of Unemployed: 10599 Education

Number

Without formal Education 3776

Vocational School 3981

High School 2604

Associate Degree 157

BA 80

MA 1

Social Category

Number

Disabled War Veterans 468 War Veterans 2972 Fallen Soldier Family Members 212 Persons with the Status of a Permanent Resident

6911

Displaced Persons 2576 Refugees 514 Returnees 598 Age

Number

Up to 30 years old 3449 30-40 years old 3259 40-50 years old 2457 Over 50 years old 1434

Gender

Number

Men 5758 Women 4841 Ethnicity

Number

Serbs 9697 Bosniaks 150 Croats 380 Others 462

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Annex 2: The List of Prijedor’s NGOs:

Name of NGO Mission Association for help to mentally retarded persons

Socialization, rehabilitation, training, involvement and employment of persons with special needs, their integration into community

Association of agricultural producers of Prijedor

Support to agricultural production

Association of paraplegics and other bodily disabilities

Identifying and including all members to organize their status in the society

Association of pensioners and disabled persons Ljubija

Organization of activities in answering of challenges of the elderly and needy;

Association of Roma Prijedor

Affirmation of Roma people and provision of education, employment and accommodation

Association of social workers of Prijedor

Skills improvement of social workers, provision of aid and support

Caritas Roman Catholic Church Charity Ceska Besjeda, Association of Czechs of Republic of Srpska

Preservation of Czechs culture

Diakom-Association of citizens

Psychological support to children and returnees and Roma children

Dialogue Development of dialogue between groups of different national, religious, social and cultural background

Dobrotvor Prijedor Humanitarian Work and Psychological Support

DON- Association of citizens

Development of civil society and economic strengthening of citizens.

Association of women Donja Puharska

Foster reintegration and coexistence in the community

Family Building the better life, coexistence regardless of nationality.

Prijedor

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Foundation for return and reconstruction Prijedor’98

Supporting the return process of Bosniaks and Croats to Prijedor municipality;

Hljeb života Collection and distribution of aid in food, clothes and hygiene kits;

Kozara-KUD, Donja Ljubija

Revival of cultural life

Kozara, Prijedor Preservation of traditional songs of the sub-Kozara region.

Manifest Association of Urban artists

Improvement of cultural life and multicultural exchange

Merhamet Donja Ljubija/Prijedor

Bosniak Charity Organization

Mladen Stojanovic -Serbian Artistic Cultural Association

Development of culture and art, keeping the tradition

NGO Mostovi prijatel jstva Support to needy persons,

sustainable return, education of women

NADA Women’s Assoc. Helping women, children and elderly

Osman Dzafic- Cultural Assoc.

Preservation of Folk Dance tradition

Pro et Contra Development of civil society and protection of basic civil rights;

PRO TEMPORE Prijedor Humanitarian aid. SANUS Prijedor Protection of environment NGO Srcem do mira Improving local, social, humane,

and cultural prospects of returnee population, women in particular.

SVJETIONIK Youth Center

Help and support to needy young people

Youth Center Hambarine Development of culture and art, keeping the tradition.

Youth Center Ljubija Integration of different youth groups, direct aid to youth, education

ZDRAVO DA STE Helping needy people, supporti ng the right to development of children, youth and adults