US says next Bosnia peace envoy will have more limited role

May 12 (Reuters) – A top U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday the mandate of Bosnia’s next international peace envoy would be more limited, saying that the departure of the German politician currently in the role in June would mark the end of an era.

The role of the Office of the High Representative has expanded since it was first established to oversee the implementation of the U.S.-backed Dayton peace accords that ended Bosnia’s war in 1995. In 1997, the role was given wider powers to impose laws and appoint or remove some officials.

Speaking before Tammy Bruce announced the changes, outgoing envoy Christian Schmidt said that Bosnia’s rival ethnic leaders were on a mission to dismantle the Balkan country’s state institutions, blocking reforms, hampering economic progress and spreading inter-ethnic fear.

“The OHR was never intended to be permanent, and success for the High Representative means leaving a successor with a far more limited set of responsibilities,” Bruce, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N., told the U.N. Security Council.

U.S. MIGHT SEEK THE POST

She emphasised that local leaders must run local institutions and urged Bosnia’s politicians to focus on practical cooperation and responsible governments.

Bruce said the U.S. might propose its own candidate for the post.

She did not elaborate on the details of the changes, but stressed that they were “not a victory or defeat for any party or group but the recognition of completion of one phase of the international presence”.

Under the Dayton peace accords, Bosnia is split into two highly autonomous regions, the Serb Republic and the Federation shared by Croats and Bosniaks, linked via a weak central government.   

Schmidt’s decision to step down follows years of political turmoil in Bosnia and complaints from Bosnian Serbs, particularly their Russia-backed leader Milorad Dodik, who do not recognise his authority, because his nomination was not endorsed by the U.N. Security Council after opposition from Russia.

ENVOY WARNS ABOUT ATTEMPTS TO BLOCK INSTITUTIONS

In his presentation of his twice-yearly report on the country, Schmidt, who was appointed in 2021, underlined what he said were the damaging effects of Bosnian Serb politics on Bosnia’s institutions and the process of reconciliation, especially mentioning Dodik’s frequent rhetorical attacks on Bosnian Muslims or Bosniaks. 

Schmidt did not respond to Bruce’s comments at the Security Council session. He said he was stepping down for personal reasons.

“We are witnessing deliberate attempts to deconstruct state- level institutions by blocking them and preventing them from performing the responsibilities they were created for,” Schmidt said in his presentation.

“Peace, democracy, and constitutional order for Bosnia and Herzegovina should not be left to erode gradually and deliberately,” he said. 

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Alison Williams)