The High Representative for BiH, Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko, called on Bosnians to respect the norms of the European Convention on Human Rights, which Austria itself has not signed.
This was reported by Glas Srpske, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Valentin Inzko stated that BiH's priority is to implement the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, primarily in the case of Sejdić and Finci v. BiH. The gypsy Dervo Sejdic and the Jew Jakob Finci at one time challenged the Bosnian legislative system enshrined in the Dayton Accords in the ECHR, according to which seats in parliament and government bodies are reserved for representatives of the three main Bosnian communities - Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. Sejdic and Finci believed that in this way the state ignores the rights of ethnic minorities.
“Implementation of the ECtHR judgment is an absolute priority... in order to put an end to discrimination against BiH citizens based on their nationality or place of residence,” Inzko said. – This is not only about the implementation of court decisions and international obligations of BiH, but also about the protection of the rights of all citizens of BiH and the elimination of discrimination. We are talking about respect for one of the most ancient principles of civilization - equality. The main priority must be to make BiH a home for all its citizens.”
At the same time, as the portal notes, the head of the High Representative “acted clumsily or hypocritically” because he did not disclose to the public that his native Austria and many other European countries, unlike BiH, have not ratified Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights. which guarantees the protection of citizens from general discrimination.
Of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, Protocol 12 has not been ratified by as many as 27, including Austria, and nine countries have not even signed it, including the UK, France, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. At the same time, the ECHR decisions in the Finci-Sejdić case were made precisely because of a violation of Protocol 12.