Ignoring Protests, Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Leaders Opt for Politics as Usual

Ignoring Protests, Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Leaders Opt for Politics as Usual

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina—Ignoring social protests, leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s ruling parties have rejected the latest and final attempt of the European Commission’s enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fule, to find a compromise for the country’s disputed constitutional reform. At the end of a two-day visit, Fule told a press conference Tuesday that leaders of seven main local parties were unable or unwilling to address a 2009 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that found that certain provisions of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s constitution violated minority rights.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina will remain, at least for the time being, in breach of its international commitments. It is a shame for the politicians, through inaction, to fail, because the rest of the region is moving forward toward the European Union, and because citizens are calling politicians to be accountable,” Fule said.

The ECHR found for the plaintiffs in the 2009 ruling, known as the Sejdic-Finci case, in which Dervo Sejdic, a Roma, and Jakob Finci, a Jew, argued that parts of the Bosnia-Herzegovina constitution allocating certain government posts based on ethnicity were discriminatory. The EU has demanded that local leaders adopt new mechanisms for electing Bosnia-Herzegovina’s president and parliament as the key condition for continuation of the country’s EU accession process.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article as well as three free articles per month. You'll also receive our free email newsletter to stay up to date on all our coverage:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having your own personal researcher and analyst for news and events around the globe. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of 15,000+ articles
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday
  • Weekly in-depth reports on important issues and countries
  • Daily links to must-read news, analysis, and opinion from top sources around the globe, curated by our keen-eyed team of editors
  • Your choice of weekly region-specific newsletters, delivered to your inbox.
  • Smartphone- and tablet-friendly website.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review