Corruption and Anti-Corruption in Sudan
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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: OVERVIEW OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION QUERY SUMMARY Can you provide an overview of and background to In Bosnia and Herzegovina, political corruption at all recent measures taken to address political levels of government remains a serious and corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina? We are ongoing concern. The widespread popular protests particularly interested in elections, political party that shook the country in February 2014 were at financing, codes of conduct, asset declaration, least partly motivated by societal frustration with a immunity, conflict of interest and lobbying. structurally corrupt political system, as well as with the apparent lack of political will to tackle this CONTENT situation. Successive European Commission and Group of 1. Overview of political corruption in Bosnia and States against corruption (GRECO) assessments Herzegovina have repeatedly underlined that Bosnia and 2. Elections Herzegovina needs to step up the fight against 3. Party financing corruption, a key precondition for its accession to 4. Immunity the European Union. Nevertheless, the track record 5. Codes of conduct for politicians of the Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions on the 6. Conflict of Interest issue of corruption, including political corruption 7. Asset declaration remains rather poor. Most worryingly, recent reforms 8. References appear in some cases to have weakened existing anti-corruption legislation, thus undermining \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ previously obtained achievements. Author(s) Francesco Bosso, [email protected] Reviewer(s) Marie Chêne, Robin Hodess, PhD, Transparency International; and Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina, [email protected] Date Responded: 02 June 2014 © 2014 Transparency International. All rights reserved. This document should not be considered as representative of the Commission or Transparency International ’s official position. Neither the European Commission, Transparency International nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International and funded by the European Union BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: OVERVIEW OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION 1 OVERVIEW OF POLITICAL elected officials and political parties in BiH to change CORRUPTION IN BOSNIA AND their approach, especially on corrupt patronage HERZEGOVINA networks that underpin the public sector” (OHR 2014). Background Referring to the protests as ”the Bosnian Spring”, The 1995 Dayton Peace Accords marked the end of several commentators have interpreted the events as the three-and-a-half-year long Bosnian war and a sign that civil society actors in the country might be established a government structure based on two ready to take on a more assertive and proactive role ethnically based sub-state entities with a large in the fight against corruption, and that new forms of degree of autonomy: the mainly Bosniak and Croat participatory democratic politics might be on the rise Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the (Balkan Insight 2014a). Only a few months after the predominantly Serb Republica Srpska. In order to protests have faded, it remains to be seen whether prevent further escalation of ethno-nationalist these potentially promising developments will be able tensions, it also introduced complex power-sharing to act as a catalyst for far-reaching societal change. arrangements requiring the presence of representatives from all three of BiH’s “constituent Extent of corruption peoples” (Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs) in central government. Corruption is one of the main challenges faced by Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country ranked 72 out of 177 countries assessed in Transparency In the post-conflict period, the international International’s 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index. community acted as the main driver of the With a score of 42 out of 100, its performance is the democratisation process, supporting far-reaching third worst among the Balkan countries, only better institutional reforms, the establishment of a market than Albania and Kosovo (Transparency International economy and infrastructural development. A UN- 2013a). mandated High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina also exercised executive power granting The findings of the 2013 Global Corruption him authority to impose decisions on central state Barometer also offer a rather bleak picture: 34 per institutions and to amend constitutional obstacles to cent of respondents stated that corruption has the peace process (Bertelsmann Foundation 2014). increased a lot in the two previous years, 63 per cent believe that corruption is a serious problem in the As the international community has begun to country, and 31 per cent maintain that the withdraw, the last few years have witnessed a government is very ineffective in the fight against resurgence of nationalist rhetoric with demands for corruption (Transparency International 2013b). A independence from various ethnic groups within BiH. UNODC study (2013) also found that one in ten This, together with a general lack of political will from businesses who had had contact with a public official the ruling elite, has significantly hampered the in the 12 months prior to the survey had paid a bribe economic development of the country, weakening its to a public official. Among private individuals, the candidacy for accession to the European Union. figure was as high as 20 per cent. In February 2014, widespread popular protests broke The last European Commission Progress Report out in several of the major cities in the country, and (2013) also concluded that corruption remains particularly in the entity of the Federation of Bosnia widespread, with an insufficient track record of and Herzegovina. Next to unemployment, corruption investigation and prosecution. Criticising recent and political inertia were the key drivers of the unrest, amendments to key pieces of legislation regarding which also led to the resignations of several canton- the financing of political parties, conflicts of interest level ruling politicians. In the 45th Report to the and access to information (see below), it also urged Secretary General of the UN, the High BiH authorities to step up the implementation of the Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina even state-level anti-corruption strategy and action plan. characterised the February protests as “a call for Indeed, the adoption of more effective and 2 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: OVERVIEW OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION comprehensive anti-corruption measures remains a 2 ELECTIONS key precondition for Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the European Union. Overview Political corruption in Bosnia and In the aftermath of the conflict, the Dayton Peace Herzegovina Accords established the creation of a Provisional Election Commission (CEC) formed by the head of the Political corruption refers to the “manipulation of OSCE Mission, the High Representative and policies, institutions and rules of procedure in the representatives of Bosnian political parties. The allocation of resources and financing by political Commission had comprehensive responsibility for decision makers, who abuse their position to sustain registering and vetting political candidates, ensuring an their power, status and wealth” (Transparency open and fair electoral campaign, as well publishing and certifying election results. Its rules and regulations International 2009). had priority over domestic laws (Sahadžić 2009). In Bosnia and Herzegovina, political corruption remains a widespread and ongoing concern. Despite The first general elections to be fully administered by recent progress, political party financing and BiH authorities were held in 2006, and subsequently expenditure remain opaque, politicians and public in 2010. Municipal elections were also held in 2008 officials suspected of corruption continue to enjoy de and 2012. These have been considered to be broadly facto immunity, and conflict of interest and asset in line with international standards of freedom and declaration rules are not effectively implemented. In fairness. In the last general elections, for instance, general, the multi-level state structure of Bosnia and international observers assessed the voting process Herzegovina gives rise to a complex and sometimes as “good” or “very good” in 95 per cent of polling contradictory legislative framework, which in some stations (OSCE 2010). Nevertheless, a UNODC cases poses a major obstacle in the fight against (2011) report has found evidence of vote-buying at corruption. Moreover, implementation of existing recent national and local elections, with 7 per cent of regulations remains partial and inconsistent, citizens being asked to vote for a certain candidate or underlying the need for effective monitoring and political party in exchange for money, goods or sanctioning mechanisms. favours. The findings of the Transparency International (2013) In the run up to the 2014 general elections, concerns Global Corruption Barometer show that respondents were expressed about the state-level parliament’s in Bosnia and Herzegovina identify politicians as the lukewarm attitude toward the implementation of most corrupt institutional actors, with a staggering 77 constitutional court rulings concerning the new per cent of those interviewed feeling that politicians names of municipalities in Republika Srpska and in are corrupt or very