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Verification/Monitoring Mechanism – 1997

In June, Carl Bildt was succeeded by Carlos Westendrop from Spain as High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The UN Security Council endorsed this appointment.¹ It was reported that in the last week of December 1997, the UN High Representative, responsible for the civilian implementation of the accord, was given additional powers known as Bonn power, which gave the HR the power to impose legislation and sack obstructionist officials.² Similarly, on 16 December 1997, the OHR made a decision to impose the Law on Citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina.³“Decision imposing the Law on Citizenship of BiH,” Office of the High Representative and EU’s Special Representative, 1997, accessed April 26, 2011, http://www.ohr.int/decisions/statemattersdec/default.asp?content_id=343….

1. “UN Endorses Designation of New Bosnia High Represensative,” Xinhua News Agency, June 12, 1997.
2. “Rough Times Ahead: Colonel E D Doyle Analyses the Military Situation in Bosnia,” The Irish Times, December 30, 1997.