Politicians tend to speak a lot, but do very little, Bosnia-Herzegovina Human Rights Ombudsman Frank Orton said touching on the biggest problem in the human rights field in the country. In an interview for STA, the veteran Swedish human rights campaigner, who was appointed by the international community, revealed that his office is most concerned with a weak public administration and court backlogs in Bosnia.
Orton, who was appointed to the post of Bosnian Human Rights Ombudsman in mid-2000, stressed that he was concerned by the scheduled changes in the office of the Bosnia-Herzegovina ombudsman. His term is to end at the end of 2003, when he is due to be replaced by three local officials. However, Orton feels that this is not the right way, as both federations - the Muslim-Croat and the Republic of Srpska - already have three ombudsmen each.

Therefore, Orton believes that changes to the structure of the Ombudsman institution in Bosnia-Herzegovina are in order. He claims that the unification of the three individual offices - the two federal and the national one - would be the best solution for the citizens and would also cost less.

Describing the work he has done since assuming this demanding job in a country where ethnic tension is still rife, Orton highlighted that at the beginning of his term he was inundated with complaints about the courts, which failed to obey law. Since then the focus has shifted from the courts to the public administration, freedom of religion, speech and press, as well as claims of discrimination in the workplace.

Much work still needs to be done as regards human rights and the rule of law in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Orton told STA. People must be assured a decent life and the state needs to make Bosnia a more interesting place for foreign investors, because this is the only way to economic development, the Swedish official said.

Touching on the problems in the public administration, Orton explained the most worrisome aspect was that civil servants were not ready to assist and work in the name of the people. At times it seems to them as if the citizens are there because of them and not the other way around, he said. We would like to change this and teach officials the right way to treat citizens, he added.

Moreover, racism and other forms of discrimination are still a problem in the country and Orton's office has been tackling them with special gusto over the last 18 months. The latest efforts in this field included a public awareness campaign with television advertisements. Moreover, Orton - a participant of a recent meeting of European ombudsmen in the Slovenian capital - pointed to the fact that people do not known how to get in touch with the ombudsman.

Orton, a former President of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, revealed that he has not faced any real pressure or attempts to influence his work from the local politicians. He added that he found it interesting that some individuals from the international community had attempted to tell him how he should function so that he would remain independent.

The human rights ombudsman in Bosnia-Herzegovina is appointed by the international community. The office of the ombudsman in Bosnia was established by the Dayton Agreement which ended three years of conflict in the former Yugoslav republic. The current legislation sets down that the national ombudsman must not be a citizen of Bosnia or the neighbouring countries.