Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina has experienced deep ethnic divisions and political conflict that have hampered efforts to make progress on key reform priorities, which are necessary in order to join the Euro-Atlantic community.
INL assistance seeks to aggressively fight corruption, disrupt the political capture of institutions at all levels of government, and support a strengthened rule of law environment. INL invests in partners and institutions that advance these goals while functioning independent of political control. The United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina also share diplomatic priorities including addressing corruption, cybercrime, and drug control policy.
INL Programming
- Rule of Law – improve the Bosnia and Herzegovina criminal justice system; root out corruption in the justice sector and government institutions.
- Citizen Security and Law Enforcement – build capacity for Bosnia and Herzegovina partners to conduct complex financial investigations and counter the trafficking of people, narcotics, and other illicit goods; strengthen the capacity of civil society; improve public trust in law enforcement bodies and the judiciary.
- Counternarcotics – support drug supply reduction.
Goals
INL seeks to have all high-level corruption and organized crimes investigated by all levels of prosecutors’ offices in order to ensure transparency and accountability.
INL also aims to have all Canton Sarajevo Police Commission and State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) investigators possess the necessary skills and capabilities to conduct high-level corruption, organized crime, and other complex criminal case investigations.
INL will continue to support professionals from Bosnia and Herzegovina who are members of the INL-funded International Society for Substance Use Professionals and who actively participate in online drug demand reduction training activities.
Accomplishments/Impact
- In the span of three years, INL has developed the Canton Sarajevo Anti-Corruption Office from a relatively toothless organization to one that is effective and thus, feared by corrupt officials throughout the country. INL has steadily empowered the Office by improving its ability to conduct investigations, expand its mandate, enhance technological capacity, advance an anti-corruption agenda, and strengthen its anti-corruption public messaging.
- In coordination with the FBI’s Office of International Operations and the Legal Attaché, INL provided resources and training to expand and improve investigations based on encrypted network communications. This work has led to multiple important high-level arrests and indictments.
- INL helped establish the country’s first master’s degree program in forensic accounting and a related certification program, as well as practical legal training – as opposed to theoretical – for law school students at major law faculties throughout the country.