A paper recently published by the European Stability Initiative argues that the European Union’s insistence on implementation of the Sejdic-Finci decision as a precondition for EU accession may be counterproductive and unfair. The report’s authors argue that BiH is not alone among European states that require candidates for high office to declare themselves with one of the state’s recognized national groups. They also argue that, contrary to the decision issued by the European Court of Human Rights, BiH’s current ethnic restrictions on candidates do not constitute a violation of protected human rights.
All political parties in BiH have expressed willingness to implement the ECHR’s decision on Sejdic-Finci and remove ethnic barriers to elected office.
