Combating corruption

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Rick Holtzapple, conducted a two-day visit to Canton 10 and Una-Sana Canton, meeting with various political leaders, local government officials, civil society actors, and community representatives. The visit reinforced the Mission’s commitment to supporting good governance, democratic processes, the rule of law, human rights, and trust-building efforts across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Rick Holtzapple, visited Central Bosnia Canton and Zenica-Doboj Canton to strengthen co-operation with relevant stakeholders.

FOČA/GORAŽDE, 14 October 2025 – The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Rick Holtzapple, visited Goražde and Foča today to engage with key political and institutional stakeholders. The visit underscored the continued support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) for good governance, quality education, and regional co-operation throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, including across the Upper Drina region.

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Rick Holtzapple, completed today a two-day visit to Banja Luka, where he met with political, institutional, and civil society actors to reaffirm the Mission’s commitment to supporting democracy, rule of law, human rights, and inter-institutional dialogue in BiH.

During his first official visit to Tuzla, Vukosavlje and Odžak, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission), Ambassador Rick Holtzapple, reaffirmed the Mission’s commitment to supporting regional stability, arms control and effective institutional co-operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission), Zahid Movlazada, concluded a two-day (Sept. 9-10) visit to Livno, Drvar, and Bihać, engaging with key Mission stakeholders and counterparts across Canton 10 and Una-Sana Canton to advance dialogue on pressing local issues and reinforce co-operation with the Mission.

The Municipal Anti-corruption Initiative (MAI) of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, launched in 2018 as part of the Mission’s programmatic focus to fight corruption at all government levels, included monitoring anti-corruption trends and processes within the sector of public management in local governance units (LGUs) across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and presenting the main findings and recommendations in the form of thematic reports. The first report, completed in 2019, assessed spaces for corruption in the provision of grants and in-kind support to civil society organizations. This report’s focus lies on presenting the key features of asset management system at the local level and identifying corruption risks in current procedures and practices in the management of immovable assets in 22 selected LGUs.

The report aims to assist Local Self-Governance Units (LGUs) in limiting the space for corruption in the provision of support to civil society organizations (CSOs) at the local level. It is based on the OSCE’s comprehensive monitoring of public financial management, questionnaire responses, and interviews conducted with representatives of 20 LGUs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.