It is
a great honour and a pleasure to address the General
Assembly at its sixty-first session on behalf of Bosnia
and Herzegovina.
First of all, I would like to congratulate
Ms. Al-Khalifa on her election to her important post,
and also to thank the former President for his
contribution to the United Nations reform process.
Bosnia and Herzegovina aligns itself with the
statement made by the representative of the European
Union (EU), which provides a framework for the
discussion of issues such as peace, stability,
development, human rights, the rule of law and the
need to further strengthen and reform the United
Nations.
We endorse the EU statement, but we would also
like to share with the Assembly Bosnia and
Herzegovina’s experience in peacebuilding, the
implementation of human rights and the rule of law
and economic development in a post-conflict
environment. We believe that in that way we can
contribute to the future success of the international
community elsewhere in the world.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is, beyond any doubt, an
example of successful intervention by the international
community, despite a few negative experiences. I
would like to make it absolutely clear that the job in
Bosnia and Herzegovina is not yet done. There are still
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some bridges that we have to cross before we will have
finished the 15-year-long marathon task of stopping the
fighting, promoting reconciliation and building a stable
Bosnia and Herzegovina with a view to becoming an
EU member in the near future.
Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to Europe; it is
part of the European continent. Medical students —
future doctors — all take the Hippocratic oath. They
swear to apply the highest ethical norms. Law students
get their basic training from the standards of Roman
law. The European heritage and European practices are
firmly rooted in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We must
now embrace all European Union standards and norms.
We do not feel discouraged when we hear people talk
of “enlargement fatigue”. Through the enlargement
process, Europe is spreading democracy itself. It would
be completely contrary to EU and United Nations
principles to grow tired of the spread of democracy.
Recent events in the Middle East have shown us
how important it is to achieve a just and lasting peace
there. But just as we sympathize with people living in
crisis areas today, so too those living in such areas can
observe the process of peacebuilding in Bosnia. One
should pay attention not just to the stabilization of one
State in the Balkans but also to the capacity that the EU
and the rest of the international community have to
initiate swift and efficient intervention.
We in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been assisted
by the United Nations, NATO, the EU, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the
Council of Europe. We have also benefited from other,
unique assistance mechanisms, such as the recently
established Office of the High Representative and the
Peace Implementation Council, which include
European Union members, Japan, Russia, the United
States of America, Canada, Turkey and others.
The war has been stopped, the refugees have
returned and today we are negotiating a Stabilization
and Association Agreement with the EU. However,
none of us should allow the current flaws in Bosnia
and Herzegovina to develop into something more
serious, leading to instability.
As magnificent as it was in terms of stopping the
war, the Dayton Peace Agreement did not tackle some
essential issues, such as providing for every citizen to
enjoy equal rights throughout the country, or for the
State to be able to exercise its powers as a modern,
multi-ethnic State.
Many visitors to my country are especially
impressed by the number of churches, mosques and
synagogues that there are, and the way in which they
coexist in close proximity to one another, serving their
purpose in Bosnia and Herzegovina. That is the spirit
of Bosnia that we inherited from our ancestors, but the
Dayton Agreements have not enabled us to maintain
that traditional aspect of the country.
On the other hand, Bosnia and Herzegovina has
been able to achieve economic and political
development, which strengthens its prospects for
joining Euro-Atlantic integration processes. The
number of foreign military troops on our soil has been
reduced tenfold and the mandate of the EU-led
peacekeeping force has shifted from stabilization to
integration. We have established a single economic
space and a single judiciary system, and the various
intelligence services are now united and are for the
first time under strict and democratic parliamentary
supervision. We have formed a single State-level
Ministry of Defence, and thereby qualified for
accession to the NATO Partnership for Peace
programme.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it is today, was not
shaped by conventional political means. Its structure
was defined by the Dayton Peace Agreement as a way
to prevent war. The sustainability of the Bosnia and
Herzegovina of Dayton has been strengthened by the
launching of the Stabilization and Association
Agreement negotiations with the European Union,
which began on the tenth anniversary of the signing of
the Dayton Agreement.
The Office of the High Representative is
scheduled to be abolished in the middle of next year.
That Office will be transformed into the Office of the
Special Representative of the EU for Bosnia and
Herzegovina. That should be linked to our signing of
the SAA with the European Union. So far, negotiations
have gone well, and Bosnia has demonstrated sufficient
awareness and technical ability to enable it to embark
on the Euro-integration project. We are preparing for
elections in October, but, unfortunately, the ongoing
campaigns have delayed our efforts to fulfil the vital
political criteria.
Next week, by voting, the citizens of Bosnia and
Herzegovina will have an opportunity to participate in
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the shaping of their future. They deserve election
campaigns that look not at the past, but towards the
future. They do not deserve campaigns such as the one
that was characterized last week by the EU Council of
Ministers as a cause for concern and prompted it to
stress the EU’s commitment to the territorial integrity
of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina participates actively in
regional cooperation, and we participate in all regional
initiatives, including the Stability Pact for South
Eastern Europe, the South-East European Cooperation
Process, the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative and many
other programmes and projects. On that basis, a huge
number of bilateral and multilateral agreements were
signed, creating an international legal framework for
cooperation on and the harmonization of a number of
issues.
That is especially interesting in the light of the
Kosovo issue. Bosnia and Herzegovina keeps a close
eye on the negotiations. We believe that any solution
must be the result of negotiations if both sides are to
accept it. Any future solution should accommodate a
common future within the Euro-Atlantic environment.
The consequences of the final solution, once it is
found, must under no circumstances jeopardize the
stability of the region or that of the neighbouring
States.
I am pleased to inform the Assembly that the
Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is on
the path to successfully achieving the Millennium
Development Goals. Those priorities are
complementary with the criteria for European Union
membership. In cooperation with the International
Atomic Energy Agency, Bosnia and Herzegovina is
developing capacities for the detection and prevention
of illegal trading in and the proliferation of radioactive
materials throughout our territory.
As a mine-affected country, Bosnia and
Herzegovina is quite active in the implementation of
the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use,
Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction. It is well known that
there is still a significant number of landmines in our
country as a consequence of war. I should like to thank
all the countries that have contributed to the demining
process in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We are also playing an active role in United
Nations programmes that address the issue of
HIV/AIDS. We have established a State-level
commission to fight AIDS. Its current activities focus
on preventing the disease from spreading, establishing
an early warning system, and informing the public of
the dangers of the disease.
As a young democracy and a country with special
experience, Bosnia and Herzegovina supported the
forming of the Human Rights Council and the
strengthening of the role of the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights. We believe that their
work is gaining in importance every day. We strongly
and decisively support the international system for
universal human rights protection.
In my country, human rights have been violated
not only by war and crises, but also by certain
decisions of the international community. One example
is the problem of decertified police officers. The
decisions of the United Nations-led international police
caused them to lose their work permits. They were
offered no opportunity to file complaints or take their
cases to any type of court review. Our Ministry for
Human Rights has prepared, in close cooperation with
the Office of the High Representative for the
Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and
Herzegovina, a possible model for a review process, to
be led by the European Union Police Mission in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, the current representative of the
international police presence in the country. The absurd
and flagrant violation of human rights committed by
the United Nations itself is a mistake that must be
acknowledged. It can thereby be corrected and the
credibility of the United Nations as an institution
preserved.
One of the most important international
obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina is cooperation
with The Hague Tribunal for war crimes. That is
indeed a precondition for long-term stability. That is
why it was offered to the entire region as a condition of
further progress in Euro-Atlantic terms. According to
the data gathered by both domestic and foreign
intelligence, most wanted war criminals are not hiding
on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our
institutions are focused on cutting off the financial
support networks. It is a sad and pitiful fact that
Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic have not yet been
arrested, but it is even worse for Bosnia and
Herzegovina and its citizens to be punished because of
the two of them. We are penalizing the victims instead
of punishing the criminals. Bosnia and Herzegovina
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must be allowed to pursue progress on its road to
democratization and the European Union, because
improvement in that regard will create an even stronger
mechanism for destroying the war criminals’ support
network.
The horrible terrorist attacks on New York, the
anniversary of which we recently marked, changed the
world’s entire security paradigm. The attacks made us
think in ever more serious terms. Terrorism is one of
the greatest challenges faced by the modern world, and
it is virtually impossible for countries to respond to
such a challenge individually. Member States may
individually strengthen their capacities, but a global
and complete response can be achieved only by the
United Nations.
Having established the Ministry of Security, an
intelligence agency and an investigations and
protection agency at the State level, and by
coordinating their work through the Counter-Terrorism
Task Force, we have undertaken a series of very
important steps not just in terms of internal reforms,
but also in terms of our contribution to the global anti-
terrorist campaign. We have adopted an anti-terrorism
strategy for the period 2006-2009 that will guide us
through the implementation of European standards in
that field. We are in the final stages of adopting a new
law on the fight against terrorism and financial support
for terrorism.
Bosnia and Herzegovina wholeheartedly
supported the establishment of the Peacebuilding
Commission, and we genuinely hoped to contribute
actively to its work. The experience of peacebuilding
in Bosnia is vast and relevant, and we are eager to
share it with other Member States.
Although our country was not elected, we wish to
thank all those who supported us through the process.
At the very least, we sent yet another signal to the
world that we are no longer simply the receivers of
international aid. The support we gained has
encouraged us to continue to insist on a more balanced
and more proactive participation in United Nations
projects worldwide. In that context, I stress Bosnia and
Herzegovina’s aspirations as a candidate for non-
permanent membership of the Security Council for the
term 2010-2011, and I would welcome the Assembly’s
support in that regard.
Despite our limited capacities, we try to
participate in international peace efforts. We have sent
our military observers and police officers to the Congo,
Ethiopia, Liberia, Haiti, the Sudan, Eritrea and Cyprus.
As a sign of our support for the Iraqi people, we have
deployed a demining squadron to assist, to the extent
of its capacities, in building a sustainable and stable
Iraq.
The escalation of conflict in the Middle East
marked this summer and claimed many victims,
numerous civilians among them. We support Security
Council resolution 1701 (2006) calling for a full
cessation of hostilities. We particularly appreciate the
diplomatic efforts of Security Council members,
including the United States and France, that led to the
final harmonization of the resolution. We hope that this
positive breakthrough will constitute a sound basis for
diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and that lasting
peace will finally be achieved in that region.
I would also like to call attention to the
humanitarian issues that are generally discussed at
every session of the General Assembly. In order to
contribute to the work of the humanitarian agencies
and United Nations efforts in general regarding that
very important field, Bosnia and Herzegovina has
submitted to the membership a draft declaration
relating to basic tenets of humanitarian action in
emergency situations, contained in document A/60/627.
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina seeks to
contribute to progress in world preparedness for
emergency situations on the basis of our own lessons
learnt. I invite Member States to consider the adoption
of the draft declaration and to continue to contribute to
progress in such important activities globally.
In conclusion, I thank all members for the
assistance and support that we received from the
international community in years gone by and to
express my hope that they will use their voices to
support Bosnia and Herzegovina as a candidate for
non-permanent Security Council membership. In so
doing, they will contribute to Bosnia’s assumption of
its place in international relations. Furthermore, I wish
to thank Mr. Kofi Annan, on behalf of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, for his contribution and commitment to
stability and prosperity in my country. He has
confirmed his commitment by visiting us twice.