Category: Press Releases

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Firstly, I would like to welcome Ambassador Aggeler to the Permanent Council – thank you to you and your team for your work over the past 12 months, and for this comprehensive report.

The United Kingdom highly appreciates the work and added value of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. I was delighted to be able to visit Sarajevo earlier in March and witness first-hand some of the excellent work the Mission is supporting on the ground.

Mr Chair, the UK remains committed to supporting a stable, secure, and prosperous Bosnia and Herzegovina. We will continue to work with the authorities to tackle threats to its democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We condemn the continued polarisation and inter-party confrontation, which heightens the risks of destabilisation. Dangerous and divisive nationalistic rhetoric and hate speech only serves to hurt the country and its citizens.

We urge the authorities to pass key legislation on rule of law as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU path, including laws on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council.

The UK welcomed the peaceful conduct of the October 2022 general elections, and was pleased to note the International Election Observation Mission’s (EOM) findings that elections were well-organised and competitive, and that fundamental freedoms were respected. However, we share the concerns expressed by the EOM around segmentation of the vote along ethnic lines, and divisive rhetoric during the election campaign. We are concerned about apparent impunity for electoral fraud, an issue which undermines trust in the democratic process. The UK also regrets that it was necessary for the High Representative to use his Executive ‘Bonn’ Powers in support of political functionality. The UK is committed to supporting the OSCE and Bosnia and Herzegovina in continuing the necessary reforms ahead of local elections in 2024.

The UK supports the OSCE Mission’s continuous efforts on reconciliation, and its assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina in building a stable, democratic and peaceful state. In particular, the UK welcomes the OSCE Mission’s commitment to tackling corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As highlighted in the Report, there has been progress – particularly in the establishment of three cantonal anti-corruption offices. The UK will continue to act in support of civil society and the general public to hold authorities to account, on issues ranging from corruption to the legacy of conflict.

Reform of law enforcement legislation is another important area in which we welcome the Mission’s efforts. We urge the Mission to continue to speak out against proposed laws which limit citizens’ human rights and free speech. The series of retrograde legislative moves in the Republika Srpska entity – which, if enacted, would restrict fundamental freedoms for media, civil society, and LGBT+ individuals – are a backwards step. These actions are a shift away from European values and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU path.

The UK warmly welcomes the Mission’s strong engagement in peace- and trust-building initiatives, connecting neighbouring communities and strengthening inter-ethnic relations. We highly value the insight and information provided by the nine Field Offices across the country. I was particularly pleased to visit earlier this month the OSCE Mission-supported programme in the Majevica region, engaging with five municipal administrations working together towards common interests in ecology and tourism.

Finally, I want to focus on gender, which is essential in all areas of the Mission’s work. We highly appreciate the Mission’s engagement in gender equality through education, gender equality in political life, and your strengthening of gender mainstreaming across all aspects of the Mission’s work. Achieving gender equality is essential to more informed thinking and policies that benefit all of our populations.

Mr Chair, at this critical and dangerous time for European security, it is more important than ever to focus our efforts on building a peaceful, prosperous and thriving Bosnia and Herzegovina, working in the interests of its people. Further economic, social and political progress must build on the many years of reforms. It is vital at this time that all institutions and entities work together with the international community to improve the lives of the country’s citizens. There is no time to waste on threats and barriers to engagement – the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve far more. The UK will remain a friend to all citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will continue to work across the entire country for the good for all.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Thank you, Ambassador Hasani, for your presentation on your recent work and proposed future activities.

When you last addressed this Council in November, we lamented the humanitarian catastrophe stemming from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, as well as the wide-ranging impacts on Ukraine’s economy and environment. Now in the second year of Russia’s full scale invasion, Russia’s actions continue to have a devastating effect both in Ukraine and globally – with direct impacts on food and energy security. We welcome your office’s on-going efforts to mitigate these effects.

That is why we are pleased to support your work in helping the Ukrainian authorities respond to these environmental challenges through the project “Assessment of environmental impacts of the war against Ukraine and options for remediation”. This project is important for helping the international community understand the true extent of damage caused, and for efforts to ensure those responsible are held accountable for their actions in Ukraine. We look forward to receiving this project’s first annual assessment in the coming weeks.

We also welcome your specific focus on energy security in Ukraine. In response to failures on the battlefield, we have seen increased Russian attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure since October – a desperate and futile attempt to break the will of Ukrainian people.

More broadly, your proposed work to help participating States diversify their energy supplies can help bolster energy security and build resilience against those seeking to weaponise energy supplies. In this regard, we welcome the specific focus in Central Asia, and look forward to receiving lessons learned from the scoping mission on energy security and geothermal resources in Kyrgyzstan.

The work you are doing to address the use of cryptocurrencies and virtual assets as tools to launder criminals’ proceeds is vital. We agree that serious and organised crime, as well as corruption, represent the biggest threats for law enforcement authorities in South-Eastern Europe. This is why the UK is pleased to be able to support the extra-budgetary project on strengthening the fight against transnational organised crime in South-Eastern Europe that provides support to the entire asset cycle.

Finally, we welcome your work to integrate a gender perspective in key projects, including building the capacity of Central Asian women and realising their full potential as leaders and agents of change in the energy transition. As we have said many times in this forum, outcomes will always be limited if only half the talent is included in solving problems. And as our Foreign Secretary said at the recent launch of our new Women and Girls Strategy, we can only build a safer and greener world if we put women and girls at the heart of our efforts. The diverse voices, knowledge and leadership of women and girls are essential to local, national and international decision-making.

Before closing, I would like to add that we too share your regret that consensus on the Permanent Council Decision on the theme, agenda and modalities of the 31st EEF of the OSCE was unable to be reached. At the Prep Comm earlier today Russia again stood alone in opposing the draft decision. This, despite the CiO’s hard work to meet the unjustified concerns of the Russian delegation. We are forced to conclude that – as with so much of the organisation’s work – Russia simply wants to attempt to frustrate the OSCE’s ability to operate.

Ambassador Hasani, thank you again for your report, and we look forward to supporting you in the year ahead.