Statement by Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, at the open VTC of UN Security Council Member-States on Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr. President,
At the outset I would like to thank High Representative V.Inzko and Ms. I.Hasic for their briefings. We listened carefully to what Mr.Inzko has just said, and we carefully studied the written report. We regret to observe again that the quality of the High Representative’s reports has not improved. Unfortunately, we regret to note that criticizing the Bosnian Serbs for everything that happens in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has become a standard pattern of those reports. Serbs are blamed for all challenges that Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing now. As a result, the report does not give a balanced picture of the situation on the ground.
The High Representative ignores the fact that majority of issues in BiH stem from the lack of consensus among the three constituent peoples. Instead of “blame game” the Office of the High Representative (OHR) should encourage dialogue between the communities and provide “good offices” in order to help Bosnians resolve their disputes. The time for external governance is gone. The Bosnian people deserve the right to determine their fate on their own.
We do not share the report’s assumptions on alleged stagnation and even rollbacks in the implementation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP) including the five objectives and two conditions for the closure of the OHR. In our view, the situation in BiH is calm, stable and does not represent any threat to international peace and security. Nevertheless, the HR is still finding made-up arguments in order to preserve the outdated international protectorate over this sovereign and independent state indefinitely. We call on our colleagues in the Security Council and Peace Implementation Council (PIC) Steering Board to take necessary steps to early close the OHR.
Mr. President,
In his report the HR refers to the need for the fulfilment of BiH’s so-called “standing obligations in regard to NATO” and notes that “the authorities at all levels in BiH are committed to a state that is irreversibly on course for Euro-Atlantic integration”. We have to emphasize that there is no consensus in the Bosnian society on this issue. The HR is not entitled in any way to promote European or Euro-Atlantic integration of BiH and should not abuse his mandate by doing so. His responsibility is to uphold the civilian aspects of the General Framework Agreement. We have to remind that the BiH Presidency’s decisions on foreign policy should be consensus-based.
We call on the High Representative to pay more attention to the numerous pressing issues in the Federation of BiH. Among them – pending appointment of a new Federation Government and the Constitutional Court, incomplete collegium of both Houses of the Federation Parliament, lack of progress in holding local elections in the City of Mostar and absence of the constitutional equality of Serbs in the Federation cantons.
We are wondering why the High Representative almost demonizes the activities of the Republika Srpska Government-appointed Independent International Commissions for inquiry into crimes against all the Peoples in the Srebrenica region and against the Serbs in Sarajevo in 1991-1995. As we understand, these structures have been established due to the well-known flaws in the activities of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. More than once we expressed concerns on this matter.
The documents from the United Kingdom archives, declassified and published in January this year, reveal important details of the events during the armed conflict in Srebrenica. It was confirmed, in particular, that the Bosnian Serbs were subject to attacks from the region, which was under protection of the UN “blue helmets”. We hope that the Independent International Commissions, appointed by the Republika Srpska, will help shed light on these tragic events.
We call on all international presences in BiH, including the Office of the High Representative, Delegation of the European Union and the OSCE Mission, to align their activities in compliance with their respective mandates and the policy approved by the PIC Steering Board to promote “local ownership” over international decision-making.
Russia, as one of international guarantors of the Dayton Peace Agreement, will continue to monitor to ensure its strict implementation. We support the inter-Bosnian dialogue based on mutual respect. We hope all international partners who are genuinely interested in long-lasting stability in BiH will promote cooperation between the Bosnian parties and refrain from biased, unilateral assessments that can only exacerbate the situation.
We urge Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs to use collective approaches to settle the existing issues on the solid basis of the Dayton Peace Agreement that guarantees equality of the three constituent peoples.
Thank you.
