Stalni predstavnik RH pri Ujedinjenim narodima, veleposlanik Neven Jurica, održao je govor u Vijecu sigurnosti UN-a o stanju u Bosni i Hercegovini.
Thank you Madam President, and allow me to welcome, as well as to thank, the High Representative and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak for his report and today's briefing. I would also like to welcome H.E. Nikola špiric, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Security Council meeting today and thank him for his statement.
My delegation would like to welcome the important progress on the reforms required for Bosnia and Herzegovina to integrate into Euro-Atlantic institutions that we see as the paramount goal and common future for all countries of Southeastern Europe.
Croatia has always advocated a transparent and individual approach to the countries in Southeast Europe, with the same standards applying to all, and where hard work and reforms are rewarded with progress in NATO and EU integration.
When taking into consideration the complex domestic political circumstances and tense regional climate following Kosovo's declaration of independence in February, we are pleased to welcome the adoption of the two police-reform laws on April 16 that now enable Bosnia and Herzegovina to sign the SAA with the European Union in near future.
Moreover, we are very pleased that the agreement from late March of this year between the state and entity governments on moveable defense property secured Bosnia and Herzegovina “intensified dialogue” towards NATO's Membership Action Plan.
We noted with pleasure that all the members of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board were able to agree on a transition strategy on the future policy of the international community towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, including on the conditions for the transition from OHR to EUSR, and we commend them for their efforts. We are glad to see that the overall goal is transition as soon as possible, and that the policy of ownership remains the principle.
Madam President, we again echo the long standing objective of the Peace Implementation Council and reiterate our position that we would like to see Bosnia and Herzegovina as a “peaceful, viable state, irreversibly on course for European integration”. In order to achieve this, we join others in stating that constitutional reform is necessary, indeed essential, for the future of this country.
However, as the High Representative stated in his report, “reaching any domestic consensus on the matter will prove extremely difficult so long as the domestic parties' conceptions remain both antithetical and non-negotiable”. In this regard, we urge all parties involved to be open and flexible in their approaches so as to allow for all the constitutive peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina to feel reassured in their individual civic as well as ethnic well-being and in their future.
This spirit and letter of equality of the constitutive peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be respected by domestic parties and the international community alike, and should include not only political representation but also the electronic media, which should serve all three constitutive peoples to their satisfaction, based on the principle of free and democratic media.
Madam President, the Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the smallest constitutive people of this country, which makes them especially sensitive. Their interests must be kept in mind and they need to be protected. There is no free and democratic Bosnia and Herzegovina without the Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Let me emphasize this point to make it absolutely clear: there cannot be a whole and united Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state without Croats living in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina must remain constitutional and equal with the other two peoples of this country – both in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska – that means on the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This has to be taken into consideration, as this is the fundamental interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and therefore, the interest of all the three constitutive peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In this sense we call for additional funds to be allocated for the return of Croats into the Republika Srpska, to balance the funds invested in other areas of return in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This should also enable more people to vote in their pre-war domiciles and in that way alleviate the concerns raised by the High Representative in paragraph 8 of his report.
Also, we believe that the international community and the High Representative should invest their efforts into aiding the harmonization of the plethora of different laws that are at this time used to prosecute war crimes on different levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina, so that the principles of equality, justice and fairness are honored and guaranteed for all the citizens of this country, irrespective of the area where they might live, or at whichever court they might be tried.
In addition, we echo the High Representatives and PIC Steering Boards calls for Serbia to meet its legal obligations and arrest Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadžic and transfer them to ICTY jurisdiction. As the High Representative stated, their arrests would “not only help bring closure for the families of victims, but it would also do much to remove the stigma attached to Republika Srpska and to improve inter-ethnic relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
Madam President, my country is working hard to finalize its integration into NATO and the EU. In contrast with the 2004 and 2007 waves of enlargement, we have a significant amount of additional negotiations with the EU to undertake in order to become ready for accession. This requires concentrated and continued hard work on the part of all of our state administration.
One of the beneficiaries of our efforts in Euro-Atlantic integration in the region is, amongst others, Bosnia and Herzegovina, because we are sharing our experiences and knowledge, and readily transferring the know-how gained during the course of our membership talks with our neighbors in order to help them move faster towards Euro-Atlantic integration.
Mr. President, at this time, I would like to refer to paragraph 63 of the report of the High Representative where he mentions Croatian plans to build a bridge, bypassing the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and voices concerns that this “might impair this country's access to the open sea”. We are pleased to report here, that our government has gone the extra mile, literally, to ensure that the concerns of Bosnia and Herzegovina are met. Our advanced technological bridge spanning the Croatian mainland and Pelješac peninsula was raised and adapted to enable the largest of vessels to approach the port of Neum, and in this way alleviate the raised concerns of access to this Adriatic port of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Finally, while commending once again the PIC Steering Group countries for achieving unity regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina, I would like to use this opportunity to thank the High Representative and the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak for his excellent work in Bosnia and Herzegovina so far.
Thank you, Madam President.
Priopćenja
