Bećirović at the UN: The essence of all problems in BiH in the last four decades are external attempts to weaken and destroy our country

(Patria) - Chairman of the BiH Presidency Denis Bećirović addressed the UN Security Council session in New York today, on the occasion of the High Representative's Report on the situation in our country.

You can read Bećirović's full speech below.

Mr. President,

First of all, I wish you a successful presidency of the UN Security Council in these turbulent times. I also greet all distinguished ambassadors, as well as Christian Schmidt, the High Representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose report contributes to understanding the current situation in our country.

I particularly emphasize that the High Representative is the only one authorized to report to the UN Security Council. Entities or other lower levels of government do not have this right within the sovereign state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, the so-called reports coming from the Republika Srpska entity are legally unfounded.

The UN Charter stipulates that states address the UN organs and bodies. The only subject of international law is the independent and sovereign state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Distinguished President,

Allow me to present the key problems, challenges, and dangers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as possible directions for overcoming the current crisis. I address you on behalf of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose millennial historical roots are strong and unbreakable.

In the last twenty-nine post-Dayton years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has once again confirmed its strength and resilience. Despite numerous blockades, obstructions, and pressures, the development of our country has continued, showing in both war and peace that the destruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina is impossible.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a full member of the UN, the Council of Europe, and a country on the doorstep of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In March of this year, an important step towards EU membership was taken. The European Council decided to open EU accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a huge encouragement for the citizens of our country. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the EU and NATO for their commitment and support to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The world needs to know the truth. The key problems of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not originate in our country, but outside its borders. This has also been established by the highest UN courts. Last year, in the verdict against the leaders of the State Security of Serbia, the Hague Tribunal defined the legal nature of the war waged against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Final verdicts of this UN court have confirmed that there was no civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but an international armed conflict.

These UN court verdicts are of immense significance because they speak to what was and remains the core problem. These are external attempts to weaken and destroy our country. This is the essence of all problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last four decades.

In July of this year, we mark the 29th anniversary of the genocide committed against Bosniaks in and around Srebrenica. This is a terrible reminder of Bosnia and Herzegovina's recent past, but also a warning that we must be vigilant. The verdicts for the committed genocide were established by the highest UN courts. This is a legal fact.

Unfortunately, the leaders of the Republika Srpska entity do not respect the verdicts of the UN courts. Moreover, they glorify convicted war criminals and state that they want to continue the policy of war criminals. This can be understood as a threat of new genocide.

It is important for humanity that the UN General Assembly adopts a resolution on the remembrance and commemoration of the genocide in Srebrenica in 1995. This resolution is of immense significance for spreading the truth and awareness of the committed genocide against Bosniaks. It is an important civilizational step forward in the fight for truth and justice.

The authorities of the Republika Srpska entity do not respect the entirety of the Dayton Agreement and its annexes. They selectively interpret the Dayton Agreement and undermine the independence, sovereignty, and statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With such irresponsible policies, they endanger peace and stability.

The latest report of the High Representative emphasizes this.

There is a dangerous attack on the constitutional order and the Dayton Agreement underway. The peace and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina are seriously endangered by the anti-Dayton policy of the authorities of the Republika Srpska entity. For years, they have been trying to change the fundamental provisions of the Dayton Agreement through legal violence.

Two key institutions of the Dayton Agreement have been openly attacked: the Office of the High Representative and the Constitutional Court of BiH.

The authorities of the Republika Srpska entity are trying to block these two institutions. They do not hide that they want to become the supreme interpreters of the Dayton Agreement. This is an attempt at unilateral destruction of this international agreement.

The international community has a clearly defined obligation and responsibility in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has all the necessary instruments, including executive powers, to guarantee peace and stability.



In the first post-Dayton decade, High Representatives, through decisive and justified interventions, helped the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina to live in peace. These decisions did not threaten the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but preserved peace.

Therefore, it is of essential importance to strengthen the institution of the High Representative. The decisions of the High Representative must be implemented throughout the entire state territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This must be ensured *de iure* and *de facto*.

The authorities of the Republika Srpska entity advocate dangerous deceptions.

The first deception by the political leaders of the Republika Srpska entity relates to sovereignty. There is no entity sovereignty within a sovereign state, but exclusively the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Allow me to emphasize, sovereignty is mentioned nine times in the Dayton Agreement and exclusively refers to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The second deception relates to the issue of continuity. This is precisely regulated in Article 1 of the BiH Constitution. Only Bosnia and Herzegovina has continuity. Entities within the state have existed only since the signing of the Dayton Agreement.

The third deception by the authorities of the Republika Srpska entity relates to the issue of resolving constitutional disputes. Entities cannot resolve them. The BiH Constitution stipulates that this is the jurisdiction of the BiH Constitutional Court and that its decisions are final and binding.

The fourth deception relates to the final interpretation of the Dayton Agreement. This is regulated by Annex 10 of the Dayton Agreement, and this role is assigned to the High Representative.

The fifth deception relates to the attempt by neighboring Serbia to present itself as a guarantor of the Dayton Agreement in an anti-Dayton manner. Serbia is not a guarantor of this agreement, but one of the three parties.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a peace-loving country, committed to strengthening regional cooperation. We want good relations with our neighbors, based on mutual respect and understanding. Therefore, we actively participate in a series of regional initiatives aimed at improving cooperation in the region.

Unfortunately, there is intensive militarization in the neighborhood. Therefore, I want to emphasize that it is very important to maintain the balance of military forces in the region, as established in Annex 1-B of the Dayton Agreement.

For peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is important that the UN Security Council extends the mandate of the Althea mission in November 2024.

The presence of EUFOR is important for maintaining peace and stability. This is particularly true for the protection of returnees in the Republika Srpska entity, who are exposed to numerous attacks.

The future of our country is linked to the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

The judgments require Bosnia and Herzegovina to change its entire political paradigm and align it with democratic standards. Bosnia and Herzegovina is obliged to ensure individual rights of citizens, not just collective rights of peoples.

It is particularly important to emphasize the legal fact that state property belongs to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 1 of the BiH Constitution defines that the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the sole successor of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which includes the continuity of ownership of state property.

Also, Bosnia and Herzegovina is the owner of property that belongs to it based on the Agreement on Succession Issues. This international multilateral treaty establishes the sovereign equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other successor states of former Yugoslavia.

According to the principle of *pacta sunt servanda*, all successor states, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, must respect and implement the agreement. Entities are not even mentioned in this international agreement.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's ownership of state property has also been confirmed by the final and binding judgments of the Constitutional Court of BiH. Therefore, Bosnia and Herzegovina's argumentation is based on international and national law.

Let's not forget that one of the key demands of the then President of Serbia, Slobodan Milošević, in Dayton was to divide state property between the entities.

Milošević did not achieve that goal in Dayton. Today, some politicians from the Republika Srpska entity would like to get in peace what Milošević did not get during the aggression. The international community must not allow this.

Particular attention should be drawn to the danger of policies advocating for changes to state borders in Southeast Europe.

The president of the Republika Srpska entity publicly advocates for the unification of Serbia, the Republika Srpska entity, and Montenegro. Thus, he directly calls for the destruction of several United Nations member states. This is a serious threat to European peace and UN member states.

Finally, on behalf of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I sincerely thank the friends of our country.

We have not forgotten the help we received from many UN member states. Bosnia and Herzegovina appreciates and does not forget it.

Therefore, I invite you to jointly preserve peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. I am convinced that this is in the interest of both Bosnia and Herzegovina and the UN.