BiH to chair Council of Europe Committee of Ministers for another three months

The Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Crnadak held a press conference on the occasion of the completion of the first half of BiH's six-month chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

Minister Crnadak reminded at the beginning of his address that BiH took over the chairmanship of the CoM of the CoE on May 19 this year, and emphasized that the first half of our country's six-month mandate has been assessed as exceptionally good by the member states of the Council of Europe and on the international stage in general. He expressed satisfaction with the achievements in the past three months and stressed that the goal has been achieved for BiH to show on the international level that it is committed and ready to contribute to the spread of the Council of Europe's values and for BiH to generally present itself as a credible partner on the international stage.

Minister Crnadak recalled some of the most significant events from the current part of the chairmanship and announced the most important events that will take place in the next three months. He recalled the significant and very well-received appearances in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where, together with the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH Mladen Ivanić, he presented the situation in BiH, spoke about numerous important issues, and answered questions from Council of Europe parliamentarians. Among the events, he particularly highlighted the film conference recently held in Sarajevo, which presented a good opportunity to combine the priorities of BiH's chairmanship of the Council of Europe with events of great significance, such as the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF).

Minister Crnadak announced that BiH will host ambassadors of the Council of Europe member states in Sarajevo in mid-September, and that in November, a ministerial conference on cooperation between the Council of Europe and neighboring regions will be held in Morocco, which is also one of the priorities of BiH's chairmanship.

He also announced a conference on the judiciary in BiH, which will be held in Banja Luka in October, as well as an event on youth policy in Southeast Europe, which will be held in Mostar in the same month. He also announced a high-level conference on intercultural cooperation and dialogue to be held in Sarajevo.

Minister Crnadak expressed his expectation that all levels of government in BiH involved in the realization of upcoming events will continue to be up to the task and that BiH's chairmanship will be successfully concluded with high ratings.

At the press conference, Minister Crnadak specifically drew attention to the reaction of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which he chairs, criticizing the prevention of the use of bilingual signs in public institutions, squares, and other places in Vukovar, as the use of minority languages in official inscriptions is of great importance for the reputation and strengthening of public awareness of minority languages. He assessed that by reacting to this case, the Council of Europe confirmed that it is an organization that has not lost its credibility and that truly prioritizes respect for human rights.

Regarding the same issue, Minister Crnadak recalled that the CoM of the CoE had previously sent several recommendations to the Croatian authorities, which were practically rejected by the decision of the City of Vukovar, and in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, he condemned the decision of the City of Vukovar and once again called for the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.