Crnadak for Independence Day in Geneva: BiH is committed to respecting human rights and freedoms

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Crnadak addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council at its 31st session held in Geneva today, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

During his address to the members of the UNHRC, Minister Crnadak emphasized, among other things, Bosnia and Herzegovina's commitment to the principle of respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms through strengthening democracy, multicultural dialogue, and respecting ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity, and spoke about BiH's activities in the field of human rights in the past year. Minister Crnadak highlighted BiH's very successful six-month presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe last year, activities in the area of education and raising public awareness about the protection of human rights, as well as activities in the field of gender equality and strengthening the role of women. He particularly emphasized the fact that BiH is one of the six countries in the world that have adopted and implemented the Second Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Women, Peace and Security".

Minister Crnadak expressed Bosnia and Herzegovina's support for universal instruments for combating international terrorism developed within the United Nations system, with a special emphasis on preventing terrorism related to foreign terrorist fighters. Speaking about the current migrant crisis, Minister Crnadak emphasized that BiH, not forgetting personal experiences from the past, is ready to help, assessing that in addition to an organized joint response to the crisis, its lasting solution requires addressing the causes of the crisis, i.e., addressing the causes of the crisis in the countries of origin of migration. In this regard, he also warned about the problem of human trafficking. Minister Crnadak also expressed BiH's support for the implementation of Agenda 2030 and emphasized that our country has repeatedly confirmed its commitment to promoting sustainable, efficient, and stable economic growth and achieving a just social environment through functional democratic institutions, citing the adoption of the Reform Agenda for BiH for the period 2015-2018 as an example.

At the end of his presentation, Minister Crnadak informed the members of the UN Human Rights Council that BiH submitted an application for membership in the European Union on February 15, 2016, which, as he said, represents one of the main milestones for BiH and its citizens, and emphasized the commitment of the authorities in BiH to continue the reform process.