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Bosnia-Herzegovina

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Astor of Hever, for a timely debate. It may have had relatively few speakers, but it has generated a great many questions. Ten years ago next week, on 21 November 1995, representatives of the warring parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina assembled on an air base in Dayton, Ohio, to initial what would become the Dayton peace agreement. This finally ended the bitter fighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina and established the constitutional structures of the country we know today. Today, Bosnia stands on the threshold of a new chapter in its history: the beginning of a long and arduous path to eventual membership of the European Union. I noted the mention by the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, of the 100 candidates who pitched in as a lesson that we should not follow that path. I also noticed his argument, with which I agree, that there is an overwhelming desire for more normal political and economic life. The noble Baroness, Lady Rawlings, described to us the ebb and flow of history over 2,000 years, which would certainly lead me to desire a bit more normality. The achievements of the past 10 years are largely thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, and I hope we will see him in his place in the House soon. For the past three and a half years he has been the international community’s high representative and EU Special Representative to Bosnia. The noble Lord has spent that time well supported by his team, and, when necessary, he has been prepared to take hard decisions himself. He leaves Bosnia in a far stronger position. I am sure noble Lords will join me in expressing gratitude and admiration for all that he has achieved, and indeed other noble Lords have said so during the debate. We owe him a great debt. The noble Baroness used the word ““miraculous””, and he has contributed significantly to that miracle. I also pay tribute to another British citizen to whom Bosnia, the EU, NATO and the international community have reason to be grateful. Next month we will see the UK hand over command of the EU peacekeeping operation in Bosnia, EUFOR, to the Italians. EUFOR has been commanded by Major-General David Leakey for the last 12 months, and he has done a superb job. EUFOR has successfully established itself as a robust and credible successor to NATO’s stabilisation force, guaranteeing a safe and secure environment. It is true, as the noble Baroness says, that much of the continuing work on disarmament and dealing with criminality takes us to a much more secure future, and it is down to that force. It is in part a testament to the international community’s military, diplomatic and political investment in Bosnia—and, as the noble Lord, Lord Greaves says, to the Bosnian people themselves—that Bosnia has come so far in 10 years. Just how far Bosnia has come is underlined by other 10th anniversaries commemorated this year: that, as has been mentioned, of the massacre of around 8,000 Bosnian men and boys at Srebrenica in July 1995; and those of the massacres that took place in countless other towns and villages all over Bosnia. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs attended the commemorations in Srebrenica this year. All this must make us reflect on the path that Bosnia and Herzegovina are going down. Noble Lords have raised the issue of the Dayton peace accords in this sense. Those accords were not only a peace treaty, but also the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That constitution has the support of the US and Europe, and any change to it requires the consent of all three constituent peoples. It is enshrined in Dayton. Imposing constitutional reform would break the principle of consent, and would hinder Bosnia and Herzegovina’s further Euro-Atlantic integration. The discussions are important because they are the means of moving towards greater consent, and constitutional reform, although not a prerequisite for further Euro-Atlantic integration, is essential if progress is to be made along that path, particularly in Europe. Those are questions that both the noble Lord, Lord Astor, and my noble friend Lord Anderson raised, and it is right that we focus on them. It is right, too, that we focus on Bosnia’s future in a general sense, as well as on the past. If, as we hope, the European Union opens negotiations with Bosnia on a stabilisation and association agreement before the end of the year, this will send an important message about the direction of travel in which both Bosnia and the EU are headed. For Bosnia it will mark the first step on the path to eventual EU membership, and with this step will come important benefits in terms of trade and assistance—precisely what the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, urged upon all those involved. For the EU, opening these negotiations will be another signal that the enlargement agenda—to which I know the Conservative Party is committed, as are all other parties in this House—remains on track. It will also show that the European Union keeps its promises. If the countries of the western Balkans meet the necessary conditions, the EU will honour its part in that bargain. It will also mean that the countries of the region will have concluded, or will be negotiating, formal contractual relations with the EU. So the 10th anniversary of Dayton should bring with it reasons to celebrate, as well as reasons to reflect, for Bosnia-Herzegovina, the UK and the EU. It is important, as we have done in this debate, to acknowledge the progress Bosnia has made up to this point. That progress, as the noble Baroness, Lady Rawlings, says, would be all the more marked if people could return safely to their homes across the whole of the area. Bosnia has carried out far-reaching reforms of its judiciary, tax and defence structures, as my noble friend Lord Anderson pointed out. A functioning state court will be trying its first war crimes cases, transferred back to Bosnia by the tribunal at The Hague. It has just agreed, after a long struggle, to root out and deal with police structures. These are vital steps in getting to grips with corruption and waste. Perhaps the biggest success to date has been in defence reform. Bosnia agreed earlier this year to reforms that will unite the three former armies into a single military force. This is a huge step for any country or peoples whose armies faced each other across enemy lines in such a spirit of violence just 10 years ago. The best guarantee that external forces, including ours, can hand the job over is the emergence of a credible military force that can take over the security issues. All these reforms have one thing in common: they have strengthened the Bosnian state and laid the foundations for the process of Euro-Atlantic integration. There is a good deal more to be done, however. Despite the important progress of the past few years, there are significant challenges. International support will be required for years to come and many of the challenges are a legacy of the years of conflict. In particular, if Bosnia is to complete the transition from a post-conflict state to a member state of the European Union and NATO, it must draw a line once and for all under the issue of war crimes. This means demonstrating full and unequivocal co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. A number of noble Lords made exactly that point. It means ensuring that all fugitive indictees—in particular Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic—are located and transferred to The Hague. It is an outrage that the two men indicted as the architects of the atrocities at Srebrenica remain at large 10 years on. The transfer of a number of indictees to The Hague earlier this year was a welcome step. I can say in response to the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, that progress has been visible but it is partial and it cannot be described as more than that. But it also showed that the EU and NATO policy of conditionality—making clear that full co-operation with the ICTY was a pre-requisite for further integration—works. But Bosnia’s co-operation with the ICTY and that of Serbia and Montenegro cannot be considered full while Karadzic and Mladic are still at large. And Croatia has acknowledged that it must maintain co-operation with the ICTY until the fugitive indictee Gotovina is also at The Hague. The noble Lord, Lord Astor, raised a number of important points about this process. The United States and others have been clear that Belgrade must comply with its obligation, and until the government turn over the indicted mass murderers, the United States will not agree to Serbia and Montenegro’s participation in NATO’s partnership for peace. Those are the representations that this Government have also made. We support NATO’s position on the need for co-operation and we will make further representations in addition to all those we have made with the Belgrade leadership to ensure that they understand those points. Important questions were asked by the noble Lord, Lord Astor, on the need for a functioning state and state reforms. I am happy to have had the opportunity to make these key points. We will insist that there is a continuing process of reform so that Bosnia’s future can be self-sustaining and viable. Increasingly, the international community is looking to the Bosnian authorities to show the leadership and political maturity required to deliver the next stage of Euro-Atlantic integration. These are not just economic issues; they are political issues. As all noble Lords have said, the nationalist, zero-sum politics, too evident in the region, cannot continue to be the norm. Despite the excellent work of the noble Lord, Lord Ashdown, and EUFOR in this area, the rule of law remains a challenge also. Having reached an agreement in principle on police reform, Bosnia must now implement that agreement and do so in the right way. Without this, there is little chance of a serious effort to tackle the scourge of organised crime. The EU police mission, EUPM, is working to assist Bosnia’s police and law enforcement agencies in tackling the challenge. Bosnia must be able to function effectively as a state. The Dayton peace agreement gave Bosnia its constitution, but it is a complicated and costly set of arrangements and the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, put the point very well. As Bosnia makes progress towards EU membership, it will need to evolve and ensure that it is capable of complex negotiations in order to make the progress full and ensure regional stability. I do not believe that further Balkanisation—to take the word that rightly came from the area, cantonisation—is liable to help that process. I believe that we must take that stance across the region, too. In conclusion, perhaps I may answer the comments of one or two noble Lords as there is a little time to do so. The aim of the BBC World Service is to provide the audience with an authoritative and reliable news service and current affairs coverage of the region and the wider European and international agenda. I believe that it has done that and will do so successfully. In response to my noble friend Lord Anderson, the visa regimes throughout that area, as elsewhere, are kept under review on their individual merits and they will be lifted when it is judged that the threat that led to their introduction has been removed. The discussions in the western Balkans on progress towards EU integration is also important and we are using our presidency to drive forward the stabilisation and association process. We expect to enter discussions with Bosnia shortly. We anticipate that the discussions will start on 21 November. We talked a little about refugee returns and I made a few comments on that in response to the noble Baroness, Lady Rawlings. I can add only that we are working hard on that with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The rate of return of displaced people to their pre-war homes has dropped in the past five years as most of those who are willing to return have done so. That makes the remainder of the task harder, but we should not give up on it. The final key question—if there are others I will read the text of what other noble Lords have said and do my best to respond to anything that I have missed—was asked by the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, and it was in several other speeches as well. It was about Bosnia being invited to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace and what the position would be with Albania, Macedonia, and Croatia—the Adriatic Three as they are called. They all have a number of reforms to complete. I have mentioned some of those reforms in my response to the debate. There has been some good progress on meeting military conditions. However, NATO Foreign Ministers have not invited Bosnia-Herzegovina to join the PFP because there are still those remaining concerns about co-operation with the ICTY. I make that point clearly and succinctly. The condition is so simple and so clear that it can be grasped as it is; and as it is grasped progress can be made. As we have all said in this debate, Bosnia has come a long way in 10 years with significant gains and it has a long way to go. Its past is a matter of bitter regret, but its future is clear. It can one day be a member of the EU and of NATO, but how long that process takes largely depends on the Bosnians themselves. It also depends on the continued support of the UK and the wider international community, and Bosnia can count on that support. We have said what it needs to do to have that support fully expressed. That support will include frank advice about what needs to be done, including ICTY co-operation. Next week’s anniversary is a chance to reflect on how far we have come and also on why we must remain engaged to ensure Bosnia’s long-term sustainability and success. I am very grateful for this debate, because all noble Lords who have taken part in it have emphasised that sense of hope against a very real sense of what must be done. If this House can send a message, that is the best message that it can send.