The Annual meeting of the representatives of the committees for defence and security of the Parliaments of Southeast Europe began in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Annual Meeting of the Defence and Security Committees of the Parliaments of Southeast Europe began today in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PA BiH), organized by the Joint Committee for Défense and Security of BiH and the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC), with the support of the OSCE Mission to BiH and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).

In his welcoming address, the Chairman of the Joint Committee for Defence and Security of BiH, Jasmin Imamović, emphasized that the two-day regional meeting of parliamentarians, the first in this format after a five-year pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, provides an opportunity to discuss current activities of parliamentary bodies dealing with democratic and civilian oversight in the defence and security sectors. It also serves as a platform for exchanging views on enhancing regional and bilateral co-operation among parliamentary committees, parliaments, and countries in the Southeast Europe region.

Participants were also addressed by the Speaker of the House of Peoples of the PA BiH and a member of the Joint Committee for Defence and Security of BiH, Kemal Ademović, who stated that the meeting was organized at the right time, given that both regional and bilateral dialogue are needed now more than ever. Emphasizing that there is no alternative to dialogue and discussion, Ademović expressed confidence that this meeting will proceed in a spirit of understanding and mutual respect, serving as an impetus for further improving regional co-operation. He highlighted that most countries in the region, individually or together, are striving to meet the conditions for EU membership, expressing hope that the entire region will ultimately become part of the larger European community.

In his welcoming remarks, the Director of the RACVIAC, Ambassador Constantin Mihail – Grigorie, thanked the Joint Committee for Defence and Security of BiH for its outstanding work in preparing and organizing this event. He stated that the meeting will facilitate the exchange of opinions and best practices in parliamentary oversight of the defence and security sectors, as well as address the challenges to stability and security posed by the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, migration, crime, corruption, human trafficking, and cybersecurity.

Greeting the participants of the meeting, the Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Ambassador Brian Aggeler, advocated for constant strengthening of parliamentary oversight over the defence and security sectors. He emphasized that strong parliamentary oversight could ensure efficiency, accountability, respect for the law, and the protection of human rights in these sectors. Ambassador Aggeler reminded that this year marks three decades since the adoption of the OSCE Code of Conduct, which serves as a normative framework for parliamentary oversight in the defence and security sectors and will be discussed in one of tomorrow's sessions of the Annual Meeting.

Today, parliamentarians discussed "Parliamentary Oversight of the defence and Security Sectors - Current Situation and Best Practices." The activities of the Joint Committee for Defence and Security of BiH were presented by its Chair, Jasmin Imamović, who spoke about field visits to units and commands of the Armed Forces of BiH and police agencies within the Ministry of Security of BiH, as well as monitoring the situation of human rights in the Armed Forces of BiH through close co-operation with the Office of the Parliamentary Military Commissioner of BiH. Representatives of the Committee for National Security of the Parliament of Albania, the Committee for Defence of the Croatian Parliament, the Committee for Defence and Internal Affairs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, and the Committee for Security and Defence Affairs of the Kosovo Parliament also spoke about the work of their parliamentary committees.

Participants were also addressed by the DCAF Programme Coordinator, Franziska Klopfer, who spoke about her organization's long-standing support to parliamentary committees and dialogue in the region, as well as governance and oversight in the field of cybersecurity.

The first day of the Annual Meeting of the Defence and Security Committees of the Parliaments of Southeast Europe ended with a session dedicated to the role of parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening security and peace in Southeast Europe.

Tomorrow's agenda includes a discussion on the OSCE Code of Conduct as a normative framework for parliamentary oversight of defence and security, as well as a final session which will summarize the results of this two-day meeting of parliamentarians from the Southeast Europe region. (End)