Studium

Delegation From Bosnia And Herzegovina
Represented By California State University, Chico
By Daniel Oliver and Sarah Lawson

The topics before the General Assembly First Committee are: Weapons of Mass Destruction and Non-State Actors, Regional Disarmament, and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Bosnia and Herzegovina is proud to be participating in the General Assembly First Committee as an active participant in the stabilization and expansion of the rule of law, emerging and flourishing democracies, and the protection and the alleviation of civilian suffering throughout the world. Our nation is a firm believer in the establishment of peace, security, and stability throughout the world, and we dedicate our hearts and minds to the achievement of this goal.

Bosnia and Herzegovina affirms the need for full observance of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in hopes that practical and realistic measures will be taken to ensure the prevention of a world in which non-state actors possess weapons of mass destruction. Bosnia and Herzegovina is in full concurrence with a statement issued by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan: “We must strengthen the global norm against the use or proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” Bosnia and Herzegovina reaffirms our dedication to A/RES/57/27, which “reiterates its call upon states to refrain from financing, encouraging, providing training for or other wise supporting terrorist activities.” Our state recognizes the tremendous importance of taking necessary steps to frustrate and impede the goals of those plotting to execute large-scale atrocities. Accordingly, Bosnia and Herzegovina fully supports A/RES/56/88, calling special attention to operative clause 11, which calls upon all states to enhance and intensify “the exchange of information on facts related to terrorism” and “to avoid the dissemination of inaccurate or unverified information.” Bosnia and Herzegovina stresses the importance of A/RES/51/210, which calls upon all states to “take steps to prevent and counteract, through appropriate domestic measures, the financing of terrorists and terrorist organizations.” As we are currently in the process of ratifying the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, our delegation calls upon all member-states to do the same, and to take particular consideration of Article 4, which states, “Each state party shall adopt such measures as may be necessary: (a) To establish as criminal offences under its domestic law the offences set forth in Article 2; (b) To make those offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the grave nature of the offences.” Bosnia and Herzegovina draws special attention to A/RES/53/108, specifically operative clause 1, which “Strongly condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomsoever committed.” Intentional actions taken in the war on terrorism are both essential and indispensable. Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to see the tangibility of non-state actors moving in a dire direction, which could prove fatal for innocent civilians. Therefore, we call on the international community to take all necessary precautions domestically, regionally, and worldwide to prevent any further unneeded heartlessness. To further this goal Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with S/RES/1333, has begun checking all the accounts and deposits that could belong to individuals and groups linked with international terrorist organizations, and if such accounts exist, to freeze them immediately. The government and peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina are indispensable allies in the global campaign against terrorism, and as a result, authorities in Sarajevo have investigated and shut down terrorist networks. While the world has split into a modern civilization and one of barbarism and terrorism, Bosnia and Herzegovina has rightly chosen to ally with the civilized world, and has decided to be a part of the solution. Bosnia and Herzegovina is deeply concerned by the increase of acts of terrorism based on intolerance or extremism, as expressed in A/RES/49/60. Nevertheless, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina will work meticulously to promote a world of ethnic tolerance, religious pluralism, and the imperative defense of human rights and dignity. We fully support the principles outlined in the Sea-Bed Treaty, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the Certain Chemical Weapons Convention, Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Partial Test Ban Treaty, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Bosnia and Herzegovina calls upon all member states to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Only through our dedication for this treaty and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), can we build a wall between terrorists and nuclear weapons, and keep chemical and biological weapons too distant and expensive for any non-state actor to obtain. We praise the work and diligence of IAEA. In order to aggravate the ability of non-state actors to obtain weapons of mass destruction, we reiterate A/RES/57/50 in reaffirming that, “effective measures should be taken to prevent the emergence of new types of weapons of mass destruction.” We are even more convinced now than ever that all problems can only be solved through a dialogue based on good political will. From this exact position, we joined the fight against all kinds of terrorism and organized crime.

As Bosnia and Herzegovina sees regional disarmament as a fundamental necessity for peace and security, our state reaffirms our dedication to the Agreement on Regional Stabilization, and reiterates the need for full compliance of its general obligations, namely that the establishment of progressive measures for regional stability and arms control is essential to creating a stable peace. Disarmament efforts should be set forth and implemented by all member states to the United Nations, in order to promote a more stable and peaceful global community. Eliminating arms and arms expenditures to competing countries is an obvious requisite in attaining a harmonious community. Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that with the recent acts of terrorism, long term actions and measures must be taken to prevent possible future attacks. Our state praises the efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and commends the Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons of 24 November 2000, which promotes transparency and accountability by exchanging relevant and available information regarding “national legislation and current practice on export policy, procedures, documentation, and on control over international brokering in small arms” with participating states. Bosnia and Herzegovina recalls A/RES/53/73, drawing attention to operative clause 2, which invites states to apply advancements of science and technology for disarmament-related purposes, and to make those advancements available to requesting states. It is of great importance to improve security, and to improve protection of the human lives and goods of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as all members of the global community, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Disarmament plays a crucial role in post-conflict situations. As online in A/RES/57/75, we invite the Conference on Disarmament (CD) to continue its work in the field of transparency in arms. As Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country ravaged by war and in current stages of reconstion and building of infrastructure, it is of utmost importance to our country to implement resolutions and establish conferences which strive for regional and sub-regional disarmament. Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), are working in partnership in the post conflict situation in the Balkans to assure the international community security and peace. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration have been a project NATO has been successful with. As a participant to the 2000 Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, we support any and all means to reducing the number of nuclear weapons. As participants in the CD, Bosnia and Herzegovina fully supports A/RES/57/76, calling for regional disarmament, and A/RES/57/81,which iterates the Consolidation of Peace through Practical Disarmament Measures in which disarmament and arms reduction are called for, as well as A/RES/56/24H, A/RES/56/25C, and A/RES/57/76. Bosnia and Herzegovina supports measures taken by such groups as the Centre for Peace and Disarmament, which offers support for regional disarmament measures upon request of any member-state, and through this apparatus, our state encourages all nations to take advantage of this opportunity. Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with NATO and the OSCE have made drastic and groundbreaking regional disarmament policies. Bosnia and Herzegovina realizes the problem with substantial resources and funding for such disarmament programs, and is in full support of encouraging those programs already set into action. Bosnia and Herzegovina expresses a favorable attitude towards the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones in various parts of the world, recognizing them as complimentary instruments to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. To that effect, we welcome the treaties concluded on those zones. At the same time, however, Bosnia and Herzegovina holds fast to the position that the establishment of any such zone must not interfere with existing or evolving security arrangements, to the detriment of regional and international security. It is our steadfast belief that such zones should not adversely affect the inalienable rights to individual or collective self-defense guaranteed by the Charter of the United Nations. Against the background of currently proposed ideas, Bosnia and Herzegovina considers the concept of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central and Eastern Europe to be incompatible with the sovereign resolve to contribute to, and benefit from, the new European security architecture, including cooperation with NATO. Internationally recognized nuclear-weapon-free zones should be established only on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the states of the region concerned. In the absence of such an arrangement among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, continuously proposed initiatives do not meet the principal criterion which would allow for those countries consideration. Bosnia and Herzegovina whole-heartedly reaffirms our commitment to the NPT and the international non-proliferation regime. However, we recognize and appreciate the sovereign equality inherent in all States, and call attention to the Helsinki Final Act, which states that all members of the OCSE will “take effective measures which by their scope and by their nature constitute steps towards the ultimate achievement of general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.” Accordingly, our State calls upon our specific region, south-eastern Europe, to implement that which is set down in A/RES/57/52, specifically operative clause 16, which states that all, “States are urged to take effective measures against the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects and to help programs and projects aimed at the collection and safe destruction of surplus stocks of small arms and light weapons, and stress the importance of closer cooperation among states, inter alia, in crime prevention, combating terrorism, trafficking in human beings, organized crime, drug trafficking and money-laundering.” All member states are obligated to find an adequate balance between disarming regionally and possessing the necessary requirements for the sole purpose of protection.

Bosnia and Herzegovina reaffirms that the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert grave danger for international peace and security. Participation by the international community as a whole, in the legal regime applicable to outer space could contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of peaceful uses of outer space. Bosnia and Herzegovina observe the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations regarding the use or threat of use of force in their space activities. A/RES/55/32 reaffirms the importance of and urgency of preventing an arms race in outer space, and it reaffirms the states party to the global community to contribute to the common objective of finding peaceful uses of outer space in regards to directed-energy weapons and mass-to-target weapons. The Space Millennium: Vienna Declaration on Space and Human Development (UNISPACE 3) of July 1999 outlines a path towards expanding the peaceful uses of outer space. Notable is Section (f), subsection (3) that encourages innovative private sector financing. Bosnia and Herzegovina are committed to utilizing the technology and human resources available in a manner that is consistent with the Charter of the United Nations. It is of utmost importance for the GA First committee to come to conclusions on how to use outer space peacefully, but Bosnia and Herzegovina find it crucial to start by defining what the international community sees a “peaceful uses.” A/RES/56/23 reaffirms all states commitment to the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space. In accordance to the provisions of A/RES/57/57, Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes that the prevention of an arms race will lead to greater international security and peace. Only through peaceful dialogue, cultural tolerance, and nonviolent conflict resolution can the international community progress toward a world where all humankind can live and flourish in a peaceful sanctuary.