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<p>The United Kingdom continues to be deeply committed to enhancing stability and
democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The UK is a strong supporter of European
Union Force (EUFOR) Operation Althea's maintenance of the safe and secure environment
in BiH, and is proud of its contributions in theatre, and through a reserve company,
1 Scots. Our support for BiH's policing has led to our contributing to establishing
a trilateral Police Cooperation Centre (PCC) in Trebinje, resulting in more efficient
and effective actions being taken between law enforcement agencies in the region.
UK Ministers and officials have made clear to BiH's leaders their responsibility for
ensuring that their public rhetoric is not inflammatory or ethnically divisive. <br><br>Following
the recent protests, we have made clear to BiH's leaders that they need to respond
to the population's legitimate desire for change, most recently when the Secretary
of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond
(Yorks) (Mr Hague), met the BiH Presidency and Foreign Minister on 27 March. During
his recent visit the Foreign Secretary met representatives of civil society and plenums
and expressed our support to widen the political space in BiH so as to allow citizens
to hold politicians to account. <br><br>Part of our work to widen the political space
is the recent British BiH Fellowship Programme. A one-month residential programme
in the UK designed to equip BiH's future leaders with the skills and experience to
lead positive change in their country. <br><br>The Foreign Secretary also announced
continuing UK assistance for BiH's path towards EU membership, in the form of new
funding to foster democratic governance in Bosnia by strengthening the judiciary,
civil society organisations, governance and supporting BiH's EU accession process.
Specific examples include political and financial support focused on strengthening
the State Court and State Prosecutor's Office, which will improve the operation of
Rule of Law systems in BiH. <br><br>In addition, the UK supports the activities of
the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), whose work in BiH has focused on equipping
local non-governmental organisations with the skills they need to provide effective
evidence for parliamentary committees. WFD has done valuable work with BiH's Parliament
to raise awareness of the value of such committees. This has influenced positively
the formation of legislation, and opened up the process of law-making to public scrutiny,
while promoting citizen participation in the democratic process.</p>
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