EU 56: Letter to the Clerk of the Committee from the Parliamentary Relations Team,

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

 

 

REPUBLIKA SRPSKA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION

 

You asked for the government's views on the Republika Srpska National Assembly resolution of 21 February 2008 on the "non-recognition of unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija and commitments of Republika Srpksa". As you know, as well as rejecting Kosovo's independence, the resolution threatens that, under certain conditions, the RS might "define its position" within BiH through a referendum (we take this as a veiled reference to the possibility of secession from BiH).

 

The RSNA resolution was one of the topics discussed at the meeting of the Peace Implementation Council on 26-27 February (the PIC is the group of countries, including the UK, that oversees implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement). The PIC expressed its deep concern over official calls for secession and made clear that, under Dayton, no entity has the right to secede from BiH. The PIC also underlined the need for BiH politicians to end the practice of threatening unilateral changes to the constitutional structure of BiH. I attach the PIC conclusions.

 

It is the pattern of rhetoric contravening the Dayton Peace Agreement as well as the continuing lack of progress on key reforms that led the PIC to also decide to maintain the presence of the Office of the High Representative beyond June 2008. Closure of the OHR will depend on Bosnia's leaders achieving progress against key reform objectives. It will also depend on a stable political situation based on full compliance with Dayton.

 

The government strongly supports the PIC conclusions and the decision to retain the High Representative with the Bonn Powers in the current political climate. The government believes that the international community will need to continue to respond robustly to challenges to the constitutional structure of BiH in contravention of Dayton. The government also believes that no parallel can be drawn between the situations in Kosovo and BiH. The situation in Kosovo is governed by SCR 1244 which envisaged a final status for Kosovo. The situation in BiH is governed by the Dayton Peace Agreement which established the constitutional structure of BiH to which the constituent peoples in Bosnia-Herzegovina have agreed.

 

 

11 March 2008