Eleventh Annual Review Conference on Compliance with OSCE and UN Security Commitments concludes in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO, 30 November 2018 – Over 80 participants from defence and security sector institutions, civil society, academia and international organizations gathered at the 11th Annual Review Conference on Compliance with OSCE and UN Security Commitments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which concluded today in Sarajevo.
This year’s discussion focused on assessment of progress made by BiH in meeting its international security commitments in the areas of democratic oversight, arms control and small arms and light weapons and stockpiles of conventional ammunition. It also addressed other highly-relevant thematic areas such as strengthening of institutional frameworks for the prevention of and fight against terrorism and prevention measures against violent extremism, cybersecurity and combating cybercrime.
The Review Conference represents a major forum for domestic and regional security experts from different sectors to engage in constructive discussion and develop concrete actions for ensuring a more secure environment for citizens of BiH. It aims to assess the progress BiH achieved in terms of compliance with its OSCE and UN commitments and to formulate recommendations for the implementation of activities aimed at creating the preconditions for increasing the capacity of BiH authorities to address contemporary complex security threats.
Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in BiH said: “This is an occasion to reaffirm our commitments to advance peace, security and development in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to underscore the importance of our co-operation in building the capacities of BiH to address these issues in a sustainable manner. We recognize that Bosnia and Herzegovina has been making progress in strengthening institutional capacities to deliver security-related services to its citizens as well as moving forward with its international commitments.”
Addressing the issue of cybersecurity, the Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Ambassador Bruce G. Berton, emphasized that the growing use of information and communication technologies for political, military and criminal purposes poses significant risks to international peace: “It is crucial that governments take this threat seriously and develop a capable cyber-security infrastructure. Accordingly, acting upon a direct request from the BiH Ministry of Security, we initiated broad discussions and subsequently established an informal and inclusive working group to develop a strategic framework for cyber security.”
The 11th Annual Review Conference on Compliance with OSCE and UN Security Commitments of Bosnia and Herzegovina was organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with the United Nations in BiH.