S/PV.7307 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2014/794, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. I also wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2014/777, which contains a letter dated 30 October 2014 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council, transmitting the forty-sixth report of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

There were 14 votes in favour and one abstaining. The draft resolution has been adopted as resolution 2183 (2014). I now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the vote.

The Russian Federation was obliged to abstain from voting because the draft resolution did not take into account the substantive criticisms we expressed during the consultations. We recognize the importance of continuing the work of Operation Althea of the European Union led- peacekeeping force in providing security for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the context of implementing the Dayton Peace Agreement. At the same time, however, we are against maintaining an international presence in the sphere of security that could be viewed as a tool for accelerating the country’s integration into the European Union and NATO. Using a resolution of the Security Council based on Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations to push Bosnia and Herzegovina in that direction is unacceptable. Such a far-reaching decision cannot be imposed from outside. It should be the result of the sovereign choice and free will of all three peoples that make up the country, the more so because, as we all know full well, there is no consensus on the issue of Euro-Atlantic integration in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We do not have to look far to find unfortunate examples of external pressure for a European perspective. We should also recall that according to the final statements of the Steering Committee on Bosnia and Herzegovina, almost none of the European Union’s priority requirements seen as conditions for applying for candidate status have been met, that is, they have not been approved in a country-wide consensus. Besides that, a number of the country’s major political leaders believe, not without foundation, that a decision on NATO membership can be taken only through a national referendum. Nor should we ignore the overall improvement of the regional security situation, which, in particular, will enable the Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, at its forthcoming meeting in Basel, to transfer the review under article IV of annex 1B of the Dayton Agreement to the Balkan countries themselves. Against that backdrop, yet another wordy resolution on Althea seems an anachronism. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that the Russian Federation supports maintaining the Dayton Peace Agreement and strengthening the role of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council and is against the destruction of their foundations.

I now give the floor to the representative of China.

China endorses the extension of the mandate of the European Union-led peacekeeping force (EUFOR) and welcomes the continuing positive role that EUFOR plays in maintaining peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We voted in favour of today’s resolution 2183 (2014). Meanwhile, I would like to point out that China respects the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We believe that the path for development and diplomatic policies should be decided by its Government and people. We also believe that during the consultations on the resolution, the Security Council should have thoroughly considered the opinions of all sides and paid sufficient attention to the concerns of its members, so as to achieve the greatest possible consensus and broadest possible support for it.

The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of the item on its agenda.