YouSaid · the spoken record

Izetbegovic

lines on the record
14
first
1999-11-15
most recent
1999-11-15
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “I would like to express to you, Mr. President, my sincere appreciation for giving me the opportunity to address the Security Council today. I have listened very carefully to the statements of the States members of the Security Council. They all expressed their support for our country, and I thank all of them. I would like to reiterate my full support for the New York Declaration and will do everything possible to ensure its implementation.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  2. “We did not request the world's assistance because we did not know how to manage our country; rather, we were faced with the brutal reality of making a flawed peace agreement or, alternatively, having the war continue. We believed the flawed peace to be preferable. Now we in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Council and the peoples of our country, must work together to marginalize the flaws and rebuild the country on an ever sounder foundation. Clearly, when one starts with a crack at the base, it is not always easy either to proceed or to have confidence in the long-term stability of the process. However, I believe we all understand our responsibilities, and we have no other alternative but to go ahead.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  3. “This is the best that could be achieved under the circumstances. I also trust that the Council will stand by this Agreement, not just as a historical document, but as a breathing, evolving charter for peace. We expect that the Council and the other endorsers and signatories will promote the evolution of a Dayton Agreement consistent with the highest standards of democracy, economic development and respect for human rights. In this Council, and under similar circumstances, the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its institutions and people are collectively assessed blame for the too frequent failures of the process. The placement of collective accountability on all shields the individuals responsible. Accountability for progress, or lack of progress, in the political process and decisions must be borne by individuals.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  4. “Indeed, it may be most appropriate now that we remind ourselves and the Council that Bosnia and Herzegovina is ours, that it is for the Bosnians, I must enthusiastically endorse the ownership concept now being espoused. Bosnia and Herzegovina always has been and will be for its peoples. We take responsibility for the Dayton Accords. The Accords were negotiated with the direct input of the Contact Group countries - the United States of America, France, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, Germany and Italy - and was endorsed by this entire Council. I have in the past stated that the Dayton Accords were a compromise not only between different parties, but also between justice and injustice, between democratic and undemocratic ideas. Nonetheless, I fully stand behind my signature to the Peace Agreement and the commitments under it.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  5. “We believe that a most appropriate contribution to global peace would be to offer our soldiers and police to the United Nations peacekeeping efforts. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a moral responsibility to help others in need. Our recent experience can be used as a valuable lesson for others in need of peacekeeping. As important, this could serve to give formerly opposing militaries in our country a unified perspective of the future. As for the region, we cannot feel secure in our future until the region as a whole moves forward economically and towards the necessary respect for democratic, human and minority rights. Ownership is a term that has recently become more popular in reference to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It may be a new, stylish terminology, but it is an established concept.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  6. “Consensus decision-making is too frequently misused to obstruct. Always seeking the lowest common denominator in decisions can be translated into anarchy or dependency, or both. I should also like to emphasize the continuing mine problem. However, the process of demining has at least some momentum, and, with the assistance of Slovenian colleagues and others, we have confidence in the gradual elimination of the plague. Finally, I turn to the issue of security in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region as a whole. We have decided to unilaterally reduce our military expenditure by 15 per cent in 1999. We are ready for a further reduction, on condition that it be done throughout the region, in accordance with the Vienna Protocol.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  7. “Not to support the Law on State Border Service really means to support corruption. Here I have to pause and inform the Council that only yesterday evening we adopted the New York Declaration, which contains the framework for the border service law. I must state that I fully support the Declaration. Fifthly, I come to the most complex and serious issue. The Dayton Agreement endowed Bosnia and Herzegovina with an opportunity to end a war, but not with all the necessary means to effectively manage its affairs. Particularly at the central government level, we lack common mechanisms to have a functioning and unified Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even with existing institutions, the constant demand for consensus decision-making on all issues too frequently stalls the whole political system.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  8. “The most powerful means, of course, is the effective control of Bosnia and Herzegovina's borders. Corruption within our country is not linked to misuse of aid money. Such moneys are almost exclusively managed through non-governmental organizations and directly by the donor countries. Rather, the trouble is the lack of effective control of Bosnia and Herzegovina's borders. It produces smuggling and lost customs and tax revenues. It also is a major risk in terms of international crime and terrorism. The Council has certainly heard what kind of difficulties we faced in regard to the adoption of the Law on State Border Service. As long as some resist effective control of our borders by a diverse Bosnian border service, Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue to be at risk.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  9. “I trust that the Security Council will heed the concerns and the request for action outlined by the Tribunal in this report. Without such action, the atmosphere in the region will remain dominated by the stale smell of "ethnic cleansing". Thirdly, the pace of rebuilding our country and economic reform must be quickened. Here we must recognize our responsibility and endeavour to move more rapidly. Still, we need real assistance to rebuild from the base of a war-damaged landscape and an outdated economic system. We also need the input of the Office of the High Representative to harmonize the economic system throughout the country. Fourthly, this brings me to the widely discussed issue of corruption. We must heighten our vigilance, and we also must make sure that we have the tools for the job.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  10. “Bosnia and Herzegovina and both of its entities must embrace the three constituent peoples and others in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was already demanded by the Peace Accords. We have agreed to provide the Security Council in three months with a progress report regarding refugee return during this period, and expect that the Council will see real results, or address the obstruction. Secondly, those responsible for war crimes must be arrested and prosecuted. The situation has improved, with the stabilization force (SFOR) taking a more active role. However, as the most recent report of the President of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicates, much needs to be done, especially in terms of certain areas of the region.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  11. “We and the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina really have no alternative, even if the rate of progress is slow. Allow me now to briefly address the list of issues and areas where the Security Council and the international community as a whole can assist. First, the rate of refugee return is still too slow and obstructed in many aspects. We must accelerate the process. Unless people return to their homes soon, the peace will appear hollow and the return to normalcy will be indefinitely stalled. Bosnia and Herzegovina has always been a multi-ethnic country, where people of different ethnic backgrounds have been intermingled in all its regions. However, some still insist upon the idea that the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina are ethnically homogeneous. That must be changed.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  12. “We have facilitated the return of almost half of the refugees and displaced persons to their homes. While giving priority to infrastructure, we have not achieved satisfactory results in the reconstruction of the economy, which still has to undergo a serious transformation. Here I am primarily referring to the privatization of small, medium and large companies, as well as the adoption of laws to create conditions conducive for foreign investors. This task is before us, and it is of crucial importance for the strengthening of peace and stability in our country. So, to some, the glass may appear to be half empty. To me, and I believe to most Bosnians, the glass is half full. We now must find the means to make the glass more full, even if drop by drop.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  13. “Thanks to the Dayton/Paris Accords, we do have peace and we do have a joint Presidency, in which at least the opportunity exists for all to work together and chart one course for the good of one country and its people. Compared to war and fighting alone - the forces of ethnic racism and cleansing - my current role and, most critically, the situation of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina are preferable. In the past four years, thanks to the efforts of our people and the assistance of the international community, we have repaired almost every school, hospital and bridge. We have restored the postal service and electricity supply systems which were severely damaged. Today we have more students than we had before the war, and our post offices and our hospitals are better equipped. Our monetary currency is stable.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source

  14. “At the outset, I would like to say how pleased I am to see the delegation of Slovenia, and in particular you, Mr. President, presiding over the Security Council. I would also like to express my appreciation to the members of the Security Council for giving us the opportunity to speak about Bosnia and Herzegovina here today. I also take this opportunity to express my sympathy to the families and friends of all those who recently died in the cause of peace in the plane crash in Kosovo. Unlike in the recent past, today I appear before the Security Council as just one of the members of a new rotating Presidency adopted as part of the Dayton/Paris Peace Accords. There may thus be an impression that I would not be so pleased with the new circumstances. That is not the case.”

    1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source