15/12/2010 Political Affairs and Democracy
In a resolution on reconciliation and political dialogue between the countries of the former Yugoslavia* adopted unanimously in Paris today, the Political Affairs Committee says it supported the efforts of the countries of the former Yugoslavia to reconcile and reconstruct a new relationship among themselves and welcomed their commitment to regional co-operation, which indicated a greater willingness to overcome the legacy of the past. It noted with satisfaction a number of positive examples of people and leaders from the region working together for change.
However, renewed efforts were needed by all governments in the region with a view to their full reconciliation and Euro-Atlantic integration, the committee said.
On the basis of a report by Pietro Marcenaro (Italy, SOC), it stressed the need for capable and determined leadership, visionary in its commitment to peace. It said that public discourse on the war and its long-term legacy varied from one country to another and could be a potential source of hatred and conflict.
“In the same way in which ethnic conflict and civil war are not natural, but man-made disasters, their prevention and settlement do not happen automatically either,” Mr Marcenaro stressed.
The committee particularly welcomed the initiative recently taken by a coalition of non-governmental organisations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia to create a Regional Commission for Establishing the Facts about the War Crimes in the former Yugoslavia (RECOM) to document all crimes committed during the wars in order to honour and acknowledge all victims.
With regard to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the committee regretted that the general elections held on 3 October 2010 were once again conducted with ethnicity and residence-based limitations to active and passive suffrage rights, and stressed that the constitutional deadlock continued to be an obstacle impeding the country from moving ahead towards a fully-fledged democracy.
The committee said it was convinced that inter-parliamentary dialogue at regional level should be supported and stressed the importance of strengthening the role of the national parliaments of the countries of the former Yugoslavia in any endeavours aimed at full reconciliation in the region. The committee considers that the Assembly should offer a platform for such a dialogue, where appropriate in co-operation with the European Parliament.
The report by Mr Marcenaro will be discussed during the PACE January session in Strasbourg (24-28 January 2011).
*The Rapporteur uses the term "the former Yugoslavia" to describe the territory that up until 25 June 1991 was known as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).