Raffi Gregorian, the United Nations Deputy Under-Secretary for Counter-Terrorism, paid an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina from October 10 to 13 to strengthen the UN’s support for BiH counter-terrorism efforts and to discuss current and emerging threats.

During this visit, Gregorian met with senior officials from the field of defense and security, MPs, BiH Islamic Community’s Grand Mufti, representatives of civil society, the Office of the High Representative, the Special Representative of the European Union and members of the diplomatic corps.

“The work that the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to do in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism at home and contributing to regional and global efforts in the fight against this ever-changing threat is commendable,” Gregorian said.

“I am pleased that we can work with BiH to enable the deployment of human rights-compliant means to detect and stop foreign terrorist fighters and other serious criminals attempting to enter or transit the country by air. Our Terrorist Travel Suppression Program not only helps BiH meet Security Council obligations, but also meets International Civil Aviation Organization standards and integrates with European systems, which should facilitate integration into the European Union,” he noted.

Gregorian also stressed the importance of the return of BiH citizens from the camps in northeastern Syria.

“The great majority in that group are children, who are illegally deprived of their freedom and who live in difficult conditions, exposed to constant violence and trauma by ISIS elements present in the camps. They have no rights,” the UN envoy said.

While on the one hand, he emphasized the effectiveness of the authorities in the fight against terrorism, Gregorian expressed his unease over the constant presence of disinformation and hate speech throughout the country, including the denial of horrors and crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war, especially the genocide in Srebrenica, misogyny and repeated attempts to subvert The Dayton Peace Agreement and the rule of law in general.

“Unchecked, such patterns create conditions conducive to the spread of violent extremism and terrorism,” Gregorian said.

“Nothing good can come from such behavior.”

Gregorian also expressed concern over a recent draft law that directly affects the rights of freedom of expression and association, and will further narrow the space for civil action.

“The recent recriminalization of defamation and the draft Law of the Republika Srpska (RS) [entity] on the special register and publicity of the work of non-profit organizations are not in accordance with international human rights standards and create legal uncertainty.”

Gregorian also called for the withdrawal of the Law, as it opposes numerous General Assembly resolutions extolling the virtues of a community-wide response to terrorism, which includes civil society and is deeply rooted in human rights.