Members of the United Kingdom House of Commons held an urgent debate on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and concluded that the disintegration of the country must never be allowed to happen, that any conflict must be prevented, and that those who threaten the stability of BiH must face consequences.

On a request by Conservative Party MP Anthony Mangnall, about twenty MPs discussed the situation in Bosnia amid the major political crisis in the country.

Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, James Cleverly, said that the developments in BiH “are of significant concern for the UK Government.”

He noted that BiH Presidency member, Milorad Dodik, is threatening that Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity will withdraw from state institutions.

“This is a dangerous and deliberate attempt to distract from the failure to improve standards of living and tackle corruption,” Cleverly said, adding that this is “unacceptable.”
He said that the UK fully supports the integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He announced that the international official overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dazton Peace Agreement in Bosnia, High Representative Christian Schmidt, will visit the UK in December.

The UK is in contact with Schmidt “to ensure we are working in cooperation and giving him vocal support, including for the use of executive powers should the situation require it,” he said, referring to the ‘Bonn Power’, which allow the High Representative in BiH to, among other things, impose laws and fire officials.

MPs also called on the Government to be as active as possible in Bosnia.

See the full debate in the UK House of Commons in the video linked below: