Speech by

Peter SCHIEDER, Parliamentary Assembly President

On the occasion of the accession to the Council of Europe of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Strasbourg, 24 april 2002

Ten years ago, almost to the day, the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina broke out. When it ended more than three years later, it left behind tens of thousands of victims, hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons, a country destroyed and its people divided.

Today, the wounds have not yet healed, but they are healing. The forty-fourth member of the Council of Europe is a young state, a state which still carries the scars of its tragic recent past, but also a country which has decided to turn to the future. A future constructed by all its citizens, and for all its citizens. A future in Europe.

The accession to the Council of Europe is an achievement in itself, and I wish to congratulate wholeheartedly the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina on this important event. But the accession is also a new beginning. As of today, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a member of our organisation, and is expected to behave as one. We want to see steady progress towards complying with the membership commitments and obligations. It will not always be easy, and you can count on our help, but the main responsibility for the building of democracy, the consolidation of the rule of law and the protection of human rights lies with the authorities of your country. This is a task that cannot be achieved by anyone else on your behalf.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country which is multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-confessional. In the future, these diversities should serve as a source of enrichment, and no longer as a cause of divide.

But there are also many things which the Bosnians, Croatians and Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina have in common. I believe that the words “DOBRO NAM DOSHLI” are among them. In English they mean welcome, and I am saying them to you today with all my heart.