Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent support he has offered to Bosnia and Herzegovina on the rule of law.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to peace, stability and the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Our embassy in Sarajevo provides support politically and through our programmes to help BiH's domestic institutions deliver their mandates and combat corruption and serious organised crime. In response to actions by Republika Srpska's leadership which undermine the rule of law, we have worked with the High Representative and international partners to bolster domestic institutions against threats to the constitution and independence of the judiciary. I and the Foreign Secretary underlined this commitment to Presidency Members Becirovic and Komsic on 17 June.
I recently convened members of the quint to discuss these issues, and am closely following developments with partners. We look forward to hosting the Berlin Process in the UK later this year, which also provides an opportunity to discuss a range of issues in the Western Balkans with partners.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Serbian government on (a) human, (b) civil and (c) political rights in that country.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I underlined the UK's strong support for fundamental rights and the rule of law, and the important role of civil society in Serbia during our respective visits to Belgrade earlier this year. In the context of continuing protests, we continue to stress to the Serbian leadership that, in any society, it is important that the rights to peaceful freedom of expression and assembly are respected. We continue to raise these issues via our Ambassador in Belgrade, and discussions with ministerial counterparts.