Govori
Address by Chairman Tegeltija at Plenary Session of International Forum on Migrations
05/19/2022
Honorable Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Honorable Director General of the International Organization for Migration,
Distinguished representatives of states and governments,
International organizations, civil society,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Please allow me greet you at this first International Migration Review Forum and thank you for the opportunity to address you. I am particularly grateful to Mr. Shahid for the invitation to the Forum and to the staff of the UN, the IOM, as well as the IOM of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the organization of the event.
I see this Forum as a platform for discussion, exchange of experiences, and an opportunity to meet and create new agreements. It is a very valuable event in that context.
Time allotted for this address, as well as the impressive number of participants, do not allow me to reflect on the 23 goals of the Global Compact. However, those were certainly thoroughly discussed during the roundtables that preceded this part of the today’s event.
The Global Compact is closely linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and that is something that we have in common. We will agree that the implementation aspects are certainly individual and special for each country, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, where I come from. We pay special attention to the constitutional competencies of all levels of government.
Personally, I expect that this Forum will be an introduction to potential defining of the United Nations system future guidelines for the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, while respecting the national policies and priorities of each member state.
One of the key words I kept hearing these days is "cooperation". Indeed, cooperation is one of the universal principles and tools, and I urge you to make good use of it and to further advance it.
To that effect, please allow me to share with you a few notes on what the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina accomplished in the previous period:
We adopted the “Integrated Border Management Strategy and the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Integrated Border Management Strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Period 2019 -2023”.
It is a new strategic document that is largely in line with the European Integrated Border Management Model. As such, it represents a set of measures and activities necessary to create an efficient and coordinated system of border control by all relevant agencies. The goal is to ensure the unhindered flow of people and goods across the state border while preventing all forms of illegal activities related to crossing of the state border.
A new draft Law on Border Control is being prepared and it will be harmonized with the acquis communautaire. It is currently pending a procedural review.
The drafting of the new Law on Border Control of Bosnia and Herzegovina has created preconditions to initiate specific activities on the implementation of the Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Records (PNR) system. Consequently, a Decision was prepared to establish an inter-agency Working Group to set up a system for the exchange of passenger data.
In the past period, Bosnia and Herzegovina has made significant progress in the area of cooperation with the neighboring countries. Activities on the implementation of the Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe are constantly implemented. Cooperation with the neighboring countries is continuously developing by means of implementing the existing and concluding the new agreements and implementation protocols with the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro. This includes the implementation of the Protocol on Joint Mixed Patrols with the Neighboring Countries.
In 2021, a total of 9,827 temporary residence permits were issued in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum. That represents an increase of 18% over the previous year.
In 2021, there was an increase in the number of work permits issued for foreigners, compared to the previous year, 2020. This may be partly related to the reduced impact of the pandemic.
Information on the conditions of entry and stay of foreigners in Bosnia and Herzegovina is published and updated on the official multilingual (official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and English) website of the Ministry of Security.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the few European countries that have signed the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. In line with the provisions of this Convention, Bosnia and Herzegovina submits periodic reports on its implementation.
Since 2008, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been annually issuing a Migration Profile of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a document that aims to provide the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the insight into key trends in the field of migration.
Ladies and gentlemen, we can agree upon the fackt that the migration is a humanitarian, legal and political issue in a global context and we are witnessing all of that. We are all experiencing regular migration and migration in a broader context and those phenomena are universal. Respecting the sovereignty and internal structures of each member state is what individualizes the implementation of the common goals.
I will listen to all the addresses and ideas shared with pleasure and great attention, as well as potential problems for which we can try to identify solutions together. We are aware of the fact that no one has immediate answers to all questions or ready-made plans for all possible situations. That is why, among other reasons, forums such as this one are so useful.
I would like to thank the United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Organization for Migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina for cooperation and assistance to the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also for welcoming us today, here, in New York City, as a partner. (end)