British politicians have called for the government to launch an atrocity prevention strategy, amid growing fears about the potential for conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Members of Parliament also called Thursday for Bosnia’s civil society to receive support from the U.K. government. The debate came on the same day that the U.K. government appointed Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach as special envoy to the Western Balkans to support the region’s stability.
Bosnia, which suffered a brutal sectarian conflict in the 1990s, is at risk of splitting, according to warnings from Christian Schmidt, the United Nations high representative to the country.
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MPs have been calling on the U.K. government to act, as experts believe any rupture in Bosnia would likely be accompanied by violence. In particular, fears have mounted over the possibility that atrocities such as genocide could occur, decades after the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, which saw Bosnian Serbs slay more than 8,000 people among the majority-Muslim Bosniaks.
“Peace in Bosnia is under threat, but conflict is not inevitable. And this House [of Commons] can make a difference,” said Alicia Kearns, a Conservative Party MP who helped secure a parliamentary debate on the topic.
“There is a cost to inaction, and that cost will be felt in Bosnia, throughout Europe, and most certainly here in the U.K.,” she added.
Kearns urged ministers to create a “cross-government counteratrocity strategy for what’s happening in Bosnia, but also in China and so many more places,” with an aim to “identify emerging tensions, early signs of human rights abuses, and trigger action before mass bloodshed.” If adopted, it would be engaged in by all relevant U.K. departments and not just the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
FCDO Minister Wendy Morton did not address the calls for an atrocity prevention strategy or for strengthening U.K. support to civil society. But she said, “The situation is as serious as we have seen in a long time,” adding that it is “of significant concern” for the government. She said FCDO ministers, including the foreign secretary, were discussing the situation with their counterparts in the region and “demonstrating the U.K.’s strong commitment to stability and prosperity in region and deepening bilateral relationships.”
The U.K. would continue to lead work to advance gender equality and the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, alongside defense assistance and support for Schmidt, Morton added.
Fleur Anderson, a Labour Party MP who served as an aid worker in Bosnia during the war in the 1990s and later led Christian Aid’s office in the country, said at the debate that Bosnians had “worked hard to rebuild their country and looked at atrocities in face, and yet not let it define their communities forever.”
She echoed the call for a government strategy to respond to atrocity risks “across all of the countries we work in, but we need it in Bosnia right now,” saying: “This strategy would contain improved communication between [FCDO] desk officers and London. It would include proper training to spot those [warning] signs early on and what to do. And it would include better early warning sign systems … spotting signs of genocide.”
The idea of an atrocity prevention strategy was questioned by Conservative MP Bob Stewart, who led U.K. peacekeeping forces in the country during the war. He said mass bloodshed occurred then with “no indications whatsoever.”
Anderson replied that in many cases of conflict, “there are indicators you can spot and take action about.”
MPs voiced their concerns about Bosnia’s civil society and called on the U.K. government to increase its support, particularly for women’s groups. Kearns said she had a “chilling” conversation with Schmidt — who watched Thursday’s parliamentary debate from the public gallery — with the U.N. high representative telling her that civil society was “divided” and “not able to bring people together.”
FCDO “should be looking [at] exactly how we support civil society; indeed, all of our allies should,” Kearns added.
“Peace in Bosnia is under threat, but conflict is not inevitable. And this House [of Commons] can make a difference.”
— Alicia Kearns, member of U.K. Parliament“If we work well with civil society,” Anderson said, it would negate the need for international troops to be sent to the country. She said it is currently “not easy to work with” civil society groups in the region and, despite asking, she didn't know which “groups we should be working with, but that’s the challenge we face as the U.K.”
Building “a lasting peace for the future … has to be done in conjunction with civil society,” said Anderson.
Kearns and other MPs made a number of requests to the government, including to impose sanctions, increase the NATO presence in the country, and engage in “deterrence diplomacy.”
Peach’s responsibilities would include promoting strong democratic institutions and open societies, helping to tackle serious and organized crime, and encouraging the “resolution of legacy issues, like war crimes and missing people,” according to Morton.
About the author
William Worley@willrworley
Will Worley is the Climate Correspondent for Devex, covering the intersection of development and climate change. He previously worked as UK Correspondent, reporting on the FCDO and British aid policy during a time of seismic reforms. Will’s extensive reporting on the UK aid cuts saw him shortlisted for ‘Specialist Journalist of the Year’ in 2021 by the British Journalism Awards. He can be reached at william.worley@devex.com.
