Property issues and school reform top priorities of OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003
Ambassador Robert Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. (OSCE) Photo details
SARAJEVO, 30 December 2002 - Property issues and improvements of the school system will be among the top priorities of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003, Ambassador Robert Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission, said in a New Year's message today.
"This year has seen positive developments that many would have thought impossible only a few years back", he said. "An ever-increasing number of municipalities have completed the process of returning property to their rightful owners. We have also seen large numbers of soldiers voluntarily leave the military - men who can now help develop their country's political and economic life as civilians, and thus reinforce the image of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country at peace."
Ambassador Beecroft stressed the importance of the OSCE Mission's new role of helping reform the country's education system, which the Mission had taken on in July 2002. "The fact that - together with our Bosnian partners - we compiled a comprehensive education strategy in an extremely short time speaks volumes about the commitment of all those involved."
"In spite of these promising developments, many challenges still require the OSCE's strong engagement", Ambassador Beecroft concluded. "We aim to finish the property law implementation by the end of 2003. We aim to see concrete improvements of the school system by the start of the next school year. And we aim to see the Secretariat of the Standing Committee on Military Matters become a fully functioning state-level institution, with proper authority vested in its Secretary General."
(The Standing Committee on Military Matters is one of the common institutions established by the Dayton Peace Accords. Its role is to co-ordinate the activities of the armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina.)
"This year has seen positive developments that many would have thought impossible only a few years back", he said. "An ever-increasing number of municipalities have completed the process of returning property to their rightful owners. We have also seen large numbers of soldiers voluntarily leave the military - men who can now help develop their country's political and economic life as civilians, and thus reinforce the image of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country at peace."
Ambassador Beecroft stressed the importance of the OSCE Mission's new role of helping reform the country's education system, which the Mission had taken on in July 2002. "The fact that - together with our Bosnian partners - we compiled a comprehensive education strategy in an extremely short time speaks volumes about the commitment of all those involved."
"In spite of these promising developments, many challenges still require the OSCE's strong engagement", Ambassador Beecroft concluded. "We aim to finish the property law implementation by the end of 2003. We aim to see concrete improvements of the school system by the start of the next school year. And we aim to see the Secretariat of the Standing Committee on Military Matters become a fully functioning state-level institution, with proper authority vested in its Secretary General."
(The Standing Committee on Military Matters is one of the common institutions established by the Dayton Peace Accords. Its role is to co-ordinate the activities of the armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina.)