Head of OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina stresses importance of co-operation between institutions and citizens for maintaining security

SARAJEVO, 6 December 2010 - Maintaining effective state security requires co-operation between and co-ordination of all institutions and action by citizens from all sectors of society, said Ambassador Gary D. Robbins, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in his speech at the sixth Security Policy Course in Sarajevo today. 

"The course aims to inform decision-makers in the country, and to strengthen the competencies of state level parliamentary bodies, such as the Joint Committee for Defence and Security and the Joint Committee for the Oversight of the State Intelligence-Security Agency," said Robbins. "Co-operation between various state institutions and interaction with citizens is essential for the development of an effective approach to maintaining state security."

The two-week Security Policy Course organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in co-operation with the Security Ministry aims to provide high-level civilian and military staff, as well as parliamentarians with a general overview of the foreign, security and defence policies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to improve the co-operation between key representatives from various security institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The course participants received publications of essential reference documents, including the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure.