Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the few countries that does not have a National Security Council. Many security experts believe that this is a handicap, and that the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot replace the absence of this body. An additional problem in BiH is the fact that there is a possibility that the EUFOR forces’ mandate in our country will not be extended. While some consider this a worrying fact, BiH Defense Minister Zukan Helez believes that in that case EUFOR would replace NATO, which would make our country and the region safer.
The complicated arrangement of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina complicates the numerous security challenges facing our country. Security in Bosnia and Herzegovina is managed by several agencies operating within the Ministry of Security of BiH, namely OSA, SIPA, DKPT, Border Police of BiH.
“And it is divided, just as our country is complex in the Constitution, and this is not foreseen. Although there is a National Security Council in most countries of the world. But in BiH, the Ministry of Security of BiH and their services, which are at lower levels, are responsible for that,” says BiH Defense Minister Zukan Helez.
Certain security experts believe that the Ministry of Security cannot respond to all security challenges.
Thanks to the Dayton solutions, BiH has a very dispersed security system. In practice, this leads to the fact that often state officials, even entity officials, have information that is very contradictory and confusing. Therefore, security expert Hamza Višća believes that there should be a body within the Ministry of Security or some of the agencies that would verify information and strengthen confidence in BiH institutions.
“It is about the fact that our officials often handle different data, and it would be quite normal if, for example, three members of the BiH Presidency received information about the security situation in BiH from the same source. And for that, it would be best if the Ministry of Security responded to all its obligations or expanded its obligations to inform them adequately using information from the security agencies that they have from the Ministry of Defense and others. But all in all, every democratic country has a national or state security council in which the most important persons with the most important functions in the state are,” he explains.
What is particularly worrying at the moment is the fact that the extension of EUFOR’s mandate is questionable. This consent is given by the UN Security Council. The problem arose because Russia pointed out that it would not support the continuation of the Altea mission.
“If you were to ask me personally, maybe it’s not bad if they don’t extend it. Then NATO takes responsibility. But I don’t think that either Serbia or Russia will do it, primarily because according to the Dayton Peace Agreement, if EUFOR does not get a mission, if the mission is not renewed, then it is obliged NATO to monitor Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Helez points out.
The problem is that BiH does not have a systemic response to hybrid war, which is not harmless even in the phases when weapons are not used. The inciting policy that we hear every day in BiH must be stopped so that it does not produce greater consequences, according to experts.
“I don’t see a major disruption of the security situation in BiH, but political challenges are so present that they can disrupt in a certain segment. The key is in international and domestic institutions,” said Ahmed Kićo, a security expert.
“As for the general state of security in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I would not dramatize it, I think that the state of general security in Bosnia and Herzegovina is quite satisfactory, but we are witnessing, for example, in Mostar, which is full of tourists, recommendations from embassies not to come to Bosnia and Herzegovina. We don’t need some things here. to dramatize the state of general security. Of course, our problem is the non-functioning of BiH institutions,” says Slaven Bevanda, a lawyer from Mostar.
“And I don’t think that security in Bosnia and Herzegovina is threatened, that there is still a lot of international capital, international interest here, and that all these political implications are aimed at achieving certain political processes or effects,” emphasized Vojislav Savić, a political scientist from Banja Luka.
Some military and political experts believe that the level of fear of war is greater than the seriousness of the real situation, therefore the need for the existence of a National Security Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina is even more pronounced, BHRT writes.
