Crucially important and pioneering work in the field of excavation and DNA analysis with the aim of identifying missing persons – victims of the genocide in Srebrenica – was the main topic during the first official visit to Tuzla by the Swedish ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Helena Lagerlöf.
On that occasion, Ambassador Lagerlöf visited the premises of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and met with the deputy head of ICMP’s program for the Western Balkans, Samira Krehić. Lagerlöf and the ICMP team also discussed their activities in a wider context, as well as the support their work provides to the domestic and international justice system.
“In addition to respecting the principles of human rights, ICMP is of key importance for strengthening the capacity of domestic institutions dealing with the search for missing persons, which is necessary for the long-term process of reconciliation and dealing with the past in a dignified way,” said Ambassador Lagerlöf and noted that this organization is a long-term partner which Sweden has supported financially and politically for more than a decade.
Ambassador Lagerlöf’s visit to Tuzla also included meetings with representatives of cantonal and city authorities with the aim of discussing developments at the local level. On that occasion, she confirmed the position of Sweden, which advocates the membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the EU, and the will to support Bosnia and Herzegovina on this path, but also emphasized the necessity to continue with related reforms in which both cantonal and local authorities can be a constructive partner.
In Gradačac, the ambassador together with partners from the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the EU Investment Framework for the Western Balkans (WBIF), the Czech Republic and representatives of the municipality of Gradačac celebrated the successful completion of the water supply system reconstruction project.
Sweden supported the project component related to the reconstruction and expansion of the wastewater collection network, which included 1,250 households with about 5,000 inhabitants and numerous local companies, the Swedish Embassy announced.
