Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 05/2008

Preventing and Combatting Terrorism in Bosnia and Hercegovina

Alfred C. Lugert

December 2002

Austrian National Defence Academy

Abstract

Passed in November 2001, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1377 notes the importance of regional organizations such as OSCE in fighting and preventing terrorism – including promoting best practices and assisting with implementation of resolution 1373, the comprehensive anti-terrorism document passed in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the United States.

As part of the international community’s increased mobilization in fighting and preventing terrorism post-September 11th, the OSCE organized a December meeting of the Ministerial Council in Bucharest. Less than two weeks later the OSCE, along with the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, hosted the Bishkek International Conference on Enhancing Security and Stability in Central Asia: Strengthening Comprehensive Efforts to counter Terrorism.

Following up these conferences, the OSCE Secretariat’s ‘Road Map on Terrorism’ calls for OSCE missions to monitor and report developments related to fighting and preventing terrorism – concentrating on factors within all three dimensions which provide fertile ground for terrorism – and define ways how the OSCE can address these problems.

The purpose of this paper is to meet the task laid out in the Secretariat’s Roadmap, namely:

To give a comprehensive view of Bosnia & Herzegovina’s international political and legal commitments in the fight against terrorism;

To provide insight into the current situation in the country, focusing on the root causes of terrorism and the opinions of those directly involved in the fight against terrorism in BiH;

To summarize the progress that has been made in BiH to fight and prevent terrorism;

To define ways in which the Mission within the OSCE concept of a comprehensive approach to security can address these issues.

This publication is a shortened version of a paper prepared by the author and co-authors for the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of July 2002.

Col Dr. Alfred C. Lugert

Vienna