Membership of the Partnership for Peace is of crucial importance for the region's lasting stability

Press Release - 6 NGO's

12/04/2006 , HCHRS

Belgrade, 1. December 2006: The Group of 6 NGOs takes that NATO's decision to offer Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia membership of the Partnership for Peace is of crucial importance for the region's lasting stability.

Collective regional security calls for resolving all open issues. This primarily refers to the status of Kosovo, which should be specified in the shortest possible while. Besides, a viable regional security necessitates reforms of armed forces in all Balkan countries. In Serbia, this reform is still being hindered and obstructed by some factors in the Army, in its security services in particular. Therefore, the Group of 6 NGOs is of the opinion that the Partnership for Peace stands for an unavoidable instrument for the reform of the Army and its placing under civilian control. Civilian control over the Army of Serbia is an imperative given that ever since Montenegro's independence the Army has not been under any political control whatsoever.

Apart from holding a key to regional stability and normalization, Serbia burdens the region with other problems as well. This primarily refers to non-impunity for war crimes and genuine cooperation with the ICTY, as well as to proper processing of war crimes before domestic courts. That process - which is presently at initial stage only - preconditions restoration of trust between the countries in the region. This is the more so important since the region is still plagued by extreme nationalism that is kept alive to a considerable extent thanks to the fact that ethnic principle in conflict resolution has been given a green light. That is another reason why the membership of the Partnership for Peace will play an important role.

The Group of 6 NGOs expects that membership of the Partnership for Peace would enforce control over various security services that have been acting arbitrarily for long and preventing Serbia's political scene to get properly constituted.