Bosnian leader calls for stronger international institutions amid unprecedented global peril

LONDON: The chair of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s presidency on Wednesday called for fortified international institutions as the world faces unprecedented peril.

Referencing the conflict that embroiled his country in the 1990s, Sefik Dzaferovic told the UN General Assembly that the experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina exemplified the vitality of international institutions and the rule of law in building peace.

“The path to peace and prosperity is mutual cooperation, and in our region we are all equal and we all need peace and stability,” he said.

“The European order is now a thing of the past, but all disputes in the world should be secured by the international law it brought and through the world’s judicial institutions. That is why the UN must be strengthened and fortified.”

With worsening droughts in the Horn of Africa, parts of Pakistan still under water and food shortages spreading, Dzaferovic warned: “We are all facing a difficult and challenging winter.”

To address this, he said global leaders need to recognize the strengths of globalization but also take note of its weaknesses, as exposed by the pandemic.

“We are all dependent upon one another, but this interdependence is a source of vulnerability,” he added.

“This became apparent during the pandemic, and has been made paramount by the conflict in Ukraine.

“Blocks in shipments of Ukrainian grain are leading to hunger in Africa, and there are the heightened energy costs in Europe.”

He said the answer to this is not only strengthened institutions but diversified supply chains that could ensure support for all nations in moments of crisis.

Dzaferovic warned that to not learn from history would be an act of folly. He said the world is in a moment of instability, and history proved that without strong institutions such moments could be hijacked by bad actors.