The chairs of the Joint Commission for Defence and Security of BiH and the Parliamentary Military Commissioner of BiH participated in the 18th Annual Conference of Inspectors of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defence of BiH

Chair of the Joint Commission for Defence and Security of BiH Jasmin Imamović, Deputy Chair of the Joint Commission Marina Pendeš and Parliamentary Military Commissioner of BiH Boško Šiljegović participated today in the 18th Annual Conference of Inspectors of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defence of BiH and Inspectors of the Armed Forces of BiH, which was held in the building of the Armed Forces in Sarajevo.

The participants discussed the importance of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defence of BiH, as well as the main activities and implementation of the basic functions of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defence of BiH for the period 2023/24.

The meeting also discussed building integrity and the fight against corruption, cooperation of the General Inspectorate with organizations and institutions outside the Ministry of Defence of BiH, as well as the activities of the General Inspectorate in the coming period.

Brigadier General Edin Fako, Inspector General at the General Inspectorate, presented the Report on the Work of the General Inspectorate for the period 2023/24 to the conference participants, and the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH, Colonel General Gojko Knežević, also addressed the attendees.

In his address to the participants of the Conference, the Chairman of the Joint Commission for Defence and Security of BiH, Jasmin Imamović, assessed that the Inspectorate General should be a significant corrective factor within the Ministry of Defence, which, as he said, requires impartiality, high codes of conduct and fairness that should not be reduced only to the investigation mechanism most often mentioned in public.

According to Imamović, the protection of human rights in the Armed Forces presupposes far more efficient action and faster problem solving. "Human rights need to be discussed, lived with and much more done to solve problems that are recognisable. This is the job of a military organization, and the determination of commanders is needed to face problems and phenomena that violate interpersonal relations, human rights and much more," Imamović emphasized.

In his presentation, the chair of the Joint Commission for Defence and Security of BiH, Jasmin Imamović, also asked a number of questions regarding the work of the General Inspectorate and inspectors who are part of the command of the armed forces of BiH. Assessing that the working visits of the members of the Joint Commission to the units and commands of the Armed Forces of BiH were marked by the readiness of soldiers, non-commissioned officers, officers and generals for an open discussion about real problems, as well as the readiness to solve problems, Imamović announced that the Joint Commission, together with the parliamentary military commissioner of BiH, will try to make more visits to the units of the Armed Forces of BiH. "We will act together and demand that the problems that are an obstacle to the further professionalization of the Armed Forces and the defence sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole be solved," said Imamović.

The Deputy Chairman of the Joint Commission for Defence and Security of BiH, Marina Pendeš, also spoke at the Conference, who assessed that the Armed Forces of BiH are still the best part of society and the defence system. Congratulating the members of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defence and the inspectors in the BiH Armed Forces on their work and results, Mrs. Pendeš called on them to continue working professionally and not to allow themselves to be influenced by, as she said, the polluted media space. She also expressed her satisfaction with the reduced number of complaints from women members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, assessing that this is the result of greater trust in the system and confirmation that the authorities are working to improve conditions at the locations of the Armed Forces in relation to the needs and problems faced by women members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

BiH Parliamentary Military Commissioner Boško Šiljegović addressed the Conference participants, who spoke about the activities of the Office of the Parliamentary Military Commissioner in the past year, as well as complaints of professional military personnel, especially those that were resolved by the joint activities of the Office of the Parliamentary Military Commissioner and the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defence of BiH. Šiljegović evaluated the cooperation with the General Inspectorate as good and professional, emphasizing joint activities in field visits and participation in workshops at the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The conference was also attended by the commander of the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, Brigadier General Matthew A. Valas, representatives of the EUFOR Mission, as well as representatives of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (end)