If the UN Security Council begins discussing the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Srebrenica, then according to the rules of procedure and the UN Charter, the UN General Assembly cannot discuss the resolution submitted for Srebrenica, stated Branko Branković, former Serbian ambassador to the UN.
“This is a session requested by one of the Security Council members, Russia. As long as the Security Council has Srebrenica on its agenda, the General Assembly cannot discuss or convene on this matter,” emphasized Branković.
Branković notes that if the global organization adheres to procedural rules, once the Security Council starts, the General Assembly has nothing more to convene or discuss regarding the Srebrenica resolution.
“Even if Germany and other parties attempt to convene a session of the General Assembly, it raises the question of whether the Secretary-General will warn the President of the General Assembly that he cannot call a session while it is on the agenda of the Security Council,” Branković pointed out.
He praised Russia’s request for a UN Security Council session on BiH as a very good move and expressed optimism.
“The fact that they postponed the consideration of the resolution means that their entire tower about the possible adoption of the resolution has collapsed, and now they are trying to do something,” Branković noted.
He reminded that the ambassador of BiH to the UN, Zlatko Lagumdžija, said that the debate in the General Assembly on the resolution is postponed because something in the document needs to be revised.
“That means they did not get the necessary majority, hence the postponement, because if they were sure they had it, they would have voted long ago. Russia’s request for a Security Council session on this matter comes as ‘an extra burden’ to them,” said Branković.
He assessed that all those proposing the resolution are in great difficulty.
“I think in the end they will have to, not just remove it from the agenda, but postpone it. The political situation is such that those who proposed the resolution cannot afford to lose, i.e., for the resolution not to receive the appropriate majority,” pointed out Branković.
For, he added, with this fiasco around Ukraine and everything the West has gotten entangled in, this additional issue would be the last straw, they could immediately go home.
Branković, who has been a Serbian diplomat at the UN for 30 years, explained that the UN Security Council session on the Srebrenica resolution is not extraordinary, as the Council operates daily and convenes, and is responsible for maintaining peace and international security, so there are no extraordinary and regular sessions, only scheduled ones.
At Russia’s request, a UN Security Council session on BiH is scheduled for today, and the Serbian member of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, has officially requested to address via video link.
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić stated that, as things stand, Russia has managed to ensure two UN Security Council sessions on BiH, which is a good opportunity for the Serbian member of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, to express her views.
Source: RTRS
