Bosnia and Herzegovina

Baroness Ludford Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

It is absolutely vital that the successful candidate for this role has all the attributes possessed by Lord Ashdown—perhaps not all; they are very big shoes to fill. What matters most is that we find the candidate who has the ability to bring people together and secure the commitments that were made at Dayton, for as long as we need to do that.

[Baroness Ludford (LD)]

My Lords, Russia is undoubtedly stirring tensions to undermine western security and Bosnia’s progress to EU membership. As has been said, the UK has always played a strong role in supporting the Dayton agreement and the Office of the High Representative, which my former leader Paddy Ashdown filled 20 years ago—I am glad he was referred to. How is the UK working not only with the United States and the rest of the international community but specifically with the EU and European partners on Bosnia, as on Ukraine, to support the Bosnian state’s institutions and constitutional order?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

We work very closely, as I am sure the noble Baroness would want, with the EU, the Council of Europe, the US and other partners to do just that. We are 30-plus years on from what happened and some people say that it is time to move on but, actually, it is clear that the conditions for that have not been met. There are new actors and risks of which we need to be mindful, and it is important that we stick to the agreement and, as the noble Lord opposite said, that the right person is forthcoming and that we pick them.