To ask His Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with the United States about the political and security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

My Lords, we are working closely with the United States, including through the Quint, the Peace Implementation Council and the United Nations Security Council, to support peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Quint remain firmly committed to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. With October’s elections approaching, we continue to discuss our concern about increasing anti-Dayton rhetoric, the rise in Islamophobia and other divisive narratives.

My Lords, I declare my interest as the UK Prime Minister’s special envoy to the western Balkans from 2021 to 2025. I thank the Minister for her Answer. As she just indicated, the UK has been supporting peace and stability in Bosnia, including through the service of the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Walker, as the commander there, for almost 30 years. That peace and stability sustains, yet it is under threat from rhetoric and provocation. The former President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, is a very frequent visitor to Moscow, where he receives what could only be described as instructions. Secession is still in the language in that country, and I think we can all agree that that would be a disaster for the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, raise the spectre of tension and worse. We have an excellent embassy, but can the Minister reassure me that significant thinking and planning is in place should the security situation deteriorate?

I thank the noble and gallant Lord for his service and commend the work of his successor, Dame Karen Pierce, in this absolutely vital role. Yes, I can give him that commitment. My colleague—the MP Stephen Doughty, whom I am sure he knows well—leads on this, as he knows, in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Our commitment, as witnesses to the Dayton agreement, remains steadfast.

My Lords, with the resignation of Christian Schmidt as the high representative, who, as anyone who met him will know, was frustrated by Republika Srpska’s claims under Mr Dodik, and in paying tribute to the noble and gallant Lord, can I ask what efforts the UK Government are making to ensure we get the right candidate, with the resilience of the late Lord Ashdown—let us not forget his legacy—who put this at the heart of British representation in standing up for Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and, indeed, Kosovo?

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.

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?

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.

As the Minister is aware, one of the major roadblocks to harmony between the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska and the Bosnia-Croat federation is the lack of a unified police force. Will the UK draw on its huge experience of capacity building and expertise in this area to make this a key part of our bilateral relations, as well as trade?

That is an interesting suggestion. We have expertise in doing that kind of work, where appropriate, but it needs to be done alongside the relevant authorities, so that we make sure that we move things along in a way that is sensitive to the context—if I can put it that way. I am happy to speak to colleagues to find out whether that is something that the UK is actively considering at the moment.

My Lords, the noble Baroness mentioned all the organisations that we are working with. Could she say more about how supportive of, and in line with, our colleagues from the United States we are on this policy?

All our allies and partners take positions; sometimes they are different, and we sometimes take different approaches to these issues. But our position is very clear: we will be consistent with the agreement that was entered into. We take seriously our duty to stick to those principles.

My Lords, in recent years, a key part of UK support for the type of capacity building of civil and community organisations referenced by the noble and gallant Lord and my noble friend has been through the Western Balkans Democracy Initiative, which has been funded by development assistance. Can the Minister assure the House that this support will continue?

We have recently published our allocations for development assistance. Off the top of my head, I cannot remember what decision was made on that specific programme, but I am sure that that information is publicly available. If it is not, I will make sure that the noble Lord gets it.

My Lords, the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Peach, mentioned the malign influence of Russia in relation to this. There has been some suggestion that the United Kingdom is slackening its sanctions on Russia. Will the Minister confirm that this is not the case and consider further sanctions, particularly in relation to some of its assets here in the United Kingdom?

I can absolutely assure my noble friend that that is not the case. I remember that there were robust exchanges about this before the short Recess we have just had. Obviously, we keep all future designations under close review, and we do not preannounce them, but his point about our concern about Russia and our willingness to act with sanctions and other measures, when that is appropriate, remains.

My Lords, the Minister has acknowledged rightly that we do not just close the door on history; it has a very long tail. Civilians affected by the wars in the Balkans still suffer and still need support, and that support often comes from very small aid organisations that have suffered from the reduction in aid from this country and other countries. Can she acknowledge that?

When you make a cut to your development assistance, you can spend less—that is just a fact. I was unable to find 40% reductions for programmes that were not doing good or having an impact and that nobody would notice. Of course, I am happy to acknowledge that now, as I have done on many occasions.