Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York, calling for reform of the UN, condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine, and sharply criticizing recent developments in Serbia and the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Plenković devoted part of his address to European Union enlargement and developments in the Western Balkans, strongly criticizing the recent funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić in Belgrade. Mladić, who died in The Hague in late August, was buried in Serbia in a ceremony attended by Serbian officials and featuring military honors.
“The military and official honors given to Mladić in Serbia were an insult to his victims and to the judgments of international courts,” Plenković said, arguing that the Serbian authorities’ approach was incompatible with the values of the European Union, which Serbia seeks to join.
Turning to Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of the country’s upcoming elections, Plenković again raised the issue of electoral reform. He said Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be denied what he described as “legitimate representation,” including in the country’s tripartite Presidency.
Plenković characterized the situation as unfair and potentially destabilizing for the wider region.
“The solution is neither division nor domination. The solution is a carefully designed electoral reform that protects every citizen while ensuring the restoration of the fundamental principle of legitimate political representation of the constituent peoples,” he said at the UN.
Addressing the war in Ukraine, Plenković said that “peace cannot reward conquest, and recovery cannot be separated from justice,” reaffirming Croatia’s continued support for Kyiv.
He also called for a more effective United Nations and reform of the UN Security Council, arguing that the organization needs to be better equipped to respond to contemporary geopolitical and technological challenges.
