Speech by Richard Wood, Head of Home Affairs and Public Security Section, EUSR/EUD at the conference ‘Witness Protection and Support in BiH, present and future challenges’

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour and a pleasure to
welcome you on behalf of the EUD / EUSR today to discuss a key segment
of the rule of law chain. Appropriate witness protection and support is
indeed a pivotal tool to guarantee the safety of key witnesses helping
them to testify.

Witness Protection affects the credibility of the judiciary and other competent authorities as a whole.

Due
to the nature of the most of the crimes committed during the 1992-1995
conflict, witnesses are also victims, and so need particular support
throughout and beyond the judicial process.

Effective protection
processes send a very clear message that individuals will get the
protection while testifying before a court as well as outside criminal
proceedings.

This requires a fully functioning system at all
levels, including appropriate allocation of financial and human
resources to the dedicated structures.

This is why the EU has supported through financial and technical assistance the capacity building of the national authorities.

In
total, the EU’s national support so far exceeds 3.8 million euro.
Whilst the WINPRO multi-beneficiary (regional) project which is financed
by the EU is 12 million euro.

In this context, the EU is
coordinating with other donors, including UNDP. We also work closely
with the Higher Judicial and Prosecutorial Council as well as the Courts
and prosecutor offices for developing future activities.

As a
conclusion, let me underline that we appreciate the enhancement of
legislation on witness protection program, particularly at state level.
However new laws must be implemented in an appropriate and timely manner
thus allowing them to translate into an effective and functioning
protection system.

The EU will continue supporting this endeavor.

I now wish you a fruitful conference and a useful exchange of views.

Thank you.

Europa.ba