On 20 and 21 November a two day conference was held in Sarajevo as part of the EU’s Support to the Law Enforcement Project on the ‘Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Global Security. The event saw the participation of fifty relevant stakeholders of the process of strengthening security system in BiH. The conclusions from the conference included the following: improvement of legal basis for access to and protection of data, development of standard for technical solutions, which ensure compatibility of systems and exchange with others, and strengthening support of IT staff are the preconditions for more efficient functioning of the information and communication technologies areas within the law enforcement sector.
Representatives of the EU Support to Law Enforcement Project delivered the list of conclusions to all relevant stakeholders of the process of strengthening security system in BiH after the Conference.
“The security in digital world is nowadays very important. Therefore, access to data within and beyond the borders is necessary to adequately protect the citizens and the state itself. The timely exchange of data is of key importance for the successful protection of security interests. It is known that EU Member States do not allow for the exchange of data with those countries that do not have the same level of data protection standards in place,” said Karl Lesjak, Team Leader.
“IC technologies must become one of the policy priorities when discussing security at all levels of government in BiH. The further development of this segment requires co-operation, co-ordination, trust, professionalism use but also additional investments and systematic enhancements. However, without the right preconditions – from the strategic level to operational readiness – I am afraid that the investments will not be able to be used to the full potential,” said Brigitte Kuchar, Programme Manager of the EU Delegation to BiH.
Regarding the future development of the ICT within the security system in BiH, the participants noted that continuous upgrade of the existing level of professional and effective cooperation between the police and judiciary is needed. With the establishment of the electronic data exchange system of police and prosecutor registries, BiH has formalised the principle of data exchange but needs to become a part of day to day police work.
The EU Support to Law Enforcement Project is funded by the EU in the amount of 7 Million EUR, from IPA 2010. The project began in May 2012 and will continue until April 2014. The beneficiary partners are BiH law enforcement agencies at state, entity, cantonal and Brčko District level. Project consortium partners include the Ministries of Interior of Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and the Land Brandenburg of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, and Transparency International BiH (as an Associate).
