Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska and the European Commission Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) organised the Seminar on Juvenile Delinquency on 29 September 2009 in Banja Luka.

Maria Farrar Hockley, Head of Operations Section for Justice and Home Affairs, Administrative Reform and Civil Society within the European Commission Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, opened the Seminar together with Stanislav Čađo, Minister of Interior of Republika Srpska and Deputy Ambassador of Slovak Republic Monika Biela. Maria Farrar Hockley expressed satisfaction that the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska recognised the importance of this issue and the work on strenghtening the cooperation between the institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Monika Biela emphasised that Slovak Republic closely cooperates with other EU Member States on identifying juvenile delinquents.

„We are very pleased that BiH considers this issue as important as the issue of strengthening cooperation between the institutions. This cooperation is essential because the issue of juvenile delinquency is not to be looked at in a narrow matter, through repressive measures but through a complex approach“, stated Monika Biela.

Lecturers from all European Union Member States gathered at the Seminar together with the representatives of all police agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prosecutors’ Offices, non-governmental organisations, Ministry of Justice of BiH, Ministry of Justice of RS, Ministry of Justice of Federation of BiH, Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Republika Srpska and Ombudsman of Republika Srpska.

Stanislav Čađo, Minister of Interior of Republika Srpska stated that the “issue of juvenile delinquency is not only a problem for Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but is a global issue“.

„Statistical data show that the level of juvenile delinquency in Republika Srpska is decreasing and we are committed to undertake all necessary measures and actions, in order to reduce these numbers to a minimum. This Seminar is one of the activities we are taking in order to improve the communication and cooperation between the police forces and the communities and to develop partnerships between police forces, schools and youth groups” stated Minister Čađo.

TAIEX – Technical Assistance and Information Exchange is an instrument of the Directorate-General Enlargement of the European Commission. TAIEX helps countries with regard to the approximation, application and enforcement of EU legislation.