The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday expressed concern regarding the country's future, as he addressed the UN Security Council for one last time ahead of his resignation.
Christian Schmidt, a German conservative politician who has served in the post since August 2021, said Bosnia-Herzegovina was "moving along a narrowing path."
This trajectory "leads either towards institutional sustainability and consolidation, economic revitalization, the rule of law and democratic governance standards, or towards further stagnation driven by political obstruction and the gradual deconstruction of state institutions," Schmidt told the council.
Schmidt announced his resignation ahead of Tuesday's session, citing a "personal decision."
The High Representative holds significant powers to uphold the 1995 Dayton Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War. The office includes the authority to dismiss elected officials, enact laws and establish new institutions.
According to media reports, Schmidt has come under pressure from the United States, with the Trump administration increasingly supporting separatist leader Milorad Dodik who has been pushing for the secession of Republika Srpska (RS), the Serbian part of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Since the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian war, Bosnia-Herzegovina has comprised two entities: the Bosniak-Croat Federation, with its largely Croatian and Bosniak Muslim population, and the predominantly Serbian RS.
The components enjoy far-reaching autonomy, except in foreign, defence and security policy.
